watering under the roots instead of from above

I

inmoralast

Member
ive been researching for a while now about roots and how they work. over and over i read roots grow downward looking for water and food then the question popped in my head why not water and feed the roots from below instead of from above??
so i researched on that and found something called an earthbox, which is pretty easy to make. ive made a few for my grandmother for her vegetable garden. ive seen tomatoes in poor soil in an earthbox out grow tomatoes grown in the ground using high grade premium potting soils. so my thought is can this work for my garden of ice, swiss cheese, wonder woman, and many other great strains all in five gallon buckets
 
I

inmoralast

Member
good point. from my studies roots naturally draw water up wards from the ground so to me it seems more mother nature like to put the water below the roots.
 
I

inmoralast

Member
i thought that someone would point that out. i wish i had made a drawing to explain what i am about to say. when it rains plants take most the rain in through the leaves. the rest of the rain that goes into the ground settles beneath the roots. the difference between rain and a water hose is rain is billions and billions of little drops that penetrate through the dirt settling beneath the roots where as a watering hose is one constance stream that tends to stay above the roots. so in order to get the water below the roots you really have to water it down which can lead to root rot even is the container does have drain holes. the whole point of most of the water being under the roots is so the roots and wick up the water when they need it and not having to much water settling around the roots and causing them to rot
 
S

sweetie

Member
Wait... aren't we essentially talking about hydro here?? Since the roots are watered from below and not through the top... only diff is absence of soil?
 
I

inmoralast

Member
sorry but i am using soil. my method that im trying to get recognized and get opinions on works just like a earth-box. the Reservoir is below the dirt with a tray that will hold the dirt and keep it out of the Reservoir. the tray will have two holes. one to be able to fill up the Reservoir and an other one that you can fit a pipe into. the pipe will have a bunch off holes and it serve as a wick. fill the pipe up with dirt and pack it. then fill the bucket up with your choice of dirt the fill the reservoir with water and plant a transplant in it with roots that will already be a least four inches deep or you can put a germinated seed in but you will have to water it from above until the root system is big and deep enough for the roots to wick up water from the wick
 
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