Water Wicking Material For Plants

Wicking material for self watering planters.

Water wicking material for plants.

The poly rope is a much more plasticky rope than the nylon much rougher too. Choose the length based upon the distance from the water reservoir to the container with plants. A wick watering system will help to solve this problem by providing moisture to plants when you don t. Old school water wicking for this you need a large water container like vase or bucket and some cotton rope.

Cotton clothesline available at most hardware stores works great. Now to my pseudo scientific tests of water wicking materials. Let s look at the materials you will need for this diy wick watering system. How it works a wick watering system for potted plants employs a soft fabric string or ribbon.

Hanging two equal lengths of rope one composed of poly rope the other of nylon i was shocked by the results. Customers are especially happy with the capillary fabric tubes that come with our self watering line of galvanized planters. Cotton shoelaces to act as the wicks. Shoelaces come in various lengths.

Bury 1 end of the wick into the potting soil so it s about 3 inches 7 6 cm deep. I used an 11 quart plastic bucket. The diameters were 1 2 inch. Most important is your choice of soil it must contain at least 50 perlite for this system to work well.

Insert a pencil into the bottom of the root ball of the plant approximately half way up the root ball. Take a strip of synthetic fiber like nylon stockings or cord and fill a container such as a bucket or a jug with water to serve as your reservoir. There are other products that help your soil wick water as well. Potted plant sits on the lid and wick goes through the hole into the water.

Capillary matting works great for wicking water to your seedlings. I ve recently installed a vertical herb garden in my house and had some problem watering my plants doing some research i found that a wick watering system is a way in which my plants don t run out of water and don t get excess water basically they. As for the wick any man made material that absorbs water acrylic yarn works well. If you have never used wicks here is a quick how to.

Self watering planters are a relatively new invention in the world of gardening. Insert the end of the wick into the hole. Bucket to act as the water reservoir. Grasp the base of the plant and remove it from the pot.

These containers are designed to supply a constant source of moisture. Do this gently so as not to damage any of the roots.