Good wicking material?

[Faced1]

Use coco coir in your containers instead of peat. It wicks a LOT better, even when mixed with compost or other soil goodies.

[ArthurDent004]

I can attest to the wicking power of coir. I have a determinate tomato (Sophie's Choice) growing in potting mix consisting of 2.5 gallons of mixed coir and 2 gallons of coarse perlite. Right now it's about 28 inches tall and has about an 18 inch spread. It's currently has about a dozen tomatoes growing.

[SIP Gro-Tubs]

Originally Posted by ArthurDent004

I can attest to the wicking power of coir. I have a determinate tomato (Sophie's Choice) growing in potting mix consisting of 2.5 gallons of mixed coir and 2 gallons of coarse perlite. Right now it's about 28 inches tall and has about an 18 inch spread. It's currently has about a dozen tomatoes growing.

So you have a total of 4.5 gls of mix, must be at least a 5 gl bucket, inside another 5 gl bucket, and everything is going great so far.

Just shows you that you don't need a big tub, to grow in.

I, design and build for my customers, a single 5 gl SIP system with a 2 gl water reservoir, with 3 gls of soil-less mix.

See the Thread "5 gl Gro-Bucket using only 1 Bucket"


But greenhouse growers use less than 1 gl of soil-less media, and grow thier indetermiante tomato's 10 months of the year, and the vines grow anywhere from 150-180 feet in that 10 months.

So, you might be thinking about now that since you don't have a greenhouse, you can't grow them that way. But who said you have to grow them in a greenhouse. Your backyard is quite sufficent to grow the same way.

But first you must grab the concept of Wick Hydropnic growing. There are just 3 basic simple steps.

1. A continous fresh water supply for each plant.
2. A continous 1/4-1/3 diluted nutrient supply for each plant.
3. A support system for each plant.

Terry Layman

[stromato]

Originally Posted by SIP Gro-Tubs

The best you can buy is Microfiber, same as Sham Wow, but much cheaper.

MaximMart Microfiber Products https://maximmart.com/ Go to thier Clearance tab

Microfiber Bath Towel 19"x35" 100% polyester 220GSM

Take 3 or 4 towels and have them sewn together, in diagonal fashion about 1'' aprart both ways. Then just cut them 1'' to 1.5'' wide and how long you want.

With 4 towels sewn together, and cut into 1.5'' strips 17.5'' long, each strip would cost less than 17 cents for the material and yield 24 strips.

Its what I, use in my Tub Sip's, and polyester doesn't rot, Cotton will rot.

What radius of moist media do you get around one of those microfiber strips?
Did you try strips of different thickness?

Thanks for the info on microfiber.