They have some kind of auto watering thing for the Sips but that sounds boring to me haha. But then again I don’t get around great so watering and tending plants is my exercise.
I don’t mind watering but I forget. That’s the problem! Lol if I have to feed 3 times a day, I’m probably forgetting at least one of them hell, if I have anything else to do (especially away from them) it’s even hard to get 2 a day in. I don’t even know where to start researching tho. What do I type in the google?
I would maybe check out the Earth boxes and their auto watering set up. They aren’t too expensive and are so easy. In fact maybe even the reservoir feeding that they are will make it easier even without the auto watering. You just fill up the bottom reservoir maybe once daily or every couple days. @hollyho
I just looked them up. I’m not sure about bottom feeding bc I’ve never done it. I gave auto pots some thought last year but was scared of salt build up. I just need something else to water from the top for me and just let something underneath catch the run off. Then I could worry w it once a day. Empty run off, check res, adjust/refill if needed. Done. Lol
With the SIPS you water through a tube on the top and it fills up the bottom and holds it
You can also just water the soil through the top I’m sure and it will also fill the reservoir. Honestly this works really well. But again im only using then cuz they were given to me. I probably wouldn’t have spent money on them otherwise
I wouldn’t have to worry with salt buildup? How is this different than, say, just sitting a fabric pot in a big bowl, watering it and letting it just sit in the run off? Lol it sounds dumb just typing it but I am curious
There is a screen between the soil and the water.
I just put a layer of perlite over the mesh then soil right on that and whatever amendments mixed in the soil. So it keeps the water soaking up but not sitting in water. Oh ya I also put some weed cloth under the perlite to keep soil from falling in the reservoir, not sure If necessary.
Sounds like you have your setup all figured out! I saw an automated irrigation kit on Amazon for $50 lol It’s probably a pos tho.
Not really but figuring it out slowly haha. I’m trying a little bit of everything RN.
Oh also I’m not sure about salt buildup in these. I’ve been using all organics outside.
I’ll probably end up throwing some in miracle grow I know people don’t like it but I made it work before. I didn’t have to water but every 3-4 days too.
I’ll probably end up throwing some in miracle grow I know people don’t like it but I made it work before. I didn’t have to water but every 3-4 days too. And that’s with perlite mixed in. About 25-30%
@hollyho I just wanted to chime in on the SIP’s. I am a natural soil grower. I was doing a bunch of reading and was all over the octo pots. I was actually looking at what Octo package I was going to buy.
A friend told me to to check out Sip’s. After a bunch of research and some youtube videos I built my 1st DIY SIP. I would have to venture into the garden to tell you how many SIP’s I have now but I can tell you that If I had the time and I would be growing 100% in SIP’s. I have seen amazing things happen with my SIP plants. I have experimented with all kinds of Soil growing techniques in my SIPs. They are absolutely amazing. Best thing is no matter the growing style I tested on my SIP’s they produce absolutely great plants.
You should check out
All I can tell you is once you grow in a good SIP you will be hooked 100%.
If you are looking for absolutely amazing results and like to watch your plants grow with minimal inputs SIP’s are your ticket.
I would not run out an buy an earthbox just yet! I would make your own on the cheap. I have a tutorial on how to make a really easy 7.5 gal SIP below. Experiment with a DIY SIP to see if it works for you and your growing style.
The principal for making a larger SIP is the same. The one in the tutorial is pretty small but you can still grow some good size plants in there.
The plant in this picture was water only down the reservoir.
I am using kitchen scraps to feed the worms only.
No amendments other than Kitchen Scraps so far.
I have a video below to check out . YT will make you sign in to view but I can tell you it is worth it.
Can’t wait to see ya over at @CrunchBerries probiotic SIP post.
Great info!
These little guys are pretty common in my back yard.
Thanks for info! I was planning on sticking to coco if I can ever get back up and running. In the meantime, I’ve just been trying to figure out the most efficient way of watering to make things a little easier on myself. With all the salts in coco, I’m scared anything that feeds from the bottom will cause problems. That’s why I was looking into something that would just do the remembering for me… so just water when/how much I want it to, then I can just dump the runoff once a day. But apparently everything they make to help water coco has to be complicated lol those sips look great for soil! Now they should come out with something just as simple for coco/salts lol