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Self Watering Wick?


Badger

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Hi, we like to have a few tubs of bedding plants on the roof of our boat.Problem is we only get there about once a month or so. I have been experimenting and trying to make a wick, to go from the planter (on the bank) and the other end into the river. I have tried a strip of carpet, but this does not work, also a hessian rope. Has anybody else thought of this idea. and got it to work ?.

 

Badger

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How about the other way up! Stick a bucket of water on the roof and the plants on the floor. Run a wet rope from the bucket down to the plants. Not my idea but I am sure I read about this as a method of filtering waste Veg oil.

 

Might not last a month but better than nothing.

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Hi, we like to have a few tubs of bedding plants on the roof of our boat.Problem is we only get there about once a month or so. I have been experimenting and trying to make a wick, to go from the planter (on the bank) and the other end into the river. I have tried a strip of carpet, but this does not work, also a hessian rope. Has anybody else thought of this idea. and got it to work ?.

 

Badger

In the seventies, I had about 150' of south facing mooring outside my workshop with windbreak walls at either end and no public access. Sensing a cashcrop, I made up some simple troughs with poly sheet and some old pallet planks and planted about 100 tomato plants. To water them, I used a bilge pump and an upside down float switch to fill the troughs whenever the level got too low. The battery seemed to last for weeks.

 

I got loads of tomatoes and they tasted damn good as well! (Ailsa Craig). The local nurseryman who grew his under glass could never seem to get such a good crop and constantly tried to find out how I managed it. He never did believe it was just eau de cut...

 

Regards

 

Arnot

Edited by Arnot
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I had a client years ago who was experimenting with an 'Autosiphon' to water his greenhouse when he was on holiday. This is the type you usually see above gents urinal stalls. It has a drip feed (adjustable) and flushes when at the correct level. but you'd need to fix up a mains or pumped constant supply. I don't know if he ever got it working :lol:

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I had a client years ago who was experimenting with an 'Autosiphon' to water his greenhouse when he was on holiday. This is the type you usually see above gents urinal stalls. It has a drip feed (adjustable) and flushes when at the correct level. but you'd need to fix up a mains or pumped constant supply. I don't know if he ever got it working :lol:

I have been thinking of something simpler than suggested ideas. There must be some material that would when dipped in water (the canal/river) act like a wick, and suck up water to the bottom of a planter pot?.

 

badger

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I have been thinking of something simpler than suggested ideas. There must be some material that would when dipped in water (the canal/river) act like a wick, and suck up water to the bottom of a planter pot?.

 

badger

 

Hi Badger, the following link may be of use. Basically the poster says to use 3/8 nylon wick (rope?) and stresses the importance of Vermiculite in the bottom of the containers to encourage the wicking action.

 

http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginn...ing-system.html

 

Regards,

Tony :lol:

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Hi Badger, the following link may be of use. Basically the poster says to use 3/8 nylon wick (rope?) and stresses the importance of Vermiculite in the bottom of the containers to encourage the wicking action.

 

http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginn...ing-system.html

 

Regards,

Tony :lol:

This seems more like it. I will give this a try......One question- what the hell is vermiculite!, and where do I get it?.

 

Badger

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