Water Wicking Material For Plants

Cotton clothesline available at most hardware stores works great.

Water wicking material for plants.

Cotton shoelaces to act as the wicks. Now to my pseudo scientific tests of water wicking materials. These containers are designed to supply a constant source of moisture. Bucket to act as the water reservoir.

Insert a pencil into the bottom of the root ball of the plant approximately half way up the root ball. Potted plant sits on the lid and wick goes through the hole into the water. Most important is your choice of soil it must contain at least 50 perlite for this system to work well. How it works a wick watering system for potted plants employs a soft fabric string or ribbon.

The poly rope is a much more plasticky rope than the nylon much rougher too. Capillary matting works great for wicking water to your seedlings. As for the wick any man made material that absorbs water acrylic yarn works well. The diameters were 1 2 inch.

Let s look at the materials you will need for this diy wick watering system. Grasp the base of the plant and remove it from the pot. A wick watering system will help to solve this problem by providing moisture to plants when you don t. Wicking material for self watering planters.

Choose the length based upon the distance from the water reservoir to the container with plants. Old school water wicking for this you need a large water container like vase or bucket and some cotton rope. There are other products that help your soil wick water as well. Soak the wicks in a bowl of water.

Customers are especially happy with the capillary fabric tubes that come with our self watering line of galvanized planters. Self watering planters are a relatively new invention in the world of gardening. 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. I used an 11 quart plastic bucket.

Insert the end of the wick into the hole. Bury 1 end of the wick into the potting soil so it s about 3 inches 7 6 cm deep. Shoelaces come in various lengths. If you have never used wicks here is a quick how to.

Use a wick to water your plants while you re away. It barely wicked any moisture whatsoever.