2022 Outdoor Grow Guide
(For the best grow of your life)
*Coming soon*​
Probiotic
Natural Farming
A BEGINERS GUIDE TO SUB-IRRIGATED PLANTERS
LEARN - SHARE - GROW
A Beginners Guide to Sub-Irrigated Planters
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Understanding SIP
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Sub-irrigated Planters are a wicking system that allows water to be drawn upward through capillary action from moist soil below into the dryer upper soil region and then terminating its ascension an inch or 2 prior to the top of the soil. This provides a moist but not wet environment where water and nutrients are readily available for the plant at the time it wants to have them.
The goal is to emulate what the earth already does naturally but in a controlled environment!! Your Reservoir is acting as your aquifer and your wicking point is your capillary fringe. The Saturation zone is the soil between Capillary fringe up to the top soil, also known as aeration zone.
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Your First SIP!!!
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Your first SIP should be simple and easy to use. Use easily obtainable parts to make it a hassle-free transition from traditional planters. We like the bucket system as buckets can be found or purchased just about anywhere in the USA and the system is straight forward and easy to use.
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Supplies needed:
2 x 5 gallon food grade buckets
1 x Solo Cup
1 x 18” long piece of 1” PVC pipe
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How to make your own!!!
(Bucket 1) – The Soil Bucket
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Take Bucket 1 and flip it upside down. Get a 3.5” hole saw kit from a local hardware store or use a utility knife to cut out a 3.5” circle in the very middle of the bucket. This will act as your wicking point.
Next take a ¼” drill bit and drill several small aeration holes all over the bottom of the bucket.
(BUCKET 2) – The Reservoir Bucket
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Take bucket 1 and slide it into bucket 2 and measure down from the 3.5” hole you made in the middle to the bottom of the reservoir. Now subtract 1” from that measurement to get your over flow height. (For example if my measurement is 4” then I would drill my overflow hole at 3”s. This provides a 1” air gap so that soils do not become over saturated!!!
Drill your overflow holes in with at least a ¼” drill bit and drill 1 on each side of the bucket. If outside this overflow will drip down on the ground no issue!!! – If indoor simply place a tray under it like you would a traditional planter and a little will drip out when full.
Cut 3 slits length ways on the cup most of the length of the cup, then pack the cup with Coco / peat or another wicking source.
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Slide cup and fill tube into the holes you created on your bucket!!!
Then slide the 2 buckets 1 into the next so they form your SIP Bucket System.
MULCH LAYER
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This can be 1 of many things from a black plastic cover, to a cover crop or using other mulch’s on top of your SIP!!! This eliminated evaporation and helps to utilize top dressed materials. Top dressing is when you add Worm castings or other amendment to the top of your planter and cover them, thus allowing them to slowly condensate into the soil. The roots can also come up and eat off of these top-dressed elements giving it optimum nutritional access.
