SWICK Watering Systems: Letting The Plant Water Itself

This is how I have mine set up, except that my basins are too small. The pots just fit on them. They had to be that small because I was growing in a tiny closet. Why have I not made a change by this time? Get on it Girl. :laughtwo:

Thanks for sharing Outragedpluto. I'm glad you shared about the seed trays being too flimsy, since I was going to try to find some.

Now, get better trays for my own grow.
 
hey Sue just wanted to share my build!

IMG_31199.jpg


12" deep and about 5' long they hold a lot of water and 4 cu ft of perlite each!

already having amazing results and i have still yet to give anything other than kelp foliar weekly sprays!
 
Hey Sue and all,

So I am tooling around with building a SWICK for my cab, but I am starting to think that maybe my reservoir won't be deep enough to do much of anything. If you take a look at my last grow you will see the scrog screen I built...I want to recycle that frame by closing one end and lining it with pond liner. My concern is that the frame, when laid on its side, is only going to be about 2 1/2 - 3" tall...keep in mind that the container has to sit an inch or so into the SWICK. Sure I could probably get a gallon of water in there, but would it be enough to make it worth it?

If any of you can think of a work around...I just can't loose any vertical space which is why using the frame I already have seemed like a good idea because I'll only be loosing a couple inches vertically.
 
HealingKronic said:
hey Sue just wanted to share my build!

IMG_31199.jpg


12" deep and about 5' long they hold a lot of water and 4 cu ft of perlite each!

already having amazing results and i have still yet to give anything other than kelp foliar weekly sprays!
Click to expand...

HealingKronic those are fabulous. Reps baby! And growing Grape Ape too? Way to go!!

Thanks for sharing this here. It appears we're starting a movement here. :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
HealingKronic said:
i can tell you that i had a 2'x4' tray 3" deep and i had 10 plants in 1 gallon cloth bags and i had to add water twice a day to maintain water levels. hope that helps!

IMG_307411.jpg
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I'll be growing in a ten gallon container, but only two plants in the container. I was hoping to at least only have to add water every other day.
 
ClosedCircuit said:
Hey Sue and all,

So I am tooling around with building a SWICK for my cab, but I am starting to think that maybe my reservoir won't be deep enough to do much of anything. If you take a look at my last grow you will see the scrog screen I built...I want to recycle that frame by closing one end and lining it with pond liner. My concern is that the frame, when laid on its side, is only going to be about 2 1/2 - 3" tall...keep in mind that the container has to sit an inch or so into the SWICK. Sure I could probably get a gallon of water in there, but would it be enough to make it worth it?

If any of you can think of a work around...I just can't loose any vertical space which is why using the frame I already have seemed like a good idea because I'll only be loosing a couple inches vertically.
Click to expand...

Will the containers be an inch or so into the SWICK because of vertical challenge, or because you'll be using hard pots?

My current SWICK tray is only 1" deep. If I were running full sized pots on it I'd have to do what HealingKronic did and fill the reservoir at least twice a day.

You may be able to get something to work in there, but it's going to be more work than a deeper reservoir. Having said that, the advantage of letting the plant determine the water needs overrides the minor inconvenience. Keep in mind that this only means that twice a day you dump water into the reservior, with no need to be careful or precise.

It's not something that would allow you to travel and feel confident they'd survive, unless you had some type of water feed to the reservoir. There are some interesting ways around that.
 
SweetSue said:
Will the containers be an inch or so into the SWICK because of vertical challenge, or because you'll be using hard pots?

My current SWICK tray is only 1" deep. If I were running full sized pots on it I'd have to do what HealingKronic did and fill the reservoir at least twice a day.

You may be able to get something to work in there, but it's going to be more work than a deeper reservoir. Having said that, the advantage of letting the plant determine the water needs overrides the minor inconvenience. Keep in mind that this only means that twice a day you dump water into the reservior, with no need to be careful or precise.

It's not something that would allow you to travel and feel confident they'd survive, unless you had some type of water feed to the reservoir. There are some interesting ways around that.
Click to expand...

I'll be using a hard container. If I remember correctly from the teachings at other SWICK threads on other sites I SHOULDNT use gardening fabric to line the pot correct?

Do you think 2 plants would use that much water? You are familiar with my space, Sue. Last grow I was never adding more than a quart between my two 1 gallon containers about every other day. I assume I will need more this time because of the larger container and because the plants should be bigger, but not much more.
 
ClosedCircuit said:
I'll be using a hard container. If I remember correctly from the teachings at other SWICK threads on other sites I SHOULDNT use gardening fabric to line the pot correct?

Do you think 2 plants would use that much water? You are familiar with my space, Sue. Last grow I was never adding more than a quart between my two 1 gallon containers about every other day. I assume I will need more this time because of the larger container and because the plants should be bigger, but not much more.
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I think two plant would be fine CC. I would recommend fabric pots. They not only SWICK better but they also grow better roots. I'm using azalea pots right now and I'm not at all happy with root development in a hard pot. Fabrics creates explosive roots that fill the entire space quickly. Hard pots can't come anywhere close. I just tore apart a male that was over a month old and the swirling roots jammed into the drain holes convinced me to do better from now on. I would never use hard pots for LOS, why am I doing this with Doc's kit?

Cannafan has a tutorial thread on fabric pots. I'm going to make my own.

DIY fabric grow pots Cannabags made from Eco Felt

You do NOT want to line your pots with fabric. You want to line your reservoirs with weed blocker fabric. You want your pots to be fabric.
 
SweetSue said:
I think two plant would be fine CC. I would recommend fabric pots. They not only SWICK better but they also grow better roots. I'm using azalea pots right now and I'm not at all happy with root development in a hard pot. Fabrics creates explosive roots that fill the entire space quickly. Hard pots can't come anywhere close. I just tore apart a male that was over a month old and the swirling roots jammed into the drain holes convinced me to do better from now on. I would never use hard pots for LOS, why am I doing this with Doc's kit?

Cannafan has a tutorial thread on fabric pots. I'm going to make my own.

DIY fabric grow pots Cannabags made from Eco Felt

You do NOT want to line your pots with fabric. You want to line your reservoirs with weed blocker fabric. You want your pots to be fabric.
Click to expand...

I don't know what I am going to do...I really would like to use a fabric pot but don't know if they practical based on the size I need (essentially short and pretty wide. i think I saw something on buildasoil that could be useful. Let me check...
 
Hi Sweetsue I wanted to stop by and say thank you for all your contributions. This Swick method looks awesome, and the tutorial on fabric pots really helped me. Reps+

:420:
 
TheRoach said:
Hi Sweetsue I wanted to stop by and say thank you for all your contributions. This Swick method looks awesome, and the tutorial on fabric pots really helped me. Reps+

:420:
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I love Cannafan's tutorial on fabric pots. It was one of the first treasures I discovered when first joining the site.

I'm glad we could be an inspiration for you. We're trying to make lives easier.
 
Sue, have you seen those round flat bottom fabric pots at build a soil? I was looking at those, but I am concerned that they may be too shallow for SWICK...was thinking they would dry out too fast because they are wider/more exposed surface area and would require more frequent filling of the reservoir.
 
ClosedCircuit said:
Sue, have you seen those round flat bottom fabric pots at build a soil? I was looking at those, but I am concerned that they may be too shallow for SWICK...was thinking they would dry out too fast because they are wider/more exposed surface area and would require more frequent filling of the reservoir.
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What dries out... the top inch of soil exposed to the air.

At 5.5 inches deep, a 2 gallon squat GeoPot has about 18% (11 cups) of soil in the driest top inch.
At 7.5 inches deep, a 2 gallon regular GeoPot has about 13% (8 cups) of soil in the driest top inch.

These calculations were done in my head, but they should be close enough to say about 5% of the soil will be drier.

Add mulch to the soil of either pot and you can reduce the drier zone to 1/4 inch of so, better than either pot without mulch.
 
I found a new container for my SWICKs. This is a plastic file drawer for a 3 drawer system that you find at Dollar stores and such. Cheap as chips...(as LightAddict would say).

They are 7 inches deep x 15.5 inches long x 11.5 inches wide. The beauty of these, besides being bigger for my pots, is that I will be able to see the water level. ;-)

My apologies if someone has already posted this container method, I didn't have any time to search tonight. :)

SWICK_container_2.jpg
 
Radogast said:
What dries out... the top inch of soil exposed to the air.

At 5.5 inches deep, a 2 gallon squat GeoPot has about 18% (11 cups) of soil in the driest top inch.
At 7.5 inches deep, a 2 gallon regular GeoPot has about 13% (8 cups) of soil in the driest top inch.

These calculations were done in my head, but they should be close enough to say about 5% of the soil will be drier.

Add mulch to the soil of either pot and you can reduce the drier zone to 1/4 inch of so, better than either pot without mulch.
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Maybe my fears are unfounded. I'm just having second thoughts about growing in just one ten gallon tub so I want to be sure those wider smart pots are the way to go....think that's what ill be doing...so ill end up having extra dirt to do something with.
 
Cannafan said:
I found a new container for my SWICKs. This is a plastic file drawer for a 3 drawer system that you find at Dollar stores and such. Cheap as chips...(as LightAddict would say).

They are 7 inches deep x 15.5 inches long x 11.5 inches wide. The beauty of these, besides being bigger for my pots, is that I will be able to see the water level. ;-)

My apologies if someone has already posted this container method, I didn't have any time to search tonight. :)

SWICK_container_2.jpg
Click to expand...

I like that depth Canna. You could leave these alone for days!
 
HealingKronic said:
quick question for anyone who is swicking with 5 gallon or larger bags... did you soak your dirt before or after transplant and how long did it take for the water to swick to the top of your soil? thanks!
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I always mix my soil dry, then add water until 'damp sponge' moist. When you place it on a moist swick it stays moist. Then I transplant.

The key to SWICK compatible soil is 40-50% perlite (or similar.) 1 cup, 1, 7 and 10 gallon pots all behave about the same :)
 
When I started my SWICK the plants were already firmly established and they've been actively working since then. I plant the seed right into the pot and let it go.

My recommendation would be to prepare the pot, set it on the SWICK and don't transplant until you've determined that it's hydrated to right below the surface. That shouldn't take longer than a day if your soil is in a good ratio.
 
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