The Everything SWICK Club: 2023 And Beyond

[Carmen Ray]

Haven't posted here in a while but my perlite SWICK is kicking ass and taking names! The 5 Killer Cookies went into a solo SWICK on May 3 and was only top watered once.

Day 1 (click here to see how it was built):

1 gallon upcan day 24 (click here to see how it was built):

Today on day 33:

It's drinking 24oz a day and is ready for transplant. I was going to move it into a 5 gallon SIP bucket but now I'm thinking of building a 5 gallon SWICK!

Carmen for putting this thread together and spreading the word.

Thank you to @Azimuth for encouraging me to get the thread going.

I'd love to see how your 5 gal SWICK works out! Your solo is nice and strong!

 

[ReservoirDog]

Haven't posted here in a while but my perlite SWICK is kicking ass and taking names! The 5 Killer Cookies went into a solo SWICK on May 3 and was only top watered once.

Day 1 (click here to see how it was built):

1 gallon upcan day 24 (click here to see how it was built):

Today on day 33:

It's drinking 24oz a day and is ready for transplant. I was going to move it into a 5 gallon SIP bucket but now I'm thinking of building a 5 gallon SWICK!

Carmen for putting this thread together and spreading the word.

Oi, Shed, nice work! I will admit ignorance to what you finally came up with that works in your situation, however, I did eventually come up with an idea for how to utilize the SWICK/SIP bottom-feeding advantages that fits your needs and scenario, but I'm not sure that I ever discussed with you.

As I understand it, you put your plants outside every morning and then bring them inside every night?

So, what I was thinking is really simple and perhaps it is what you are already pursuing (I will get up to speed) but I thought I'd just lay it down ''briefly'', here.

It can be described as two base stations*; each is, let's say, a 10 gallon Rubbermaid tote, with a drain hole 3/4 of the way to the top. These base stations are filled with perlite to a height of one to two inches above the drain hole. Fill with water or fertigation.

The second element is a basic plant in a soft pot, a soft pot that fits into the tote and is merely placed atop the perlite bed. A second, exact copy of the base tote w/perlite should be created with one outside in the sun, the other in your indoor, nighttime haven. Then, merely pass the plant back and forth between locations as your plan calls for and weather permits.

The root systems do pass the pot wall and into the perlite in this setup when just left on its own. However, if you move the plant each day, twice per day, the damage to roots that have eked out a few millimetres into the perlite each day would be, in my opinion, inconsequential to your ultimate results. Whichever tote is not being used at the time should have its lid placed on it.

*Because I envision the system in two parts separated from each other every day, it may make each individual element easy enough to carry when separated, such that only a single 'base station' is required because you can move it too, easily enough without the plant in it. It's up to the grower, but because the build is so simple and inexpensive I personally would use two base stations. Maybe this will help someone else currently mulling over options.

 

[Hash Hound]

PS, So I've met two people locally, as in, in-person, who are really struggling with the AC Infinity wicking trays. I was asked for a rec and advised to turf them and go buy some City Pickers, or make a DIY SIP, but can anyone recommend a different, commercial, SWICK product? Otherwise, I figured perlite beds with softpots on top if they are deadset on SWICKING?

Not sure where I found these, but if I remember it was at Leevalley site. (I no longer see them there)
If you notice they all have a flat wick. I think the problem with the AC auto waters is the rope they use for the wick.
When I started with swicks I used rope with the wicking plant risers I bought on the Zon and the wicking was soso.
After I switched to using pieces of an old grow bag, the wicking improved. I'm guessing the more surface to contact helps.

my $.02, I can't emphasize enough the waste of perlite in a swick. A wick in water serves the same purpose, eliminates the cost of the perlite and increases the water capacity of the res.

this is similar to one here Gardener's Revolution Tomato Planter | Gardener's Supply

self watering wick.jpg

• Hash Hound
• Jun 4, 2023

self watering bag planter.jpg

• Hash Hound
• Jun 4, 2023

self watering bag planter gs2.jpg

• Hash Hound
• Jun 4, 2023

 

[InTheShed]

Oi, Shed, nice work! I will admit ignorance to what you finally came up with that works in your situation,

It's basically a water-tight container with perlite and a hole drilled an inch below the perlite height. A bottomless container goes into that with the lowest level of soil packed tight against the perlite and the rest added as usual. Here it is before the soil goes in:

20230503_083731 5KC SWICK build.jpg

• InTheShed
• May 3, 2023

5 Killer Cookies

You can see the full build pics in the links I posted.

however, I did eventually come up with an idea for how to utilize the SWICK/SIP bottom-feeding advantages that fits your needs and scenario, but I'm not sure that I ever discussed with you.

As I understand it, you put your plants outside every morning and then bring them inside every night?

So, what I was thinking is really simple and perhaps it is what you are already pursuing (I will get up to speed) but I thought I'd just lay it down ''briefly'', here.

It can be described as two base stations*; each is, let's say, a 10 gallon Rubbermaid tote, with a drain hole 3/4 of the way to the top. These base stations are filled with perlite to a height of one to two inches above the drain hole. Fill with water or fertigation.

The second element is a basic plant in a soft pot, a soft pot that fits into the tote and is merely placed atop the perlite bed. A second, exact copy of the base tote w/perlite should be created with one outside in the sun, the other in your indoor, nighttime haven. Then, merely pass the plant back and forth between locations as your plan calls for and weather permits.

The root systems do pass the pot wall and into the perlite in this setup when just left on its own. However, if you move the plant each day, twice per day, the damage to roots that have eked out a few millimetres into the perlite each day would be, in my opinion, inconsequential to your ultimate results. Whichever tote is not being used at the time should have its lid placed on it.

*Because I envision the system in two parts separated from each other every day, it may make each individual element easy enough to carry when separated, such that only a single 'base station' is required because you can move it too, easily enough without the plant in it. It's up to the grower, but because the build is so simple and inexpensive I personally would use two base stations. Maybe this will help someone else currently mulling over options.

I really appreciate all the thought you gave my growing situation RD! I don't think I want to carry a dripping wet cloth pot twice a day or need a 10 gallon res. I certainly can't carry 50+ lbs of water so I'd be breaking the wick every time I pick up the pot. It's an excellent low maintenance approach for someone who just wants to grow outside in a SWICK (@FelipeBlu grew monsters in hempy outside a few years ago) but I think I'm going to stick with the more basic all-in-one approach for now.

for detailed idea though. I'm sure it's a fit for someone out there!

 

[Pondwater]

Wow my memory is crap and I miss my pc I can’t keep up on these phones , what twist life has eh
I got an invite to this thread didn’t even see it I’m honored lol

My conclusion is swick on small scale is of benefit it’s good works well but when you get to 10 gallons or more and can’t move them easily salt builds up fast and my bed I wasn’t able to move 100gal so I had to rebuild the entire bed to move it and ditch the soil

At least on a sip which I am going to do and stay at I can ditch the water much more easily if needed plus there is no perlite for the salt to build in ,which in 17 washes in ro water and gypsum to bind the salt off is still reading at 150ppm so ditched it in garden

I am figuring out now howmuch soil I actually need for a sip organic

 

[Carmen Ray]

Wow my memory is crap and I miss my pc I can’t keep up on these phones , what twist life has eh
I got an invite to this thread didn’t even see it I’m honored lol

My conclusion is swick on small scale is of benefit it’s good works well but when you get to 10 gallons or more and can’t move them easily salt builds up fast and my bed I wasn’t able to move 100gal so I had to rebuild the entire bed to move it and ditch the soil

At least on a sip which I am going to do and stay at I can ditch the water much more easily if needed plus there is no perlite for the salt to build in ,which in 17 washes in ro water and gypsum to bind the salt off is still reading at 150ppm so ditched it in garden

I am figuring out now howmuch soil I actually need for a sip organic

Wow Pondwater! Welcome and thank you for your insight.

 

[Hash Hound]

this a test comparison of a bucket with wick plate insert vs in ground both three weeks in.

zuccs 2023 (1).JPG

• Hash Hound
• Jun 12, 2023

zuccs 2023 (2).JPG

• Hash Hound
• Jun 12, 2023

 

[Carmen Ray]

this a test comparison of a bucket with wick plate insert vs in ground both three weeks in.

zuccs 2023 (1).JPG

• Hash Hound
• Jun 12, 2023

zuccs 2023 (2).JPG

• Hash Hound
• Jun 12, 2023

Hi HH, nice work! What kind of wick plate insert are you using in the buckets this time?

 

[Hash Hound]

This one came with 1/2" rope wicks that didn't survive the grow two years ago. The poly core was still there but the cotton outer wrap was eaten away in the dirt. I bought some 3/8" sash cord, same type poly/cotton. Last year I used four instead of two which worked well so I'm using the same this year.

One could probably pack those riser tubes with soil or perlite to use as a SIP

wick plate (3).jpg

• Hash Hound
• Sep 8, 2022

wick plate (2).jpg

• Hash Hound
• Sep 8, 2022

 

[013]

Brought down my Wedding Cake 1 clone SWICK on Saturday.

Honestly I prefer SWICK over SIP but under my own terms. I love a good project but I hate to cut up more good shit up to accomplish the goal. I’ve got enough bastardized buckets, drilled for hempy or whatever special purpose. Anywho imho the best SWICK is a simple cloth pot on aeration. I hate the shitty mess of perlite too but use pumice instead. I recycle and reuse my pumice…


Dr Bronners Gold Gray Peppermint Cat-Piss Swamp Water… well water, Dr Bronners Peppermint hemp oil soap, mosquito bits, Leonardite, Neem seed meal, greensand, Down to Earth 5-4-2, FF sledgehammer, FF root drench, FF microbe brew, great white, real growers recharge, bokashi.

swamp water

58CD6A00-B805-4B5D-B21B-86120A9E1207.jpeg

• 013
• Apr 5, 2023

shaken not stirred

124050AD-B63C-46C4-8473-DD0A6288CB94.jpeg

• 013
• Apr 5, 2023

she’s eating organics like there’s no tomoz

E19C0045-7B2A-4516-9D6E-7B5B79920682.jpeg

• 013
• May 11, 2023

I fed the shite out of this SWICK so much that it literally dammed the pumice up in the reservoir because of all the sediments in the feed water got compacted. At one point I had tiny white bits floating in the res, it looked like 1/4 long fine root hair. Suspect it was some kind of water borne worm, they actually grew week by week and were about 3/4‘s of an inch long. One watering cycle I refreshed the Neem oil and they disappeared.

D7F7E1C5-3570-4733-925B-36CA5323D47B.jpeg

• 013
• Jun 14, 2023

1500 grams fresh harvest

CCD5D457-ED9F-4058-AA12-D64441E17BF1.jpeg

• 013
• Jun 14, 2023

my next experiment will be feeding liquid fish into SWICK reservoir. After the WC1 clone I’m pretty sure liquid fish will pose no problems

In conclusion I love my SWICK and am sending massive thanks to Carmen for sharing the love and information. Thanks Carmen Ray!!!

 

[Pondwater]

Brought down my Wedding Cake 1 clone SWICK on Saturday.

Honestly I prefer SWICK over SIP but under my own terms. I love a good project but I hate to cut up more good shit up to accomplish the goal. I’ve got enough bastardized buckets, drilled for hempy or whatever special purpose. Anywho imho the best SWICK is a simple cloth pot on aeration. I hate the shitty mess of perlite too but use pumice instead. I recycle and reuse my pumice…


Dr Bronners Gold Gray Peppermint Cat-Piss Swamp Water… well water, Dr Bronners Peppermint hemp oil soap, mosquito bits, Leonardite, Neem seed meal, greensand, Down to Earth 5-4-2, FF sledgehammer, FF root drench, FF microbe brew, great white, real growers recharge, bokashi.

swamp water

58CD6A00-B805-4B5D-B21B-86120A9E1207.jpeg

• 013
• Apr 5, 2023

shaken not stirred

124050AD-B63C-46C4-8473-DD0A6288CB94.jpeg

• 013
• Apr 5, 2023

she’s eating organics like there’s no tomoz

E19C0045-7B2A-4516-9D6E-7B5B79920682.jpeg

• 013
• May 11, 2023

I fed the shite out of this SWICK so much that it literally dammed the pumice up in the reservoir because of all the sediments in the feed water got compacted. At one point I had tiny white bits floating in the res, it looked like 1/4 long fine root hair. Suspect it was some kind of water borne worm, they actually grew week by week and were about 3/4‘s of an inch long. One watering cycle I refreshed the Neem oil and they disappeared.

D7F7E1C5-3570-4733-925B-36CA5323D47B.jpeg

• 013
• Jun 14, 2023

1500 grams fresh harvest

CCD5D457-ED9F-4058-AA12-D64441E17BF1.jpeg

• 013
• Jun 14, 2023

my next experiment will be feeding liquid fish into SWICK reservoir. After the WC1 clone I’m pretty sure liquid fish will pose no problems

In conclusion I love my SWICK and am sending massive thanks to Carmen for sharing the love and information. Thanks Carmen Ray!!!

How many gal soil did u do ?
Do you feed dr broners to the soil?? Really?

If like to hear more in-depth about what you do , seems a lil quick list and off, don’t be shy to do bigger post ,I was hoping more

Them buds look killer man, what lighting do you have ?

 

[InTheShed]

I’m pretty sure liquid fish will pose no problems

Dan Aykroyd already solved that for you!

 

[Carmen Ray]

Brought down my Wedding Cake 1 clone SWICK on Saturday.

Honestly I prefer SWICK over SIP but under my own terms. I love a good project but I hate to cut up more good shit up to accomplish the goal. I’ve got enough bastardized buckets, drilled for hempy or whatever special purpose. Anywho imho the best SWICK is a simple cloth pot on aeration. I hate the shitty mess of perlite too but use pumice instead. I recycle and reuse my pumice…


Dr Bronners Gold Gray Peppermint Cat-Piss Swamp Water… well water, Dr Bronners Peppermint hemp oil soap, mosquito bits, Leonardite, Neem seed meal, greensand, Down to Earth 5-4-2, FF sledgehammer, FF root drench, FF microbe brew, great white, real growers recharge, bokashi.

swamp water

58CD6A00-B805-4B5D-B21B-86120A9E1207.jpeg

• 013
• Apr 5, 2023

shaken not stirred

124050AD-B63C-46C4-8473-DD0A6288CB94.jpeg

• 013
• Apr 5, 2023

she’s eating organics like there’s no tomoz

E19C0045-7B2A-4516-9D6E-7B5B79920682.jpeg

• 013
• May 11, 2023

I fed the shite out of this SWICK so much that it literally dammed the pumice up in the reservoir because of all the sediments in the feed water got compacted. At one point I had tiny white bits floating in the res, it looked like 1/4 long fine root hair. Suspect it was some kind of water borne worm, they actually grew week by week and were about 3/4‘s of an inch long. One watering cycle I refreshed the Neem oil and they disappeared.

D7F7E1C5-3570-4733-925B-36CA5323D47B.jpeg

• 013
• Jun 14, 2023

1500 grams fresh harvest

CCD5D457-ED9F-4058-AA12-D64441E17BF1.jpeg

• 013
• Jun 14, 2023

my next experiment will be feeding liquid fish into SWICK reservoir. After the WC1 clone I’m pretty sure liquid fish will pose no problems

In conclusion I love my SWICK and am sending massive thanks to Carmen for sharing the love and information. Thanks Carmen Ray!!!

You're very welcome 013! Did you ever try a swicky pad instead of pumice? Did your medium smell bad? Mine went septic. Congrats on the great harvest!

 

[013]

How many gal soil did u do ?
Do you feed dr broners to the soil?? Really?

If like to hear more in-depth about what you do , seems a lil quick list and off, don’t be shy to do bigger post ,I was hoping more

Them buds look killer man, what lighting do you have ?

Hey Pondwater! these are big square smart pots think its from Geoflora but won as MOTM prize here at 420, they are 7 gallon grow bags. Using a local bagged soil with 40% rice hulls for silica, aeration and of course for the wicking properties.

yep Dr Bronners in the feed water… I’m going to link up a bigger blurp I wrote on the SIP thread…
Link to 013 over at AZI’s SIP club <<< but using organic / organish.. feeds mostly Down to Earth 5-4-2, Leonardite, Neem Seedmeal, kelp flakes. Real Growers recharge, dynamyco, liquid fish shit, mosquito bits, pinch of sulfur…. there’s a lot goop in my feed water some is floating and there’s plenty thats settled on the bottom. I shake it well and she guzzles it down.

for this plant since it was Christmas tree style… my tent has 4 of the 2 tube T5 fixtures with LED converter bulbs one fixture in each corner think they are rated 54 watts per fixture 208 watts total , plus a CMH 315 watt overhead. I had to keep the 315 dialed down low so it wouldn’t burn top colas.

I’ve also got 2 Mars Hydro 250 watts and an ViparSpectra 150 in the other rooms

plus I did some spare cola training…. i took about 7 or 8 of the bottom colas and stripped off all the growth tips. All those fans leaves with their stored up nutes just waiting on standby. this WC1 clone didn’t even fade a single leaf all thru flower cycle….

you can skim thru last few pages of my journal, I don’t update a lot so it’s fast read for reals

 

[013]

Dan Aykroyd already solved that for you!

Hey Shed!
Ahh Dan the Man Ackroyd, long before the word smoothie came into play.

You're very welcome 013! Did you ever try a swicky pad instead of pumice? Did your medium smell bad? Mine went septic. Congrats on the great harvest!

Hey Carmen, nope I did not use a swick pad, the grow media smells ok, but the res water is NASTY!

The plant didn’t seem to care tho… When I watered the res I saw what looked like tiny white worms. At first I thought it was fine root hairs that broke loose from the plant. But now I’m positive there were water borne critters growing in the res. Each time when I filled the res they came floating up. They grew from 1/4 inch long up to about 3/4ths of an inch. I saw one contract it’s body so I knew there were critters living in there. I wanted to try to suck one up into a 100 mil syringe to shoot with digital mini microscope but never did. I refreshed the Neem oil in the res water and they died off but they were alive for about 5 weeks during middle of flower cycle.

This harvest would not have been possible without your help Carmen!

I’m a SWICKer now, it’s so simple, there’s no build required, no more hacked up, drilled out buckets… smart pot of soil sitting on larger container of pumice, it doesn’t get any easier & results are phenomenal

 

[InTheShed]

Hey all, just wanted to report back on my double walled perlite SWICK. I upcanned from the 1 gallon pot (seen here) to a 5 gallon bucket a little less than two weeks ago (build here), and it's growing really well. Here it was on transplant day:

20230604_190725 5KC SWICK upcan day 34.jpg

• InTheShed
• Jun 5, 2023

5 Killer Cookies transplant

I topped it 3 days later, and here it was this morning, 11 days since upcan:

20230615_085549 5KC day 45.jpg

• InTheShed
• Jun 15, 2023

5 Killer Cookies - day 45

It takes about 3/4 gallon a day now in veg with barely any sun in June, so flower is gonna be a wild ride.
Other than the weight (which only matters if it gets carried in and out twice a day like mine) it's a stellar grow so far. Carmen for creating a place to spread the SWICK word!

 

[Carmen Ray]

Hey Shed!
Ahh Dan the Man Ackroyd, long before the word smoothie came into play.


Hey Carmen, nope I did not use a swick pad, the grow media smells ok, but the res water is NASTY!

I can imagine

The plant didn’t seem to care tho… When I watered the res I saw what looked like tiny white worms. At first I thought it was fine root hairs that broke loose from the plant. But now I’m positive there were water borne critters growing in the res. Each time when I filled the res they came floating up. They grew from 1/4 inch long up to about 3/4ths of an inch. I saw one contract it’s body so I knew there were critters living in there. I wanted to try to suck one up into a 100 mil syringe to shoot with digital mini microscope but never did. I refreshed the Neem oil in the res water and they died off but they were alive for about 5 weeks during middle of flower cycle.

sounds horrible lmao!

This harvest would not have been possible without your help Carmen!

I'm glad I could help 013.

I’m a SWICKer now, it’s so simple, there’s no build required, no more hacked up, drilled out buckets… smart pot of soil sitting on larger container of pumice, it doesn’t get any easier & results are phenomenal

Hey all, just wanted to report back on my double walled perlite SWICK. I upcanned from the 1 gallon pot (seen here) to a 5 gallon bucket a little less than two weeks ago (build here), and it's growing really well. Here it was on transplant day:

20230604_190725 5KC SWICK upcan day 34.jpg

• InTheShed
• Jun 5, 2023

5 Killer Cookies transplant

I topped it 3 days later, and here it was this morning, 11 days since upcan:

20230615_085549 5KC day 45.jpg

• InTheShed
• Jun 15, 2023

5 Killer Cookies - day 45

It takes about 3/4 gallon a day now in veg with barely any sun in June, so flower is gonna be a wild ride.
Other than the weight (which only matters if it gets carried in and out twice a day like mine) it's a stellar grow so far. Carmen for creating a place to spread the SWICK word!

You're very welcome Shed, and thank you for sharing your build and progress here!

 

[StratRider]

I was fascinated by the SIP thread which referenced this thread along the way.
Since I had just started another auto my usual way - 3 gallon cloth pot with coco/perlite & amendments and normally top fed, I decided switching it to a Swick would be easier than a SIP.

Preferring to use items I already own whenever possible, I took a 10 gallon bucket and cut about 4" off the bottom to use as the reservoir for water, filled it with washed 1/2" and smaller lava rock, piled an inch or so of coco from a previous grow on to one side creating a mound higher than the reservoir and large enough to set the 3 gallon cloth pot onto while keeping it out of the water.
Next, I made up 2 gallons of nute rich water (EC at 1.1 and pH 6.2) in a 5 gallon bucket and lowered the 3 gallon pot into it. The auto was started in this container and already had 2 nodes by gently top watering.
This pot absorbed about 1.5 gallons and still kept the top half inch dry. I could tell it was soaked because the coco around the stalk where I had been watering was wicking and now super wet.
Pulling this out of the bucket and placing it on its new throne to drain worked great and then poured the remainder into the lava rock reservoir.
3 days later and that moist ring around the stalk still remains moist with the rest of the top layer dry and the sides of the cloth pot cool and moist, so I am calling this a wicking success as I watch the water level in the reservoir slowly drop. I hadn't seen one done like this yet but I assume this should be labeled a Swick.

Two things have come to mind now:
1) If it gets in trouble and needs flushing or has a nute deficiency, I can easily correct that by dropping the soft pot into a 5 gallon bucket of whatever it needs for a few minutes.
2) I am concerned with the pH in the reservoir not staying at the low 6 area. In a day or so it tends to rise back up to the original 8.3 of my dechlorinated tap water. Wondering if I should be concerned about that or not?

 

[Azimuth]

I like it! But why the fill tube, for checking the water level perhaps?

 

[StratRider]

I like it! But why the fill tube, for checking the water level perhaps?

Exactly.
When I get my next batch of seeds, I'll do a SIP and another like this to compare, but that will be months away.
This is a closet grow also.