Can someone give me a site to explain it -- or explain it in teeny tiny words please?? My poor AV's HATE me.... nobody wants to bloom
Wick Watering
Wick watering uses a piece of thick, absorbant, braided rope as a wick to draw water from a reservoir up into the pot where the plant lives. You need a wick about 4 inches long, so the upper part can be buried in the middle of your AV pot and the lower part can extend into a deep saucer or dish. The woman who runs The Violet Carousel in W-S, NC swears by this method. She uses margerine tubs for reservoirs under her AV pots, with a slit cut in the lid to allow the wick to pass through and into the water. She gave me several pieces of the wicking she uses, but she says she can no longer find it... I don't know if ordinary cotton clothesline might work? I've been thinking of trying strips of this super-absorbant "miracle microfiber" toweling (my Dad picked up a big piece of it at some home show) to see if they would work as wicks.
Just like self watering pots, wick watering seems to keep the soil fairly moist. Some AVs seem to prefer this, while others really seem to need to dry out more between waterings. With the self watering pots or the wicks, I use a very well draining soil mix that's at least half perlite.
I also have some baby AVs that I'm trying a capillary mat watering technique on. Nothing fancy, just a folded terrycloth bar towel set into a saucer/tray that was intended for a windowbox. The idea is that the potting mix continues to soak up a little moisture from the damp towel, but that it shouldn't be as wet as if the little pots were just sitting in a quarter inch of water.
I'm not sure any of this helps with the blooming issue. I'd try varying the amount of light, maybe a little extra fertilizer...
You can also use a variety of materials.I use a small nylon and cotton blend string I get at the local garden centers for about $3 a spool.The one I use is 3 ply and so I can unralvel it for smaller pots and just use one string for the wick.
You can also use old panty hose cut into small strips and yarn, like for knitting. I buy the small pint size cheap clear freezer containers and burn 2 holes in the top for the water container. One hole ( in the middle)is for the string and the other hole( in a corner)is to pour more water in the container.
I stick the string through the whole in the bottom and out the whole across from it, then tie it in a knot leaving a little excess string I can fray to lay inside the bottom of the pot.This keeps me from pulling the wick out of the pot when I move them around to check them.
Be sure you have a pretty light mix like CritterO says.
I add half and half of soil & perlite to my mix and don't use anything that has the mositure crystals in it.
The wick method has saved me lots of plants,especially from me over watering them!! lol
MsC
Could I water multiple plants this way- say I have 4 on each side of my server - could I put the water in the middle of the 4 pots with 4 wicks coming out of it?
This message was edited Jul 19, 2005 4:49 PM
Thanks for the better info, MsC!
Hmmm. I've only seen wick watering done where the water reservoir is below the level of the plant pot rather than next to the pot (I'm assuming you mean 4 pots with a water pot in their midst). I don't know for sure that it wouldn't work, though, so it's probably worth a try -- you'll figure it out fast enough, by checking to see if the wicks and the pots get moist. You could think about using one of those rectangular disposable containers, or even a pyrex pan or casserole dish with gravel & water in it (maybe some plastic wrap on top of the gravel to keep the water from evaporating too quickly).... even something that holds just half an inch of water should work.
Yes, you can do it the way CritterO is suggesting. It works out pretty well and many of the big AV growers use similar but larger type set ups.
Because I am so bad about over watering my AV's I've been trying different ways to water them too.
I have some with the pots of water right under them and then I use the water sip containers for some of the minis. I set up 3 trays for window boxes with small gravel and placed a wick in each pot then filled the gravel up with water just under the gravel surface. I set each pot down in the gravel making sure the wick was in the water below. Works pretty good so far.
I also added some Mosquito pellets to the gravel to ward off those pesky gnats. It's great way to increase humidity around the AV's, too.
I finally found a few of the AVwatering pots at Walley World and have some special named avrieties I'm going to set up in those to see how the do.
I have pots of AV's everywhere and you'd think I could find something that worked...lol
I'll add a pic of the window box thing later...it's cheap and easy to do.
MsC
edited :cause I can spell- but I can't type...lol
This message was edited Jul 19, 2005 6:52 PM
I use 3 ply nylon line and like MsC, I turn it into 1 or 2 ply depending on the pot. Nylon was recommended to me as it doesn't mold or break down. The string can go up the middle of the pot, or you can wrap it around the insides of the pot once or twice. Everyone does it slightly differently. I also use one reservoir for a bunch of pots. Remember to go even weaker on the fertilizer, and it's also good to flush the pots once in a while to remove salts and mineral buildup. If you can see encrustation on the soil surface (white or brown stuff), then repot more frequently into fresh potting mix.
wick watering makes it so easy!!!!
Oh yeah, I remembered something else to add to the discussion, just remember when you share watering methods like the gravel tray or shared water container, like mats etc, you can also share bugs and diseases very easy, the only down side I guess.
Of course if they all die from lack of water, bugs are not a big issue.lol
MsC
Anyones pets bother the water? I have a really annoying cat who drinks from the toilet and the sides of the shower...and yes he has a water bowl.. LOL!!!!
If you're using a reservoir with a lid, like a margerine tub or plastic storage container, it won't be an issue.
Blake's favorite water dish is the fish bowl! The betta is really "his" fish... and last month I got a snail for the betta... pet "ownership" is sorta linear-progressive around here, LOL.
My cat doesn't drink from the waterers, but she loves to swat at my leaves,which of course leaves nice lil pin prick wholes which turn brown, or she will rub her head on them real sweet like... I just about cringe when I see her do it cause she leaves cat hair on them.
Then the African Gray loves to help me prune them...off with those pesky flowers!
He likes to watch me water them and while I do that he washes his toys and says "ah pretty babies".
Pets ya gotta love em.
MsC
Wicking Bumps
Wick watering