Inside Urban Green

Simple Sub-irrigation Using Poly Wicking Material

It was interesting to see this capillary liner on the Garden.com website. It is sold as a replacement part for their "self-watering" patio planters. I'm guessing that the flap in the center is meant to be poked up through a drain hole.

I use polyester batting (or felt) material instead of capillary matting. It is one of the easiest ways to make sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). I call them aquapads.

Use Pellon Thermolam Plus - No. TP970 or equivalent. Here's a spec sheet thanks to Tamra Van at Pellon (tamra.van [AT] pellonusa.com).(toll free) 877-817-0944 ShopPellon.com

Buy a bolt or a yard but buy some.

All container plant growers should have some of this material. It has excellent capillarity and is sustainable. Simply wash it in a diluted bleach solution. I do it all the time.

Photos of more ways to use it are on the way. Stay tuned.

via www.garden.com

Capillary Liner for Self Watering Baskets

Conserves Water

Replacement capillary liner for use with the Self Watering Hanging Basket and the Self Watering Patio Planters. Available in 12" or 14"

Aquapad Capillary Mat Sub-irrigation

In my experience, recycled pop bottle planters are the best way to learn about sub-irrigation (aka self-watering). Once you get the hang of it, capillary matting is another simple way to sub-irrigate using any watertight planter.

This American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) research report extols the benefits of capillary mats for retailers. I have been using capillary mat sub-irrigation in a slightly different way for many years. I call it the aquapad method.  

Simply install a folded pad of polyester batting material at the bottom of any watertight cachepot be it plastic, ceramic, melamine or metal. I use Pellon Thermolam Plus, a 100% polyester washable fleece batting material widely available in fabric stores. I bought it at Wal-Mart. It works just as well as more expensive capillary matting. 

Incidentally, you can even use aquapads with clay pots. First, make the clay pot watertight by plugging the drain hole with caulking material and spraying the inside with tree-wound paint.

Note that there are three components to this system: 1. a watertight cachepot to create a "reservoir, 2. the aquapad at the bottom to facilitate wicking (capillary action), 3. the plant in a plastic grow pot with holes at the bottom.

The plant in a grow pot sits inside the cachepot with the aquapad under it. A measured amount of water then rises by capillary action in a perfectly uniform distribution throughout the root system and soil mass.