Automated Watering System Using a "Wick"

[Paradoxic]

This is a guide on how to create a watering system that will keep the proper moisture for your plant without regular watering.

Ok, in order to do this you need a large pot, preferably clay but plastic works too. It should be at least 4 or 5 gallons, and up to 11 gallons. Use the biggest pot practical because Salvia doesn't like being transferred.

You will need ¼" polyester rope, get enough to spiral through the inside of your pot, plus a little extra. Soak the entire rope in water for 10 min. Then feed the rope through the bottom of the pot so there is only 1-2 feet of rope hanging out the bottom. Put a couple inches of your soil in the bottom of the pot. Spiral the rope laying it on the soil about 1-2 inches from the rim of the pot. When you meet the other end of the rope put another layer of soil on top.

Repeat this until you are close to the height you will plant your clone/cutting. Hold your clone where you want it and continue placing dirt and spiraling your rope around it (make sure not to have the rope touch your clone). Cover the rest of the rope up with soil, you may cut some of the excess rope off if its necessary.

Take the other end of the rope hanging out the bottom of the pot and feed it through a platform of some sort (that the pot will sit on) and into a container. Fill the container with either water or a fertilizer solution. Keep the water level close to the bottom of the pot, the closer it is the more efficient it will be. Give the plant a good watering to start the system.

Sources
Entheogen.com

[Arcygenical]

If you don't want to use the wick method, you can do what I do. Purchase a single Troph Blumat Jr for each 8" pot (2 of them for a 10" pot and over)

http://www.tradewindsgarden.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=191

They'll draw water up a good 15" before they run out of suction power!

[Paradoxic]

Thats pretty sweet, I've never seen those before. Seems a lot easier to just to that than make your own, heheh.

Have you used one yourself?

[Arcygenical]

Yep, I've got four used with my parent plants. I'll snap a pic tomorrow.

[tcamdg]

has anyone tried using polymer in the soil?

[Paradoxic]

Oh yeah...I once read a guide about using that with Salvia:
http://www.evenmo.com/growing-salvia-divinorum.html
..Never tried it though. Someone should definitely try it and post about how it goes.

[Savagedryad]

I've tried this and havent had much luck with it.  The rope was kind of a loose weave poly and it didnt seem to want to stay moist.  Making it shorter and putting it in a smaller basin seemed to help.  Personaly I think it would have worked better with a finer rope.

I've gone back to normal watering for the moment.  Still I would like to get it working.

[Paradoxic]

Hmm, it seems like a thick, firm rope would work best. Thats unfortunate yours didn't work well, you're one of the first people I've heard from that has tried it.

Welcome to Salvia Source.

[Savagedryad]

"fine" isn't quite the right word.  I think the problem was the rope wasn't very spongy.  It was very coarse not so absorbant.  So when I said finer I mean made of finer fiber.. not thinner overall. 

Glad to be here!  I look forward to talking to everyone!

[Darty]

Are you sure you got polyester rope and not Polypropylene? The latter is coarse to the touch and does not soak up the water, while the former (the one you want) is soft and slightly spongy in feel and soaks up water immediately. Just looking at them they can look alike, but polypropylene is usually yellow and polyester is usually white, but they do come in many different colours. Polyester is typically more expensive too, I've found.

[Savagedryad]

Well that would be the problem then.  You just described exactly what I got.    Dumb hardware store had it labled as polyester.  The stuff I wanted they had labled as Nylon.  Grrr!

[tcamdg]

they probably had it labeled correctly. these materials come in different forms.

[Synchronium]

Do you think that soaking the rope in a fertilizer solution first could also help slowly feed the plant?