SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)

Nwtexan said:
Ok, almost finished the planter using 31 gallon totes.... And have almost made it through the thread--Whew, that's a lot of posts!Will post a couple of pics tomorrow. I have a couple of questions.
-For those of you using living/no till soil, anything special you need to do/or do regularly?
-should I use a cover crop(clover) or use a cover/plastic over the top?
-I notice that some people put the lids(with the middle cut out) over the top. Wouldn't this stop air from getting down into the reservoir? I have the overflow connected to a tube going to a bucket, do there aren't currently any air holes on the sides.
-I know @Tim Fox doesn't like to use cloth at the bottom of the grow medium. I'm leaning that way. Any strong opinions for?
-I have very low mineral well water(around 75PPM) and about 40 of that is Calcium. I see that a lot of folks were using Calmag in some form or another, especially if using RO water. mine is pretty close to that. should I be using Calmag?

I've got 4 clones that will be going in the 2 30 gallons. They are currently in 3G fabric pots. I'll transplant as soon as I feel solid on my soil.
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There has to be a hole to the outside and the hole has to be in the air gap, the air gap is important, more so fresh air needs to be able get into that gap
 
Tim Fox said:
There has to be a hole to the outside and the hole has to be in the air gap, the air gap is important, more so fresh air needs to be able get into that gap
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I know that in the earthtainer build guide he talks about the sides between the tubs being the air gap.
 
Nwtexan said:
I know that in the earthtainer build guide he talks about the sides between the tubs being the air gap.
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sure, that is a gap, but in order for the air gap to do its intended purpose it has to be under the soil and above the water line of the Res the gap makes it so the roots have to jump over the gap,, ( many roots also go right down the wicks also), but the air gap roots will provide massive oxygen to the roots , just like what would happen in hydro,, the gap is usually at least 1 inch,, air gap on the side would not provide any air to the roots , unless there was 2 air gaps,, the side and underneath,, then you would have more available oxygen in that case,,, one reason to have a hole to the outside of the sip at the lower air gap level is to push and pull new air into the air gap cavity each time the water level rises and falls with fillings
 
I've got a question for you Tim. After each cycle, do you remove your soil from the sip, to clean out the reservoir and remove the old roots?
 
GrassBurner said:
I've got a question for you Tim. After each cycle, do you remove your soil from the sip, to clean out the reservoir and remove the old roots?
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Yes I do, my wife gets the soil for her outdoor gardens (and the gardens love it) and I mix up a new batch of soil every grow I clean out the res and remove all roots , but I have seen on earth box grow video on youtube where they pull out the root ball as best they can and reamend the soil with dry nutes and replant, but it was geared for people growing vegetables, but if you like to reuse your soil I would still dump it in a wheel barrow and get out the roots and reamend the soil in the wheel barrow and put back into the sip, that's how I roll , but there are many ways to build a mouse trap
 
Awesome, I appreciate it!! Thats exactly what I'll do. Dump it, remove the roots, add my dry ammendments, clean res, and fill it back up :blsmoke:
 
Tim Fox said:
sure, that is a gap, but in order for the air gap to do its intended purpose it has to be under the soil and above the water line of the Res the gap makes it so the roots have to jump over the gap,, ( many roots also go right down the wicks also), but the air gap roots will provide massive oxygen to the roots , just like what would happen in hydro,, the gap is usually at least 1 inch,, air gap on the side would not provide any air to the roots , unless there was 2 air gaps,, the side and underneath,, then you would have more available oxygen in that case,,, one reason to have a hole to the outside of the sip at the lower air gap level is to push and pull new air into the air gap cavity each time the water level rises and falls with fillings
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Thanks Tim. I understand. Probably should have posted pics first as I’m muddying the waters. I actually have a hole creating a 1” air gap. This hole is connected to a hose running into a bucket to catch overflow. So the air gap is there and in theory there is quite a bit of airflow into this gap from the space between the two tubs on the side. My concern, or more accurately, query, was that if you latch the top on, especially with plastic over lower tub, you are covering up the main source for air.

I built both tubs slightly different. One has a single wick and the other has 2, spaced out evenly. I figured I could see which performed better as I’m running 4 clones.
I also ordered some cover crop and was considering doing that on one and covering the other, again to see what might perform best
 
Ive left the gap between the 2 totes alone,shade from leaves stops light getting in.Keeping my tote lid on I get a small dry spot from the gap where I cut the lid.
I would do 2 wicks in ea,plants will pull as they need.one directly under ea plant.
 
Lids vs cover crop,Id go lids keeps the humidity up on the surface.After top dressing the EWC stays soft.If it drys at all it goes hard and stops working.
 
Tim Fox said:
build a soil is good stuff,, for sure
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Well I'm just starting out organic, but I'm glad I was turned on to them. I've been using their ewc, craft blend, and grokashi for veg. I've just gotten their build a flower and build a bloom for flower, and I'm waiting on my earth box and barley straw. I'm gonna get bas 3.0 for the earth box and turn it into no till, if all goes well. Lol
 
Yeah thats what I was thinking. I believe it was you that posted a pic with the reservoir full of roots, thats a lot of plant matter. It will be nice to see, and compare root masses between grows as well.
 
GrassBurner said:
I'm just worried about the old roots in the reservoir rotting and getting the water funky. Is this a valid concern? Cleaning one out once every 4 months isn't bad.
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I would take roots out of res, but you can leave the ones in the soil for no till. They'll eventually break down and add nutrition back to the soil. At least I believe that's how it works. Lol
 
Yeah the only way to get to my res, is by removing the soil. Im not sure how the Earthboxes work, I use one called the "Patio Picker". A big plastic "shelf" with tons of square holes sits above the res, and the corners are open to pack in the soil columns that wick the moisture. Then you fill the whole thing up with soil.
Probably a good idea to take the soil from the corners that has been saturated so long, and put it back into my soil outside? I've still got a few cubic feet in my pile of fresh soil out there.
 
GrassBurner said:
Yeah the only way to get to my res, is by removing the soil. Im not sure how the Earthboxes work, I use one called the "Patio Picker". A big plastic "shelf" with tons of square holes sits above the res, and the corners are open to pack in the soil columns that wick the moisture. Then you fill the whole thing up with soil.
Probably a good idea to take the soil from the corners that has been saturated so long, and put it back into my soil outside? I've still got a few cubic feet in my pile of fresh soil out there.
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Shit you're right. Earth boxes need the soil removed also. I'm gonna ask Jeremy about removing the roots from the res and see what he says. He pulled a root mass from the soil from a previous run and he said you can just leave it in there, so I don't know now.
 
Hollatchaboy said:
I would take roots out of res, but you can leave the ones in the soil for no till. They'll eventually break down and add nutrition back to the soil. At least I believe that's how it works. Lol
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I think ideally you cycle the sips,so after cleaning the res out put it a side with water in it and let it cook.You need space though and I aint got it lol.
 
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