Sub-irrigation (SIPs) = Simple Hydroponics. In a prior post about the TEDxManhattan How to Cultivate a Logo video, I called the TEDx logo planter a hydroponic lettuce grower. How come? As revealed in the video it is clearly a sub-irrigated planter aka SIP (prior posts). Actually, it’s both. The logo planter is a SIP as well as a simple form of hydroponics without an air pump. If the public is confused by all of the terminology used for various forms of food growing systems it is no surprise. We have an overabundance of names for a variety of systems for growing plants. Pared down to the basics however, just about all of them are variants of hydroponic growing even though we use different names for them.
Sub-irrigation (aka SIPs) is an accurate term for systems that use solid (i.e. soil) media contained over the top of a water and oxygen reservoir system. 1. 2. With the emerging popularity of aquaponics (prior posts), hydroponics is gaining a more family-friendly image. Back to hydroponics SIPs. Let’s Make 2-Liter SIPs! Photo: Rachel Glass My mom and I have really been expanding our gardening knowledge lately. Though there is a lot more to learn, we have been sharing that gardening knowledge with kids and families in our community. When we were asked to teach children at a special event sponsored by the AUA (Advocates for Urban Agriculture) and Hull House, we decided to teach a workshop on making SIPs. A SIP is a Sub Irrigated Planter. Sub meaning bottom, irrigated meaning watered, and planter meaning… well you know.
So a SIP is a planter watered from the bottom. “First the water at the bottom of the SIP is wicked or sucked up by the fabric. After teaching the Becker girls (above) how to make SIPs I took a quick break. My mom and I invented the seed match game so people could learn what seeds go to which plants. The Becker girls extraordinarily (unlike some other kids I’ve taught) seemed to want to learn more about gardening.
Please download and share! Little Green Girl. Homemade 2-Liter SIPs Growing Kale. Make Your Own Pop Bottle Drip Irrigation System | You Grow Girl. The last time I forgot to water my outdoor potted plants and discovered them completely wilted and hanging on the cusp of near death, I decided it was time to take action. Some of the plants on my deck receive a full, searing sun all day long during the hottest mid summer days. While these plants thrive under such conditions if properly taken care of, they will die quickly if they don’t receive enough water.
Although it has been unusually rainy this year in these parts, full sun deck plants will still get extremely hot and dry very quickly. One of the best ways to provide a steady water supply to your plants without your constant attention is the gradual watering system or drip irrigation. Through this method a device is employed that slowly delivers water into the soil directly around the roots. The materials you will need are as follows: 2 litre plastic soda bottle or water bottle that still has the lidDrill and small drill bitSharp knifeCutting surface. SIP- sub irrigation planters. Paul Wheaton on the Elimination of Irrigation. Paul Wheaton from Permies.com Yes you read the title correctly, elimination, not alternative, not creative, elimination.
Can irrigation truly be eliminated? In my view absolutely, at least in many instances and one of our all time most popular guests Paul Wheaton returns to TSP to discuss exactly how to do it. Join us today as we discuss swales, key line systems, terraces, hugelkultur, and over a dozen other ways plants get water in natural systems. Irrigation is one of the most costly components of modern agriculture, it is also depleting one of most precious life giving resources, water. The good news is many of them can be done in your own back yard, some are simple and others are complex but just by making a pile of rocks, burying some rotting wood or moving around a bit of soil you can vastly reduce your personal irrigation requirements.
Join Paul and I Today as we discuss… Additional Resources for Today’s Show. You Grow Girl | Make Your Own Pop Bottle Irrigation System.