![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Admiring-Cannabis-Plant-1.jpg\")
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Leading cannabis horticulture authority Ed Rosenthal has released a new book that delivers useful ideas for starting your own homegrown, like this except about creating a wick system. \u201cAsk Ed: Marijuana Success<\/a>\u201d allows the reader to join Rosenthal in his backyard experiments and large commercial cannabis consultation work through questions submitted to his longstanding \u201cAsk Ed\u201d column. <\/em><\/p>\n The wick container system is an easy way to\u00a0garden<\/a>\u00a0because it\u2019s self-watering and removes the uncertainty of when to water. It requires far less care than hand watering, and it\u2019s simple, fast to assemble and inexpensive to set up.<\/p>\n The wick system is based on capillary action. One example of this is a tissue drawing up water from a puddle. The system we set up works on the same principle. Instead of tissue, we use braided nylon rope.\u00a0<\/p>\n Starting from the bottom, we need a tray that\u2019s at least three inches deep and wide enough to support the plant container. The wider the container, the deeper the tray should be. For instance, with a 6-foot container, I use a 10-inch-deep tray, but with small containers, the tray is only 3\u20135 inches deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n Next, we need some blocks to hold the container a few inches above the tray. Some possibilities are 2\u2032 \u00d7 4\u2032 or 4\u2032 \u00d7 4\u2032 boards, Styrofoam blocks, or an inverted plastic tray.<\/p>\n The container is next. Select the same size container that you would normally use. I\u2019ve used this system with four-inch containers and eight-foot-wide soft containers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Next is the wick. Nylon braided rope draws up water very well. These wicks last for a long time. I\u2019ve used some more than 10 years. Select the wick size. The larger the container, the thicker the wick should be. A small container needs only a \u00bc-inch wick, while a large container, which is deeper than the small, can use wicks up to \u00be inches. Wider containers should have more wicks, so water is drawn across the entire bottom of the container by the wicks.<\/p>\n Next, the planting mix goes into the container. Once the water is drawn up the wick to the bottom of the soil level, the soil starts wicking it up vertically 8\u201310 inches. Many mixes are able to draw the moisture up, so try your favorite first. You probably have already seen the soil mix wicking when you watered a plant and excess water dripped into the tray below. A while later, the water disappeared as it was pulled up into the planting mix. The wick system works in the same way.<\/p>\n Place the wood or plastic supports in the tray.<\/p>\n Measure and cut the wick. It should start at the bottom of the tray, go through the drain hole in the container and stretch across the container bottom to the drainage hole on the other side and down to the bottom of the tray. The rope tends to fray at the ends. To prevent this, before you cut, use two twist ties, one for each end of the rope, to hold it in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the container is wide, use two wicks, one in each set of two opposite holes. You may have to drill holes in wider containers, such as kiddie pools or wide trays. Figure that each wick drop covers about two square feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fill the container with planting mix.<\/p>\n Plant the\u00a0plant<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0seeds<\/a>.<\/p>\n To start, add water to the container until it starts to drip into the tray.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fill the tray with water.<\/p>\n Refill the tray as it loses water. You can also water the container from the top once in a while.<\/p>\n The planting mix absorbs water from the wick automatically as the plant uses it.<\/p>\n This system can be automated. By placing a reservoir above the container level and placing a flush valve in the tray, the water level can be maintained for a longer time.<\/p>\n A number of trays can be connected to a reservoir so the whole garden is irrigated just by filling the reservoir. The advantage to this system is that each tray receives water only as it needs it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Excerpted from \u201cAsk Ed: Marijuana Success<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, have these uncertain times piqued your interest in growing your own marijuana?<\/p>\n The post Building a Wick System: An Easy Way to Grow<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Leading cannabis horticulture authority Ed Rosenthal has released a new book that delivers useful ideas for starting your own homegrown, like this except about creating a wick system. \u201cAsk Ed: Marijuana Success\u201d allows the reader to join Rosenthal in his backyard experiments and large commercial cannabis consultation work through questionsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":42151,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13543,50,5,3496,553],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42152,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42150\/revisions\/42152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Building](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Admiring-Cannabis-Plant.jpg\")
Equipment Needed to Build a Wick System\u00a0<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wick-Trays.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wooden-Slats.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wick-container-to-be-filled.jpg\")
Installation<\/h4>\n
![\"Building](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wick-System-Filled-Up.jpg\")
Maintenance<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wick-System-Connected.jpg\")
Options\u00a0<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Building a Wick System: An Easy Way to Grow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"