Capillary Bed 2 0

[@CakeBomb74]

That part where you told the story about your mate and how he was explaining the watering issues and one of the 8 year olds just said "why not put 2 watering points in" I lost it, kids are so smart. Awesome video mate, genius idea!

[@underthechokotree2792]

My pleasure! :-)

[@chickentender4037]

Just discovered your channel looking for diy bokashi buckets. Now I'm binge watching your videos for creative, low cost solutions to every day gardening issues. So cool.

[@underthechokotree2792]

Thank you so much for your lovely comment!

[@judewright6651]

Great idea. I work in schools too. Drying out because you just can't get to them in time is always a problem and the kids never seem to remember to fill the bottles. I will be using this tip by next week.

[@underthechokotree2792]

Glad to be of service! :-)

[@speedbuggy16v]

Another option to give you an almost infinite variation of diameters and heights for different bottles would be PVC pipe, a drill, and some weed guard fabric around it to prevent the sand from infiltrating. I think I am even going to redo my raised beds with the idea of capillary watering and fertilization. My beds are 275 gallon IBC totes with the top foot cut off, inverted and bolted through the sides of the bottom section. Previously I was only using them in a water storage capacity with plants on top and a drip irrigation system on a timer. Now I think I will remove the soil, add a layer of weed guard, then sand, another layer of weed guard, then the soil on top. I gather rain water from my gutter system to fill them, add a bit of manure to make it a light dose of manure tea. If I redo it all I have to do is raise the water level and then I only have to check it probably once a week and top off if needed! I could even install another tote elevated above the others and use it as a bottle as long as I kept it sealed......

[@joinkansas7819]

Perfect! Answered all my questions from 1.0.

[@rudyj4559]

Why coarse sand specifically? What other mediums could be used? Garden soil? Is there a comparison of how sand is better than other mediums? Thx

[@underthechokotree2792]

Coarse sand is something already have on hand, and it allows the water to travel by capillary action well. Fine sand would not hold as much water because it packs more closely together so reduced interstices to be filled by water. I dunno how garden soil would work but I suspect it would pack down into a sludgey mess, plus may contain non-beneficial organisms, especially if it packs down and goes anaerobic. You could try perlite or vermiculite, but they are comparatively expensive and probably float instead of forming a bed, likewise cocopeat would hold the water but might also pack down. For me coarse sand is the cheapest, most easily available and best performing of the alternatives. If you give something else a go, pleas let me know how well it worked! :-)

[@rudyj4559]

@@underthechokotree2792 thanks for the detailed response. Much appreciated! I suppose if I choose a medium that's like the tiny pebbles in an aquarium, I may risk mosquitoes, trying to source coarse sand is probably the best option to avoid the mosquito issue

[@underthechokotree2792]

@@rudyj4559 I believe so, have you tried the local hardware for coarse river sand?

[@rudyj4559]

@@underthechokotree2792 yup that's exactly where I was headed.! 🤣 Thanks for your valuable contribution! I'm going to use your idea and put one gallon grow bags in sand trays to "self water" my plants 🤞

[@samanthanaude5273]

Would coco coir or peat moss work instead of coarse sand, do you think?