>> i used acrylic felt fabric as a wicking mat
>> it does not mildew (as cotton would) and is thicker then flannel and easily washed. it wicks very well.
>> i use double ply acrylic yarn as a light wick, doubled for more wicking and thick braided nylon rope with poly-core for larger pots, even doubled for thirsty plants.
>> it does serve as 'wick-out' for perched water and wick-in for watering.
>>
squarish 'hot-food' take-out container bottoms too, they are quite sturdy.
Thanks very much, JC! The terms "wick-out" and "wick-in" are really, really handy.
I stumbled onto a sort of amateur-level version of what you're doing, but never found a satisfactory solution for propping up above the water level or supplying a level surface to press the capillary mat aginst holes or slits in the bottoms of inserts and plug trays.
If you have a surface that is not QUITE fine-meshed enough to touch small slits in every cell, adding 1-2 layers of window screening helps a little. But having a
thicker capillary pad (like the acrylic felt you use) is better than trying to tweak an unsatisfactory surface. One year I used some batting, which has plenty of loft but mildews and disintigrates quickly.
>> for heavier plants i might fill the large plastic box with lots of upside-down sturdy 3-4-6" plastic pots and then you can put egg-crate on top to create a continuous surface.
Can you clarify what you mean by "egg-crate"? Is that a very large-opening plastic grid? I'm guessing that works only with yarn/rope wicks in big pots, not small pots or plug trays with many small slits.
I'm going to add a link to your post to my "idea". You've gone far beyond what I worked out. Thanks again.
http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...
