Wick Technique

The wick system is one of the easiest to use, requiring very little maintenance after the initial set up. A hole is cut in the bottom of the pot and a wick is inserted. The other end of the wick is placed in a water reservoir below the pot.

In wick hydroponic growing systems, the plants are again in their own container, separate from the nutrient reservoir. Pieces of absorbent material (usually nylon rope) are buried partially in each plant container. The other end of the rope is allowed to dangle in the nutrient solution. The absorbent material pulls the nutrient solution from the reservoir up into the growing medium.

The system is easy to make as a homemade hydroponics system, and will support organic hydroponics without any problems, but there are a couple of things to consider.

Sometimes it is difficult to get the right moisture level in a wick system. You will have to experiment a little with more absorbent growing mediums (vermiculite/coconut coir). Also, I have seen the wicks suck up less and less water over time (especially when using organics).

If you want to give this method a try, I suggest a 50/50 mix of perlite/vermiculite. Perlite and coconut coir would work as well. Altogether, I think other systems are just as easy to use, and produce better results.