Biscuitridge, that is a very well-thought out planter! Nice trellis design.
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Originally Posted by wormgirl
Thanks for sharing your trough setup. Would love to know even more about it; for instance, how did you create a screen for the bottom?
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I use 4" corrugated HDPE drainage pipe for the reservoir, topped with 2 layers of quality weed fabric. It's the one with lots of small slits in it, which allows for airflow. There are a lot of ways to create a reservoir and wick(s). The wick in this tank is 4-6" wide and 1.5' long, and the wicking medium is coarse sand. I combined additional coarse sand with my soilless mix so there is no sudden transition between the materials. It has worked great for 2 years.
I am considering purchasing HDPE peg board and laying that down over the corrugated pipe (would need less pipe to support it), and then use 3-6 net pots as wicks depending on size. This could let me fine tune the system. I don't have any complaints, however I rely on the weed fabric to not tear and let sand into the reservoir. It's going to break down eventually.
Before I tried sub-irrigation I was growing in stock tanks with lots of drain holes like squirrel789. I left half a dozen 100 gallon stock tanks at my previous home, as they had well-established dwarf japanese maples and other ornamentals that had been growing in the same mix for 5 years, actual soil with gravel, sharp sand, clays and horse manure. If you paint them, they can make an attractive installation that your neighbors will envy, while avoiding many pest and disease problems you get when growing in the ground.
Apologies for the low quality photo, but this is how I built the reservoirs in my 100 gallon tanks, 20 and 27 gallon tubs: