Wick Watering African Violets
By Sharon McLaurin
You can learn a lot from your fellow club members. A few months ago, Bay State met at a member’s house. She was gracious enough to let members see her collection. What I noticed mostly was that she was wick watering. Her plants were health and happy. Hum! I think I should try it.
Materials needed:
Container for a water reservoir:
Deli containers with lids, Canning jars, Containers Siamese fighting fish are sold in, Prescription containers with lids that invert and screw on are perfect for minis in Dixie cups
Wicking material
Acrylic yarn, Nylon twine
The yarn and twine come in multiple plies. You need to use just one ply for wicking. Synthetic wicking material is best. Organic material will deteriorate quickly and stop functioning.
Hard ware
You can use crochet needle or a long upholstering needle to set the wick in your pot. I use the long upholstering needle to set my wick. I push the needle up from the bottom of the pot. I pull the wick through so it just reaches the top of the soil. I tap the wick down a little and cover it with soil.
Soil preparation
You need perlite filling ¼ of the base of your pot. The soil mix I use is 3 cups Sphagnum Peat, 3 cups Vermiculite, 3 cups Perlite, ¼ cup charcoal, 2 tbsp. Dolomite lime, 1 tbsp. Bone Meal, 1 tbsp. Superphosphate. Shake ingredients together so that everything is well mixed.
Watering
1/8th of a teaspoon of fertilizer to a gallon of water
I found the benefit of wicking over the summer was that the plants were less stressed and had a continuous supply of water. Your pots should never touch the water. Only the wick goes in the reservoir.
What I am experimenting with for the winter months is putting water in the trays to up the humidity. Since the pots are up on the reservoir not touching water, the water in the tray will not touch the roots. When the dry house environment started early November, the flower buds were drying out. With the water in the tray the humidity is reversing this problem. Time will tell how they fair in the spring.
I love my violets and will try anything to keep them happy. Wicking makes it easier on me as I do not have the frequent watering chore. I examine, rotate and groom. Don’t forget that praising your little green friends can go a long way.
Happy Growing.
