Master the irrigation balance
Compare two wick designs and set a watering rule.
Before you begin
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Gather your supplies
- Two identical wick planters
- Two wick designs that differ in one chosen property
- Measuring cup, labels and equal growing medium
Use what you have. Purchases are optional and do not affect rewards.
See optional suppliesCare and safety
Prevent spills and algae by cleaning containers. This lab is not a drinking-water system.
Prerequisite: Build a wick planter
This activity builds on the prerequisite. Sign in with your profile to check your completion record.
The experiment
Irrigation design matches water delivery with storage and demand. Changing one wick factor lets evidence guide a practical operating rule.
- 01
Choose one wick property to test, such as material or thickness. Keep container, height, growing medium and starting water alike.
- 02
Fill each reservoir to a measured level. Record your prediction and the reason drawn from the two earlier missions.
- 03
At matched times, measure the reservoir decrease and inspect growing-medium moisture. Water can also evaporate from the reservoir, so the decrease is not an exact measure of wick delivery. Record at least three observations over 24 hours.
- 04
Choose a design and write an operating rule: reservoir level, check interval and warning signs for too much or too little water.