Water science · Mastery
Master the irrigation balance
Compare two wick designs and set a watering rule.
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Before you begin
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 learning rewards.
See optional suppliesCare and safety
Prevent spills and algae by cleaning containers. This lab is not a drinking-water system.
Prerequisite
This activity builds on Build a wick planter. Read it first and use your earlier observations when working through this activity.
The experiment
Irrigation design matches water delivery with storage and demand. Changing one wick factor lets evidence guide a practical operating rule.
- Choose one wick property to test, such as material or thickness. Keep container, height, growing medium and starting water alike.
- Fill each reservoir to a measured level. Record your prediction and the reason drawn from the two earlier missions.
- 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.
- Choose a design and write an operating rule: reservoir level, check interval and warning signs for too much or too little water.
Background reference: University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension — Self-Watering Wicking Container
These instructions are a suggested learning experiment from Seth The Evil. The reference explains the background; it does not certify this experiment or guarantee a result.
Opening the workspace does not start an activity or save a record. You choose when to start and what observations to save.