I hope you will excuse me, but I start this article off with an assumption! Â I have to assume that you have already found and are using some form of fabric growing container. Â If you are not, I highly suggest upgrading your container garden at once as the benefits are too abundant to cover in one article.
A SIP of what?
A SIP or Sub-Irrigated Planter uses the age-old concept of subsurface irrigation or watering from the bottom.  With a quick web search, you will find many different designs on how to build SIP’s of all types or even buy premade ones, all of which employ the principles of wicking water through capillary action from a reservoir to the growing media.  When you wrap your head around this concept, you will realize the sky is the limit for creating SIPs.
But WHY?
Sustainability – Looking at water as the most expensive and precious resource in a garden, waste is not an option.  Watering from the bottom greatly cuts down on evaporation and eliminates all runoff.
- Production – This system combines the nonstop availability of water, the same as a hydroponics system does.  Removing water as a limiting factor for your plants allows for an explosion in growth.
- So easy – There is a laundry list of tips and tricks to automate the entire watering process; because who wants to water in the middle of July in Virginia?
Three easy steps
The first step simply requires finding a container that will hold water that is slightly larger in diameter than the fabric container. Â For a more mobile and easy to move garden, simply use a heavy duty saucer tray. Â For a group of containers in one area, you can use cement mixing trays or even a baby pool.
The second step requires you to fill your reservoir with a wicking material. Â Several different things will work including, pumice, perlite and lava rock. Â The lava rock stays in place well and does a great job. Â It is important to fill the container completely to the top creating a bed for your fabric container.
The third and final step is to fill the reservoir with clean water and set your container on the media and enjoy the benefits. The magic of the fabric container is that it creates a large wicking surface that helps pull the water from the reservoir into your growing media as the plant requires. From this point, you can simply add water to the reservoir by hand as needed or create an automated system to fill them up for you.  By following these three quick steps, your container garden will be transformed by the magic of SIPs.  Now, all that’s left is the bragging!
