Sub-Irrigation Station

thingiverse

This is an innovative platform for enabling sub-irrigation (self-watering) of a potted plant. Unlike many self-watering setups, this one keeps a dry air gap between the soil and the water reservoir to prevent "wet feet" as the roots grow downward. It was specifically designed to utilize a juice jug as the water reservoir, but other containers should work just as well. I am attempting to use it to revive an avocado seedling that lost most of its leaves after being neglected at the local hackerspace, resulting in the peculiar-looking stick-tree you see in the picture. Print Settings Rafts: Doesn't Matter Resolution: 0.2 mm Infill: 10% Supports: No Post-Printing The complete setup includes the printed platform, a plant container, a water reservoir, and a piece of wick. I used cut-up cotton t-shirt strips for the wick. 1) Tie a knot at the top of the wick. 2) Cut a hole in the center of the planter's bottom surface, and push the knot up through the hole (easier if there's no dirt yet, but can still be accomplished with an already planted planter). 3) Cut 2 holes in the reservoir jug: a small one for the wick, a larger one for the watering funnel. 4) Place the planter on the platform and thread the wick through a hole in the platform. 5) Carefully place the platform and planter over the reservoir so that the wick and funnel go through the holes in the reservoir. 6) Water through the funnel and enjoy. How I Designed This Created using Meshmixer + Meshlab