Preparing the Plant Pot and Wick
The first practical step is to prepare the plant pot. The cotton wick must be able to move water from the reservoir into the soil. Therefore, the bottom of the pot needs a small opening through which the wick can pass. Place the empty plant pot on a stable surface. Turn it upside down and identify approximately the center of the bottom. Carefully make a small hole large enough for the cotton wick to pass through. The hole should not be unnecessarily large because a large opening can allow soil to fall out. If the pot already has drainage holes, one of the existing holes may be suitable for the wick. In that case, there may be no need to create another hole.
Inserting the Wick
Next, take the cotton wick and pass it through the hole in the bottom of the pot. Pull the wick until one portion remains inside the pot and another portion hangs below it. The upper portion of the wick should reach into the soil. The lower portion should be long enough to reach the water reservoir below the pot. The wick is the most important part of this simple system. Cotton contains many tiny spaces between its fibers. Water can travel through these spaces. This movement is related to capillary action. To understand this easily, imagine placing one end of a cotton string into water. After some time, water begins moving along the string. The same principle is used in our water plant pot.
The wick should be positioned securely. It should not fall completely out of the pot when soil is added. Once the wick is positioned, begin adding potting soil into the plant pot. Place the soil gently so that the wick remains in contact with the soil. Do not pack the soil too tightly. Roots need air spaces as well as moisture. Fill the pot until there is enough soil to support the plant. The upper end of the wick should remain surrounded by soil. This allows moisture to move from the wick into the surrounding soil. At this stage, the basic water-transfer pathway has been created: Water reservoir → cotton wick → soil → plant roots
This simple pathway is what makes the project work.
