By Luke Sholl


WHAT IS A HYDROPONIC WICK SYSTEM?

Wick systems are easy to understand, simple in their components, low-maintenance, and cheap to construct. Although they are still part of hydroponic growing, they do not include any pumps or air stones. The removal of these components makes wick systems the simplest form of hydroponics.

The entire concept of a wick system is based on capillary action; a process in which liquids travel against gravity through a piece of cloth or bandage. The plant provides the power to lift the solution up into its roots, rather than the other way around.

Because the plant is in the driver's seat, it will only ever draw the liquid it needs. The wick needs to be long enough to be submerged in your liquid solution, but also so the other end of the wick is making contact with your plant's root system. We also need to swap out soil for an alternative growing medium. Sand, gravel, or perlite are all viable alternatives. Each one can retain and absorb moisture. The exact type of medium you choose will depend on the efficacy of your wick.

Hydroponic Wick

HYDROPONIC WICK SYSTEMS ARE A FANTASTIC CHOICE FOR BEGINNERS

If standard hydroponic systems typically require expensive equipment and a detailed understanding of growing cannabis, what makes the wick system so desirable? While you will still need a conventional understanding of what is required to grow cannabis, wick systems remove several complications that can prove troublesome for novice growers.

The lack of soil alone removes risks like pests, mould, and contamination. The inclusion of a wick provides a constant supply of nutrient-rich water. The tendency as a beginner is to overwater plants in fear they are not getting enough water. Wick systems passively supply plants with only the water they need. Passive systems are silent and do not require any electricity. Finally, even though there are complete kits available, a wick system can be constructed using household materials. And thanks to the lack of moving parts, the danger of elements failing or breaking is incredibly slim.

CONSTRUCTING YOUR OWN HYDROPONIC WICK SYSTEM – DIAGRAM

We have spoken at length about the concept and benefits of a hydroponic wick system. Now let's cover how you can make your own. A quick note before we delve into the details; the most crucial aspect to consider is the quality of your wick. After all, it is the most integral part of a hydroponic wick system. The material of your wick will directly dictate the speed and amount of liquid it is capable of absorbing and transporting to your plant.

Everyday household items that can be used as a wick include nylon rope, mop head strings, strips of old clothes, and propylene strips. You can test each one in coloured water beforehand. After at least an hour, you should have some indication of how far and fast the water travels. Lastly, for best results, use two wicks per plant.

Wick System

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Fill a small bucket or container with your nutrient-rich water. Ideally, the container needs to be slightly smaller in circumference to your growing pot, and opaque. The container will act as your reservoir, providing water and nutrients to your plant.
  2. Next, take the pot you plan to use for your plant and place both wicks in the centre. There should be a small hole at the bottom of the pot so that the wicks can hang down.
  3. Fill the plant pot with your chosen growing medium, making sure the wicks are long enough to come into contact with your plant's root system and to be submerged in your nutrient solution.
  4. Wick length may need adjusting. However, once you are happy, the plant pot can be placed on top of the container from step one. The pot with the plant in it should now be suspended above the water, with the wicks partly submerged.
  5. To prevent any pests or contamination, ensure the reservoir at the bottom is sealed. You want to avoid both air and light from coming into contact with your liquid solution.

You have just built your first hydroponic wick system! You will need to observe the level of solution in the reservoir to check when it needs topping up. The length of time between top-ups will vary depending on the thirst of the plant.

DISADVANTAGES

We have spoken about the benefits of a wick system throughout this article. Despite its simplicity, it is not without flaws and limitations, such as:

  • Not suitable for larger, thirstier plants
  • Growing medium can retain nutrients, causing a toxic buildup
  • Water in the reservoir can become stagnant
  • Mould can occur if the system is not cleaned regularly
  • If the reservoir is sealed, getting oxygen to roots can be an issue
  • The solution still needs to be routinely tested for correct pH value

One final piece of equipment that can negate some of the disadvantages is a pump connected to an air stone. It will provide oxygen to the water and prevent a buildup of waterborne diseases. It does, however, increase the initial cost, and it requires you to have your wick system near a power source. Including a pump makes the entire system no longer passive.

Cannabis Growing Hydroponic Medium

IS A HYDROPONIC WICK SYSTEM RIGHT FOR YOU?

With a relatively equal number of benefits to its disadvantages, utilising a hydroponic wick system is an appealing prospect. As a novice grower, a significant amount of complexity is removed. Alas, wick systems are easy to build, but difficult to master.

The material and length of your wick, the amount of solution, and frequency of refilling—all of these factors are unknown until you start using and experimenting with this type of growing method. Although wick systems will never be suitable for large-scale commercial operations, they are ideal for a few plants being produced at home. Given the cost of constructing a wick system, what have you got to lose?

Cookies settings

We are requesting your permission to use your data for the reasons stated below:

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data from a particular website that get stored on a user’s computer while they’re surfing the internet. Cookies have several different functions. Some of them track browser activity that enables businesses to deliver targeted advertisements. Other cookies serve to remember user login details to different websites to make jumping on social media, or other sites, a more fluid process. Because each cookie has its own unique ID, these pieces of data allow website owners to measure the unique traffic coming into their site.

Why do we use cookies?

Cookies come in handy when you visit our website. They ensure you stay logged in, that you can shop safely, and that the items you add to your cart stay there before you make a purchase. But cookies also help us. The data they provide allow us to improve our website and enable us to present you with targeted advertisements that are compatible with your interests.

What kind of cookies do we use?

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

How can I disable or delete cookies?

Not a fan of cookies? No worries. You can disable them (with the exception of necessary cookies) in your browser settings. However, blocking cookies may impact your browsing experience and prevent you from enjoying all of the technical features of our site.

Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: