SIP, How to start the wicking process & non EM1 water

Hello, I am a noob who has been reading up alot on the SIP way of gardening and have officially drank the Kool-Aid, as the pictures will show. These sips are made from 27 gallon Costco totes and have a pvc subframe with a 8" net pot sitting in the middle. 6" reservoir, fill hole is 4.5" high, roughly a 1.5" air gap when the reservoir is full. I am using a soil called Gwens mix I bought from the local worm farm by Chico, CA, here is the link

http://www.thewormfarm.net/store/product/82544/Compost-Gwens-Mix-by-The-Worm-Farm

I was wondering how to start the wicking process in my sips. I have only added about 2.5 gallons of water with em1 to the reservoir because my EM1 isn't activated yet and 1 dosage at 10 gallons is more than it takes to make an activated gallon.

Can I use normal reverse osmosis water to fill the rest of the reservoir, or do I only want to add water that is treated with EM1?

To start the wicking process I have been told the part that is submerged needs to be pre moistened, is this something I should do? Also should I drop a gallon of plain reverse osmosis water on the top of the soil to help with the moistening? I will be adding a compost tea soon.

I would line your net pots with a piece of garden burlap or cheesecloth to help keep soil out of reservoir. Pack them with your soil along with rest of tote. No need to pre moisten, never heard of that. It will wick water up fine.

They say never top water. Maybe a tea but that's it. EM1 is a Microbial Inoculant that promotes micro organisms in your living soil. It also keeps your res from getting nasties in it such as algae.

YouTube Alan Adkisson

@Jesusgrowsmygrass
Nice SIPs!
I’m inspired.

The wicking pots are lined with burlap.

So I started last night and got two of my totes done. Turns out they hold about 8 gallons in the reservoir, got the EM1 activating. One of the two that I set up appears to be getting its wick on the second is not wicking. I dug out the one that was still really dry and took out all the soil from the wicking cup and surrounding area then replaced the soil in the wicking cup. I am waiting to see the results of the wick, I want to be able to squish it and get moisture easily. The not so easy part of these is getting the wicking correct, maybe it is because my soil dried out completely.

They are now covered with panda film to see if I am getting moisture to the top.Once I have these two figured out completely all add the other two. With only having two in the tent I am not breaking my back picking up 120+lbs in a contorted position and can approach it more reasonably to fix the problem.The dirt was completely removed once already. I might have to figure out a light trap for the bedroom door instead of using the tent. .

Thanks by the way on the compliment for the SIPs. I thought I would put a ever so slight spin on the proven design. These things are easy to build. I figured out growing is all about problem solving and DIY.

How wet should a wicking bed be? Because I am starting to get worried about the wicking not happening in my beds due to them still being rather dry feeling even though the are covered. This of course comes from some one who has only done a poor job at top watering.