I have done wicking in the past but using strips of cotton t-shirt and it has somewhat worked although some of the strips dried in their windy more sunny location and those wicks were ineffective... In retrospect, after trying other methods since, I would also recommend considering mulch and other things that would help to reduce soil surface evaporation. Moving plants into a location with less sun or even shade and out of the wind is a way that will help to reduce that evaporation and allow the wick to be more effective. In addition, many plant in self-watering containers that have a fillable bottom reservoir and wick at the bottom and that along with mulching will go a long way in keeping the soil moist (assuming the temps aren't too hot and the containers are moved out of the sun).

If you have really nice plants ------call a friend