How to Build a Self Watering Pot For $10
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Date: 2022-07-18
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Comments and reviews: 15
Dave
Your plan is excellent. Years ago, I used this principle to build an in-the-ground flower pot. It was a flower bed approximately 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. I dug it out approximately 16 inches deep and placed 8-inch concrete blocks around the perimeter. I covered the bottom and the blocks with plastic film, draping the edges over the block, then placing 2 more rows of blocks on top of that. Nex I filled the bottom with road gravel up to the top of the first row of blocks and covered the gravel with landscape cloth. This allowed the water level to fill to the top of the first row of blocks, then leak out so as to avoid drowning the plants. Above the cloth, I filled in with good soil to the top of the third row of concrete block, giving a planting potential of 16-inches. Rainwater usually filled the bed but if there was no rain for a while I used the garden hose. It worked great.
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Your plan is excellent. Years ago, I used this principle to build an in-the-ground flower pot. It was a flower bed approximately 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. I dug it out approximately 16 inches deep and placed 8-inch concrete blocks around the perimeter. I covered the bottom and the blocks with plastic film, draping the edges over the block, then placing 2 more rows of blocks on top of that. Nex I filled the bottom with road gravel up to the top of the first row of blocks and covered the gravel with landscape cloth. This allowed the water level to fill to the top of the first row of blocks, then leak out so as to avoid drowning the plants. Above the cloth, I filled in with good soil to the top of the third row of concrete block, giving a planting potential of 16-inches. Rainwater usually filled the bed but if there was no rain for a while I used the garden hose. It worked great.
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bat
Ahh. Brilliant. For me - I'm thinking about something more cosmetically appealing, for houseplants, but I can absolutely work with this. Not sure about the fabric wicking but I (now) understand the principal. I wonder if there is another thing (possibly in the form of semi rigid sticks) that I can poke through drilled holes in the sub irrigation surface to have a similar effect but fetch the water higher up into the root mass. Or is that a bad idea? (Root rot is a real problem for me)
But, you know what - I can't knock your demonstration for it's simplicity.
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Ahh. Brilliant. For me - I'm thinking about something more cosmetically appealing, for houseplants, but I can absolutely work with this. Not sure about the fabric wicking but I (now) understand the principal. I wonder if there is another thing (possibly in the form of semi rigid sticks) that I can poke through drilled holes in the sub irrigation surface to have a similar effect but fetch the water higher up into the root mass. Or is that a bad idea? (Root rot is a real problem for me)
But, you know what - I can't knock your demonstration for it's simplicity.
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Arun
I need you Kevin, to do something really wonderful. You need to hook up 20 such planters and all self-wicking, connected at the 2 inch level and draining at 5inches. then one pipe entering one pot will actually fill the whole line of pots and be a real class action watering system. instead of one by one you water at one point and the whole lot of pots gets watered. then set a timer after timing how long it takes. every week the timer goes on water goes out to everything and gets done. straight up! what do you think?
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I need you Kevin, to do something really wonderful. You need to hook up 20 such planters and all self-wicking, connected at the 2 inch level and draining at 5inches. then one pipe entering one pot will actually fill the whole line of pots and be a real class action watering system. instead of one by one you water at one point and the whole lot of pots gets watered. then set a timer after timing how long it takes. every week the timer goes on water goes out to everything and gets done. straight up! what do you think?
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Brad
I can see why you put sage in it. Down here in S FLA we use these for Tomatoes/Peppers Using a 'Cage' too, & it's best to drill a bunch of small 1/8 In. holes so the roots can go down & drink. No need for an old shirt-keep it to make batches of Worm casting tea. Also, We use Corrigated Holy Drainage pipe, & you don't really have a Wicking mechanism other than just plain evaporation up, it seems.
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I can see why you put sage in it. Down here in S FLA we use these for Tomatoes/Peppers Using a 'Cage' too, & it's best to drill a bunch of small 1/8 In. holes so the roots can go down & drink. No need for an old shirt-keep it to make batches of Worm casting tea. Also, We use Corrigated Holy Drainage pipe, & you don't really have a Wicking mechanism other than just plain evaporation up, it seems.
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offroadfoolrn
I dont get how the soil doesn't rot? I had 4 large tub with fruit trees in them instead of drilling drain holes on the bottom I drilled on the side only about 1 inch off the bottom to keep a small amount of water during drought. After 1 month the trees almost died. I dumped the container out the save the trees and sure enough the soil was rotting with stagnant water causing root rot.
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I dont get how the soil doesn't rot? I had 4 large tub with fruit trees in them instead of drilling drain holes on the bottom I drilled on the side only about 1 inch off the bottom to keep a small amount of water during drought. After 1 month the trees almost died. I dumped the container out the save the trees and sure enough the soil was rotting with stagnant water causing root rot.
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epic_gardening
Great video - fantastic presentation- the explanation afterward was very helpful.
I love carving - I've dreamed of carving garden stakes and sculptures. In this case - double function as a stake and a watering mechanism. Would attach the pipe to the container wall for strength.
Maybe a carving around the top of the PVC and stain.
Warmest regards from NY
Jennie
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Great video - fantastic presentation- the explanation afterward was very helpful.
I love carving - I've dreamed of carving garden stakes and sculptures. In this case - double function as a stake and a watering mechanism. Would attach the pipe to the container wall for strength.
Maybe a carving around the top of the PVC and stain.
Warmest regards from NY
Jennie
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A.
I spray paint mine each year to match whatever flowers r avail in order to tie in color scheme By the end of the year it tends to peel off so I can put another color easily. I try and put trailing plants so it covers any of the ugliness that peeks from buckets. I do add multi tier approach with stands of plastic shelves or brick whatever u have on hand
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I spray paint mine each year to match whatever flowers r avail in order to tie in color scheme By the end of the year it tends to peel off so I can put another color easily. I try and put trailing plants so it covers any of the ugliness that peeks from buckets. I do add multi tier approach with stands of plastic shelves or brick whatever u have on hand
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jujube2407
I'll be making a bunch of these this year! To pretty them up if in a truly urban area. you can wrap burlap around the side of the bucket easily for an instant upgrade and I will for sure be using color coded duct tape on the foam to see at a glance who needs water, quickly and easily! Love this!
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I'll be making a bunch of these this year! To pretty them up if in a truly urban area. you can wrap burlap around the side of the bucket easily for an instant upgrade and I will for sure be using color coded duct tape on the foam to see at a glance who needs water, quickly and easily! Love this!
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Team
Im learning about gardening and SIP containers at the same time so this may be an obvious question but some designs I see have fertilizer pits or strips and I dont see that in yours. How do you feed your plants that have this type of watering?
Thank you! Youre videos make this seem so doable!
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Im learning about gardening and SIP containers at the same time so this may be an obvious question but some designs I see have fertilizer pits or strips and I dont see that in yours. How do you feed your plants that have this type of watering?
Thank you! Youre videos make this seem so doable!
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Jessica
Hello thanks for this great video, as always I bought self warering pots but my plants get rotten. The base of the stem of my syngonium macrophilla roted in 2 weeks I don't understand why when you have a self watering pot, do you put water through the soil or only through the pipe?
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Hello thanks for this great video, as always I bought self warering pots but my plants get rotten. The base of the stem of my syngonium macrophilla roted in 2 weeks I don't understand why when you have a self watering pot, do you put water through the soil or only through the pipe?
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Iris
Great video! :) One comment on the cotton t-shirt. If you use living soil, the micro organisms would eat the t-shirt making it disappear, which in turn would make the wicking effect malfunction. I don't know how long that would take though. Maybe it would last a season?
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Great video! :) One comment on the cotton t-shirt. If you use living soil, the micro organisms would eat the t-shirt making it disappear, which in turn would make the wicking effect malfunction. I don't know how long that would take though. Maybe it would last a season?
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ebglock
I actually like your design best Ive seen. We have gardened for many years with great success. Im hoping this will help with my cucumbers as Texas heat and flooding the garden each year has really hurt. I might raise level just a bit due to heat. Not sure but thanks.
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I actually like your design best Ive seen. We have gardened for many years with great success. Im hoping this will help with my cucumbers as Texas heat and flooding the garden each year has really hurt. I might raise level just a bit due to heat. Not sure but thanks.
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ebglock
I actually like your design best Ive seen. We have gardened for many years with great success. Im hoping this will help with my cucumbers as Texas heat and flooding the garden each year has really hurt. I might raise level just a bit due to heat. Not sure but thanks.
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I actually like your design best Ive seen. We have gardened for many years with great success. Im hoping this will help with my cucumbers as Texas heat and flooding the garden each year has really hurt. I might raise level just a bit due to heat. Not sure but thanks.
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Sterling20073
Hope to try this next season.
1 minor improvement would be wrap a peice of tape or paint around the foam fill indicator so when the tape lines up with the top of the pvc it's time to fill
& Paint white or wrap in black and white to lower water temp
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Hope to try this next season.
1 minor improvement would be wrap a peice of tape or paint around the foam fill indicator so when the tape lines up with the top of the pvc it's time to fill
& Paint white or wrap in black and white to lower water temp
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Brian
Cool idea. Made 8 of these using pieces of an all cotton old bedsheet and it doesn't seem to be wicking much. Water level hasn't gone down much over first week. Not sure if it's the potting mix or the sheet or if I'm expecting too much moisture near the top.
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Cool idea. Made 8 of these using pieces of an all cotton old bedsheet and it doesn't seem to be wicking much. Water level hasn't gone down much over first week. Not sure if it's the potting mix or the sheet or if I'm expecting too much moisture near the top.
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