DIY: Self-Watering Container Garden

The benefits of container gardens is that they are very water-efficient. Plants receive their water from the water reservoir below the soil so they can get as much water as they need and no water is wasted through evaporation. Since plants are free to take as much water as the want, they are never stressed for water which results in better tasting fruits and vegetables. In addition, with the water reservoir there is no need to constantly water your plants and it's easy to leave your plants when on vacation, particularly if you set your hose on a timer.
(By the way, our first container garden contained tomatoes and I had to leave for 3 weeks. Even with no access to a hose, I figured out a way to water the tomatoes while I was out of town. Comment or message me if you'd like to know how I did it).
Now, there are many different designs on how to make container gardens. My husband first made one using mesh baskets which he had to cut up and place upside down in a container...and sometimes after all that work, it wouldn't work as the container would collapse. He found a better solution using corrugated drain pipe and he was really excited as it was very easy to build compared to his previous container gardens.
The total price of the materials will be over $50, but you'll have plenty of extra flex pipe and corrugated drain pipe for additional container gardens.
Here are the materials he used:
Commander 27-Gallon Tote
www.lowes.com/pd_44066-61896-4...
FLEX-Drain Corrugated Pipe with Filter Sock 4" x 25'
www.lowes.com/pd_259814-62059-...
10' Orbit Polyethylene Riser Flex Pipe
www.lowes.com/pd_194543-74985-...
Apollo 3/4" Polyethylene Drip Irrigation Elbow
www.lowes.com/pd_194590-61002-...
Apollo 3/4" PVC Drip Irrigation Female Adapter
www.lowes.com/pd_129318-61002-...
Miracle-Gro 64 qt. Moisture Control Potting Mix
www.lowes.com/pd_235180-446-76...
OUTTAKES VIDEO:
• Outtakes for "DIY: Con...
MUSIC:
Morning Mood by Grieg
(This song was downloaded from KZbin's Audio Library.)

[@spacecoastkid5033]

Much better design than other grow boxes where you cut the lid and a bunch of pieces of pipe to hold it up, creating a reservoir. This is way faster and definitely more efficient!

[@RosemaryFisher]

Just purchased everything and THANK YOU for a well made instructional video !! Appreciate you !!!

[@XoletteLife]

Great! Good luck with it! Our tubs got cracks after a second move... Just FYI! Could have been the sun or the moves

[@scottrowe533]

Excellent 'How-to video,' brother. I'm betting you're either active-duty or former-active military, as many of the skills and techniques I learned in the field were taught to me in exactly the same way you communicated in the video. I watched a dozen different vids on how to make a self-irrigating container garden, and yours is easily the best. You should consider doing more 'How-to' videos of this nature. Thank you. P.S. Thank you for including the Lowe's part numbers, and I enjoyed your use of the Grieg piece. Good choice.

[@meganbrenner9359]

thanks so much for taking the time to link everything in the description! So helpful!

[@HollyOak]

Putting the drainage pipe below the top of the larger black pipe (we call it ag pipe in Australia) leaves an air space which prevents the roots growing into the water and rotting. It's recommended by most with experience.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

well done man. I am doing a similar project for an upcoming presentation at the local seed and garden club. I like this design a lot. You gave me some great ideas. Thanks for sharing

[@HawksDiesel]

Well done. Informative and to the point. Love the quick dis/connect option especially. Much appreciated to the both of you for taking the time. Cheers

[@emilycrozier1759]

Just want to thank you for sharing this SIP approach. I tried this year and have remarkable success!!!! I'm swimming in beautiful, organic vegetables!

[@XoletteLife]

Emily Crozier That's great! I'll let my husband know. :D

[@tdarlingtt]

Great video - great project! I just built one and it looks perfect. I made one small addition: I used a couple of wraps of black electrical tape to make sure that neither the inlet nor the outlet pipe could inadvertently be pulled out of the storage reservoir. When the container is filled with soil it would be very difficult to put them back in place.

[@lovelynpaddock1980]

I just stumbled upon this video and so glad I did. This is exactly what I need to do when I make my garden. Thank you for the detailed instructions.

[@shashibhushan2680]

I think this is the best design for self watering plants.. i get rid of extra layer we put above the water.. Excellentwork... keep it up !

[@pibblesnbits]

Liked the G-shock in the video. Cool watch!

[@faerefolke]

I'm so doing this at my mobile home. Been looking for cool diy solutions

[@Westcoastknitting_podcast]

Great video. Thank you!

[@edflowers7456]

He definitely military probably military intelligence. Lot of thought went into this Rube Goldberg watering system. Kudos.

[@mmangla5575]

Thanks for the information

[@philfox8878]

Great job in this design try linking the tubs together for maximum effect. Then you only use the hose once instead of keep hooking up the tanks individually.

[@bradmason8334]

phil fox how would you do it?

[@Rahel8811]

wow thank you

[@chenelson185]

nice work mate

[@feistygirl75]

Super helpful! Thank you!

[@XoletteLife]

Welcome!!

[@JohnIniguez-xt2pv]

Outstanding

[@Rahel8811]

wow thankyou

[@user-xj6lm1zg1e]

Вы, прямо на все руки мастер!

[@bringmeagag2498]

I love the "real" life endings :)

[@cutiepie-ik1mv]

beutiful garden containers💘

[@CoolStoryJo]

Nice and informative video :D.

[@XoletteLife]

+JosephDD Thanks, Joseph!

[@Frank-ro1nv]

I believe the plastic will leach chemicals into the plants when it gets hot, unless it’s food grade plastic.

[@prbydominiquepryor4198]

Those black tubs are food grade plastic

[@BornRandy62]

the leach field for a septic tank system operates on the same principal. drain water is sent to a perforated drain tile (much larger) (and much longer) covered with a sock. Leach field is backfilled, the sock take the free liquid and provides it to the sock which provides it thru wicking to the soil. The rest is natural capillary action in the soil from the heat and cool cycles that occur each day.

[@XoletteLife]

Randy J Interesting! Thanks for sharing, Randy.

[@coocoo4754]

*Great work man! What do you think about putting first layer of perlite over the hose maybe like 2 inch to act like sponge - moisture control?*

[@suriyat8773]

Good

[@GraeMatterz]

Just stumbled on this. Nicely done. You could have eliminated drilling the drain hole in your perforated pipe by routing the pipe in an "S" shape, then drilling a hole in the tote to line up with the end opening of the perforated pipe, opposite your fill pipe. That way the water doesn't start leaking out before the end of the pipe is filled. That's the way I've seen the big SIP beds done, but it might not be as crucial in this small bed. Something to consider, anyway.

[@XoletteLife]

GraeMatterz I'll let my husband know! Thanks.

[@bluemarlin2004]

For people in the third world. All you need to do is poke a 7 mm overflow hole or holes 6-8 inches from the level of your soil. Everything below the hole is water reserve. Regular soil can be used but I prefer coconut husk upto the level of the overflow hole because it holds water better than soil. You also bury half inch PVC pipe from the bottom upto few inches above the soil so that by dipping a stick in the pvc you will know the level of the water. I use this method for the roof top garden for ages now. Plants can surive in the scorching heat even I put the container beside my GI roof. The goal is to keep it simple. I use rice /fish washings and vegetable peels and other kitchen waste as fertilizer.

[@KevTheRev13]

bluemarlin2004 GREAT idea. Any downsides?

[@bluemarlin2004]

@@KevTheRev13 One problem is that when I totally forget to check the level of water for weeks even months and the container will be very dry the plant will struggle. GI sheet roof is very hot. Birds also will kill your baby plants. Ants will also take shelter in the moist composting soil. These problem can also be encoutered in most garden set up. As for root rot I can't remember any encounter with it. Root rot was my concern the first time I did it but never had one.

[@bluemarlin2004]

@@KevTheRev13 BTW I tried alot of plants but I have not tried carrots yet. The hole should be couple inch deeper than the lateral root.

[@KevTheRev13]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@bluemarlin2004]

@@KevTheRev13 For people who have tons of money, they can buy this one.....it is exactly the same. Mine is actually better because you will be able to check the water level. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4Wtd42oj9Kod80

[@faerefolke]

Genius

[@KSliauderis]

I think you should have made drainage hole a bit higher, so the container would contain more water

[@jaskeda]

No, we need air inside

[@Aldorthemerry]

Cool

[@XoletteLife]

Alex Giles Thanks, Alex!

[@slhines7]

Wow and this is super awesome design, which yall should patent.

[@Xolette]

I bet there's already something like this on the market...and probably ridiculously expensive. :) It's just too easy to build on your own!

[@slhines7]

You just might be right, but I personally haven't seen anything like it on the market at all. That's basically why I thought that it would be in yall's overall best interest to pursuing a legal patent.

[@Z71Ranger]

+Xolette My wife wants to build these... But I don't think she can... Could you do a video with you doing the work so I can see you can do it so maybe she could also... Thanks

[@slhines7]

You should continue to look into that. Sadly, I don't have any videos that I could send you.

[@msdiinsche]

Know your comments are old, there is something like this they sell, called a "vegepod", look it up, and yes it's expensive

[@greengenes1608]

bonnie plants and miracle grow.. you guys are some awesome gardeners.. must know a lot.. lmmfao

[@JMLockpicking]

Neat.

[@Xolette]

Thanks, Jacob!

[@matthewjohnson1035]

live long and prosper

[@imaginemakecreate7651]

Thanks for sharing.

[@huascarrocha6897]

Great video ; how often do I have to spread water in the bucket and also how many minutes each time ?

[@janolableach9114]

Chippie, god dang it!

[@fefecrow]

Shouldnt you be using BPA free plastics so there is no leaching of chemicals?

[@firecloud77]

Sunshine Mix #4 costs almost the same, but lasts much longer.

[@winnipegnick]

Great design, I think i will use this concept this summer. Now I've seen other videos and people tend to add sand first b/c sand does a good job at wicking up water. What are your thoughts? I may also add a little bit of coconut coir and bio char into the mix to reduce the amount of water that's necessary. Have you done this since the video? Thanks Nick

[@XoletteLife]

Nick Rigas My husband says he hasn't tried it but has had no issues with his current container garden and doesn't see the need to make any changes. But I'm sure it doesn't hurt for you to experiment and see what works for you. Hope that helps!

[@GeriatricWoodturner]

Excellent explanation. Clever design. What do you call the collapsible tube with the sock on it? I want to make one of these to see how it works!

[@XoletteLife]

All the items in this video are in the description!

[@mijkimijki5312]

Works as from store but is lot cheaper , nice . Not for lasy gardeners by the way )))

[@reyaslj]

Should there be a bit of an air space between bottom of soil and top level of the water...Do the roots require air...? Great informative video ...thanks

[@XoletteLife]

reyas lj There's space in the tube, if that's what you're asking, as it only fills up halfway. Glad you liked it. I'll let my husband know as this was his idea! :)

[@adreanlinerusher]

I made some out of the same totes :) I drilled the outside of the containers about 5 inches high with about four drilled out spots. That way the water sits on the bottom all the time to upwick but it still drains enough to not flood. I wanted it that way because the black plastic outsides heat up a lot and it gives me a little more compost in the system because I pack them overly tight. I use a 2" pvc pipe with holes drilled in the sides to apply fertigation "liquid fertlizer". I have done this with old coolers in the past that people threw away but am now on the lookout for much larger containers. Heck would think you could do something like this with a kids swimming pool even...

[@christianreichensperger9007]

I really like the Design you built! Have you ever tried to saw directly to the substrate? is the moisture sufficient for germination without additional watern? Greetings from germany!

[@XoletteLife]

Sorry that it's taking me awhile to get to this comment. My husband did not sow directly into the soil. Instead he started off the seedlings in those little jiffy peat pellets. I just started using self-water containers and bought the "EMSCO raised bed grow box and seed starter" from Lowe's. (I didn't use the self-watering containers in this video, because they cracked after a few years from being out of the sun/several moves.) I tried sowing strawberry seeds straight into the container, but the surface of the potting mix doesn't really stay moist (it gets more moist a few inches down), so I kept watering, and only 1 out of 18 seeds germinated, and that one eventually died. The germination length was really long as well, so it was very frustrating trying to keep the thick potting mix wet, so I do not recommend sowing seeds into a container that size unless the germination success/length is good/short. What I did do was buy a soil blocker and I made soil blocks using about a 1:1 ratio of jiffy seedling potting mix to compost. (Though, if I were to do again it would be 2:1 ratio because I had problems with damping off.) I also made a self-watering seedling tray using two clear plastic shelf organizers, that I placed on top of one another. The top tray had holes drilled out, with batting (wicking material) stuck through the holes and the bottom tray held the water-- so water would wick up from the bottom of the tray to the top keeping the soil blocks moist. It worked great, but a downside is if the soil block is too wet, you could experience damping off (which could be due to me using too much compost), because the soil block never dries out and stays constantly moist because of the self-watering tray. I hope that helps! I took video of what I did and hopefully I get around to editing it! I also bought a self-watering grow bag from gardeners.com-- My tomato plant seems to love it bc it's bigger than the others I planted in the ground, but it also takes so much more water-- perhaps because the grow bag allows the potting mix to dry out faster.

[@tannenbaum3444]

Great design.I think I saw in your video that multiple bins were attached to a single water source....can you elaborate on the setup and connections.

[@Xolette]

Thanks for watching! Here's my husband's reply: "Yup. We have a single hose on a timer connected to the faucet running to a three hose splitter/connection. Hoses are then connected from the splitter to each individual container.'

[@unmesh-vlog]

Great concept. Would love to try it out. Do you know if the corrugated pipes are food grade or does it not matter?

[@XoletteLife]

We did not use food grade pipes-- but haven't really looked into if it makes a difference or not!

[@bicanoo_magic3452]

Waaay to complicated and the potential for leaks with all those hose fittings is high. Great idea. But I also see complications later on and a hose dedicated to the pots. I'm also not sure if those shallow rooting plants need all that. But if you were planting Broccoli or something like that it would make more sense and would be more beneficial to deeper rooting plants. I get it. But I think there might be simpler and cheaper solutions that's all.

[@generalco2554]

Aren't you going to end up with 4" of mud at the bottom of your box? I like how you covered the pipe in fabric to keep the dirt out but I feel a better separation of water and soil is needed. Maybe 5" of gravel and then a fabric layer between gravel and soil?

[@XoletteLife]

All the water ends up in the tube and the excess water goes out the drainage pipe. So there'd be no mud. But of course you could try the gravel and see how it works for you. We've had no problems with these container gardens so far.

[@rubykins02]

Would it be feasible to cover this with something like black plastic to keep the moisture in and weeds out? Or would that just be overkill?

[@XoletteLife]

That's up to you! My husband wanted to share this design and leave it open to modifications. For us, we didn't really have a problem with weeds.

[@MrPilcher1]

no it would cook all you plants black absorbs heat take a look at the Vegepod

[@elizabethblane201]

@@MrPilcher1 You could use white plastic or mulch. I thinks plants do better when they're mulched with something, and it will also reduce the amount of watering you'll have to do.

[@synchrogrl18]

Great video! Do you need to cap the ends of the perforated pipe?

[@XoletteLife]

Nope!

[@paulkazjack]

Yes.

[@rebeccas.7584]

Had you thought about daisy chaining the drains together and Feeds the next? Then just one hose and a timer

[@XoletteLife]

My husband says it would have to overflow from one container to the next and it would be hard to determine the correct amount/time to set water. But doesn't hurt to experiment!

[@Zommee]

Hello there! Love your video! I just wrote down your list of items to try an make one myself ❣️ I have a question: you stated in your description that when you left for 3 weeks on a vacation you had no access to a hose.... So, I'd very much like to know how you watered them? 🤔 Thank you so much! #ThisGreenThumbIsANewbie #StartedGrowingFromSeedImAProudPlantMama

[@XoletteLife]

I had a separate large container filled with water and a submersible pump attached to a clear hose that went to the container garden. You can maybe find it in the pond section of a hardware store or a pet store. I think weighed the submersible pump down with a brick. The pump was on a timer and I just had the pump go off a few times during the week. The nice thing about it is if it gets over-watered, the drainage pipe will help. For me, I was able to keep the tomatoes alive, but it could have used more water (I had left in the summer). Hard to judge bc you don't want to run out of water. Hope that helps!

[@XoletteLife]

Also, try to keep those containers out of the sun, or see if you could find some rated for the outdoors. Ours cracked after a few years!

[@KarenmitchellANI]

Aren't you suppose to put a liner in over that. ie weed mesh? Garden Australia show you how

[@wanderschlurf]

drainage port must be higher for bigger plants like tabacco and tomatoes :)but anyway this is a nice solution

[@XoletteLife]

wanda schlurf So far, our tomatoes are growing just fine. Thank you!

[@wanderschlurf]

in terms of productivity of course^^ think of a bigger operation. if did something quite similiar and in this solution the roots grow through soil in a vault filled with water and nutrients. soil is just the start up for the plant. wouldn't work with a bendable pipe, but the point is: as long as your soil on top is dry the plant can stand fully watered (roots). so it will NEVER run dry and NEVER to be cut thin or those tricks normally needed! but they'll need a vault separated from the soil with holes in it big enough for some big strings of roots to grow through. to prevent the soil from falling in the water you'll need some kitchen paper. if you connect the kitchen paper from the second floor you created in your planting bowl with the water in the vault , the rwater will be sucked into the soil by itself AND the roots grow that way in the water and the plants feeds itself perfectly;) anytime i want to make a video of the working product- it's all done, but the weather is not good for gardening i just water. i like this new invention-youtubers :P AS I SAID i really like this way and we'll try it for sure :)

[@michelerich3242]

So, how does the water not pour straight out of the overflow pipe?

[@XoletteLife]

Water pours out once the reservoir is too full. When the water level is below the pipe, that water stays inside.

[@campermortey]

So do you never have to water the top once the roots get to the bottom?

[@XoletteLife]

David Johnson yes, just add water to the water reservoir

[@Tonia.lynn2411]

Instead of having multiple hoses for each one. You can connect them together. Kinda like the Farmdaddy buckets An don’t mean to laugh but at the end when you wife got made an said IDK WHY YOUR DOING THIS!” I could see you saying for you. But if your ungrateful do things on your own. Lol

[@pedroyoung3672]

how do you "finish" both ends of the ADS flex drain pipe? so they retain the water once they are filled?

[@XoletteLife]

Pedro Young for the pipe that sticks out at the bottom of the container, there is no finishing for it. Because the pipe is high enough it'll only drain water once it reaches that level. Hope that helps.

[@pedroyoung3672]

Hi! Thanks for the relpy. I think you are saying the one that drains water outside de box; that one I understand it... Im saying the ADS flex corrugated drain pipe, the "main one".. How do you manage both ends? are they closed? with what? because if they are "open", as you fill them they will throw out all the water; thanks in advance!

[@XoletteLife]

Pedro Young oh, I see. That pipe is also not closed off. He just tied the ends of the netting that goes over it. What's keeping the water in the tube (reservoir) is the sides of the tub. The point of the pipe is just a way to separate the soil from the water reservoir. A previous version of this self watering container garden my husband made used upside down plastic baskets (but it didn't do a good job of separating the soil from the water and sometimes tipped over). I suggest looking at other designs of self watering container gardens. Maybe that will help you understand a bit better. Hope that helps!

[@pedroyoung3672]

Many thanks for the kind reply. Best!!

[@1031Midnight]

Will it be okay without the net covering the tube?

[@Xolette]

This is my husband's response: "I don't know for sure. What I think will happen is dirty will slowly get in, clogging up the water supply. But again, that's just a guess."

[@SKgoon]

can you elaborate on why the drain hole and tube are necessary; I’m dumb.. thanks

[@SKgoon]

I understand “so that it doesn’t overfill” but do you set it at a certain height? And if you do then won’t all the area under that still hold water?

[@XoletteLife]

Yes, you want the area underneath to hold water. It's a reservoir of water for the plant, making this a "self-watering" container. The plant will get only the water it needs and you don't have to worry about overwatering-- just filling up the reservoir every once in awhile, and fill to when you see water come out the drain tube

[@SKgoon]

XoletteLife excellent, thank you

[@bucktaylor4960]

You mean you put the soil straight in the water?That makes a muddy in the bottom around that pipe,don't you thinkso ?

[@XoletteLife]

No, there is space between the soil and water because the reservoir in the pipe only fills up to a certain amount due to the drain pipe on the side.

[@bradmason8334]

You didn't cover the multi hose connections, say for connecting 5 containers together.

[@XoletteLife]

Brad Mason my husband has a single hose connection to a 6 house output brass fitting. He then has short garden hoses (3 and 6 foot connectors) running to each container

[@karinalopez32]

question, why is the mesh needed for the flex pipe?

[@XoletteLife]

The mesh is to keep the perforated tube from filling with dirt. It came with the mesh sock. My husband doesn't know if it's required though.

[@TheLeahLife]

Are you aware of the safety of this plastic material coming in contact with wet soil? I mean, does the soil or standing water leach BPA or any other chemicals from the container? I would think you'd want a food grade plastic, or at least something that won't break down from all the acids in the soil.

[@XoletteLife]

Those containers are made for outdoor use so shouldn't break down. My husband said he's not concerned since he's not cooking the plants on this material.

[@rayngrace]

any updated videos? thanks

[@XoletteLife]

No updated videos, but they lasted for 4 years, and finally the constant sun and multiple moves cracked the boxes. The storage containers had no UV protection, so that was probably why they cracked. But it worked well when we had them. Maybe a combination of the irrigation tube plus a planter made to be outside would work better.

[@rayngrace]

@@XoletteLife much appreciate the reply

[@ANACOSTIASERIES]

Afteer you filled with the soil, did you fill just the reservoir or filled the whole tub

[@XoletteLife]

Just the reservoir. Any excess water goes through the pipe my husband put in the bottom side of the tub.

[@ANACOSTIASERIES]

@@XoletteLife thank you! I want to do this with sweet corn in a 30 gallon one

[@XoletteLife]

@@ANACOSTIASERIES Wow! I wonder if it will work. Let me know! The biggest plant we've planted in one of those tubs were roman tomatoes!

[@dilberttf]

Can I add a float valve to this system as well?

[@Xolette]

My husband said he doesn't see why not but doesn't think you need to do that.

[@you-tubejunkie2926]

The float valve is a better idea then the timer.

[@42dvega]

how should timer be set?

[@nateheart4595]

"container gardens are really east to bake"

[@bjarkerugsted7539]

I am thinking, plats don't need water like we need water, water for plats is a transport system of neuriants, neutriants are on top of the soil, so would it not be better for the plants if you could somehow make the water go through the soil and down to the reservoir for the best results? (i dont know much about this in practice i just studie biologic)

[@bjarkerugsted7539]

my point is, would this not eventually need either new soil or to be water manually again with neutriants put on top, when the plants have drained the soil of all its salts and minerals it would need to regain some new or be replaced

[@XoletteLife]

Bjarke Rugsted The nutrients are within the soil-- the nutrients do not need to go into the reservoir for the plant to obtain it. The root system branches out into the soil. Plants DEFINITELY need water to undergo photosynthesis (water + carbon dioxide to make oxygen and glucose). If you worried about the soil running out of nutrients, that's why you add nutrients to the soil with fertilizer or replant in new soil. (A good crop rotation you wouldn't need to do this. That's when you let the plants die to add the nutrients back into the soil.)

[@ptk51]

Would it be possible to leave for 8 weeks and not water with this system? How often you refill with water? What kind of timer did you buy and where? So if there is a timer you never have to fill the system with water yourself? The timer does it automatically for you?

[@Xolette]

Piroska Kirika We have a single hose on a timer connected to the faucet running to a three hose splitter/connection. Hoses are then connected from the splitter to each individual container. I don't remember the name of the timer, but you could find them in the landscaping section of a hardware store... I'd ask an associate.

[@marioncrutchfield3427]

How do you determine how often to supply water?

[@Kid617]

are theses safe for edible foods and plants

[@XoletteLife]

The food we ate was fine, but if you're worried you could always use a food safe container-- though, I'm unsure you'd find one in that size.

[@juliasartin8026]

Can you connect the buckets together?

[@XoletteLife]

Julia Sartin yup!

[@pibblesnbits]

If you stack the buckets vertically and stagger them using stands. You can fill the top bucket and the overflow will fill the lower buckets.

[@jonny_mazerati9410]

Did they really put mint in that container with the other stuff 🤔

[@karlagomez6775]

Oh chippy

[@jr.rangeeel7624]

I'm going to ask what everyone wants to know How long can these plants go without watering using this method?

[@XoletteLife]

I believe it depends on which plant you're planting. Some plants need more water than other plants. The concept of the self watering container is that the plant gets as much water as it needs. The only job of the human is to keep the reservoir underneath the plants full. My husband has a timer setup on our hose so it fills up a little bit every day and if there is excess water it drains out from the drainage pipe.

[@karinalopez32]

@@XoletteLife Does the water in the bottom gets stuck, or eventually all the water is absorb by the soil? Also, why is the mesh for?

[@jzhou1688]

Is it a food safe box? Do not know the material made of this box. Thanks!

[@XoletteLife]

JF Zhou I don't think that was a deciding factor in the container my husband chose-- he chose it according to size and ability to be used outdoors.

[@Pamsmith59]

That was my question, as well. Don't these plastics, when heated, leech chemicals into the soil/food? And since I'm in Vegas, there would be a lot of heat hitting that plastic (from the sun here).

[@XoletteLife]

Pam Smith, this link may help from WebMD: www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/mixing-plastic-food-urban-legend I don't think using these containers poses a health risk.

[@danmobile]

Is that a schnauzer I spotted!??

[@XoletteLife]

Yup!!

[@buzzardscry1383]

Looks expensive lol

[@remyn.9198]

How often do you have to refill the reservoir if you don't have a timer?

[@XoletteLife]

That depends on how thirsty your plants are. When I was manually refilling it for a tomato plant in the summer, I remember it would take so much water. You'll get a feel for it overtime by watching when it starts to overflow.

[@GodlessManitoban]

My self watering system is the rain. Every now and then I water my garden with a sprinkler for an hour.

[@XoletteLife]

GodlessManitoban It must rain a lot from where you're from! :)

[@GodlessManitoban]

Once a week I think. Otherwise I water the garden.

[@somang2401]

It was a bit too fast

[@bonsummers2657]

You're letting soil sit in a pool of water, - yes?

[@XoletteLife]

Kind of-- but more like a small puddle of water with much more soil. If you look up "water wicking" in regards to plants you'll get a sense of how it works. It's like watering a plant from the bottom. I don't use these tubs in particular anymore, but I do have containers that you can water from the bottom or has a water reservoir at the bottom and they work well. I did experiment with soil blocks and aquaponic water wicking mats, and the soil blocks were getting way too much water and the seeds would not germinate/thrive. So I don't recommend wicking mats for germination.

[@bonsummers2657]

@@XoletteLife Thanks. I meant: the soil in the wicking shaft you're letting set in a pool of water, which makes for a relatively anaerobic condition in that soil, which is submerged in water? Given that there's organic matter in the soil, I wonder about the rot / putridity factor (?).

[@XoletteLife]

@@bonsummers2657 I had root rot when I used the wicking mat with my seedlings-- I guess it was too effective in transporting water to the soil so the soil blocks were way too damp. So I'm guessing the ratio of soil to water matters in which you want there to be more soil. With my other self-watering containers, they work fine.

[@MrBraffZachlin]

sure because everyone wants a bunch of plastic home depot storage containers and hose laying all over the place lol. btw a hose and timer is like saying hydroponics is a self watering system.

[@FlyScienceGuy]

braf zachland They could have hooked it up instead to a rain barrel hooked up to a 5 gallon bucket with a float valve inside which only lets water in when the water level is below the ideal level. If they did that, they would truly have a self watering system.

[@jovymac7986]

What the heck are you doing with the camera? It’s making me dizzy! Just leave it alone.