So I was checking out some gardening equipment online a few months back and stumbled across one of these self-watering planters. Well not really self-watering but more of a planter with a water reservoir in the bottom so you have to water less frequently. It also has wheels for moving it around if needed.
This planter is small spaces, plus it can be used on the patio or a porch if that’s all you have. Considering I’m the type of person who likes to deconstruct things just to see how they work here’s what came next.
My engineering mind figured I could probably construct my own self-watering planter for less money and here’s what happened. After doing a little research around the garage I found enough items to do what I needed except for a good 5-gallon bucket. I picked up a good bucket at the hardware store and then it was time to put things together.
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If you want to try one for yourself here are the parts needed for the build:
- 5-gallon bucket
- landscape – weed cloth
- tomato cage
- garden soil
- perforated drain pipe – field line
- hack saw
- drill – for drilling drainage holes
Cut the unused field lines so that they lay in the bottom of the buckets. Insert a piece of 1 1/2 tubing into the bottom, so you can add water directly to the gravel area in the bottom. Cover with gravel and landscape cloth as this is where the excess water will live. A 1/2 inch hole was drilled at the top of the gravel for drainage.
Next, I placed a tomato cage into the bucket and then fill almost to the top with some good potting mix. I placed them early so I wouldn’t move around the drain lines in the bottom. I also added a short piece of pipe for filling water directly down into the water reservoir area.
Since the planters are pretty heavy and a little awkward to move when filled I decided to put them on planter casters. This worked out great when we had a late frost as I just rolled them into the garage and back out once things warmed back up. We did have a windstorm one day and one of the planters blew over, actually, it blew the planter and it rolled off the side of the sidewalk and turned over. I’ve fixed that now by adding a paver next to the buckets so they don’t roll.
Fast forward and here you go! The tomatoes think their home is awesome!
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