DIY self watering containers

Self-watering containers eliminate the possibility of plants becoming stressed from lack of water. If there’s water in the reservoir, there’s enough water in the soil. Simply refill the reservoir before it’s empty—unless rain is in the forecast. Excess water flowing out the overflow hole will take valuable nutrients with

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I have made a LOT of large garden containers from plastic barrels cut in half. I have both 30 and 50 gallon sizes. Even the little 30 gallon halves are great for a single tomato plant.

When I build the containers ...
*I make sure any openings at the bottom are sealed shut. (Sometimes I have had to buy replacement bungs)
*Then I drill several 1/4 inch drain holes about 2 to 3 inches up the side of the container for drainage.
*I fill the bottom of the container with 1 inch or so lava rock or some large gravel to the level of the drain holes or just above. The lava rock is lighter and makes moving the container easier.
*Finally I fill with a good container soil mix.

When I water I make sure to always water slowly and completely. I stop when water starts coming out of the drain holes. The soil mix will work down between the stones and then water will be conducted by wicking up to the surface of the soil. The drain holes on the side insure that their is still drainage and the roots do not become water logged.

Making a self-watering container of this kind is darned cheap and VERY useful, especially if you live someplace where the summers are very hot. I mulch the container deeply as well to help prevent water loss even more.

Edited to say ... I just realized I have one of these containers as my avatar!

I just saw an interesting conatiner garden using milk crates and landscapiing fabric. If the harvest they had was any indication, it seems to work quite well for them

Here in the KC area it gets SO SO hot in the summer I am pretty sure an open container like that would never stay moist enough.

I have learned to work hard at keeping my root zone cool and moist and my leaves dry as possible. The humidity here is always high in summer as well and too much moisture on the leaves usually means fungus and mold.

I've made some self watering planters from 5 gallon buckets and I've grown potatoes in bags I sewed from landscape fabric. This year I reworked the garden, creating concrete block raised beds so I won't be using as many bucket planters as I have in the past. I still need to get my carrots started in my buckets, I don't have enough room in the garden for them this year.

I tried potatoes in a grow bag I made from polyester. I even lined it with plastic, but I still ended up killing the plants due to being too dry.

I guess I am a fail at keeping things watered well.

I ran across this version of the same idea...

http://chateau-listeur.blogspot.ca/2012/06/alaska-grow-bucket-update.html