Self-watering planters are the best thing to happen to outdoor gardening!
When I first learned about these I was so excited but also a little skeptical that they would work where we are because we live in the mountains at a very high elevation.
But I built one last year that worked perfect and the strawberries I had in it came back and grew wonderful the 2nd year.... so far so good.
And... I've been wanting to try a blackberry bush in a planter.
Our dryer went out a year ago and my husband, being the conservative that he is, thought the tub would make a good planter... and I agreed because it would be covered with pond liner on the inside so no yucky leftover chemicals bothering out plants.
It is the perfect size for our back porch!
I bought cedar planks and cut them in half... screwed them on and added a piece of metal strap to the top and bottom just to help hold the boards on for a long time... hopefully.
Once the outside was all ready... I drilled a hole about 10 inches up from the bottom for the drain pipe which is just a 1 inch black pipe 5 inches long.
I used leftover pond liner I had from last year... it was just the right size, but putting it in a round container was a bit challenging.
Once the pond liner was all in I poked the drain pipe through the pond liner and side of the tub and siliconed it into place.
I used leftover plant buckets for the reservoir inside and drilled holes so the water wouldn't be blocked.
I put all the plant buckets in and made sure my drain pipe wasn't covered
I used a container lid for the shelf on top of the buckets and cut holes for the wicking containers. I also used a 2 inch pvc pipe for the fill tube and drilled holes in the bottom so the water could fill the bottom of the tub (reservoir).
I also drilled holes in the wicking containers so they could suck up the water, lined them with cloth barrier and filled them with soil, then placed them in their spots I cut in the shelf.
I used the cloth barrier to line the inside of the tub on the shelf and around the sides to keep the soil from falling down in the reservoir.
Once everything was in the right place, I filled the planter with soil and soaked it really really well with water and filled the reservoir so the wicks could start pulling water up, then I planted my blackberry bush and a few small flowers.
I am loving these self watering planters!
They are a little more expensive to build but I wouldn't do another planter without because I don't have to babysit them and water them non-stop.
I only water once or twice a month!
It's great!!!
Good luck with your next gardening adventure!
