From the page: This bucket still has more chapters ahead
Idea 5
Self-watering planter
The idea of planters that water themselves goes back to the ancient hanging gardens and gained traction in small apartments, where watering every day became impossible. The physics is simple: through capillarity, the water in the reservoir rises through the moist soil little by little, like a cloth absorbing liquid, keeping the soil always just right.
What you need
- Paint-stained bucket (the body of the planter)
- A plastic bottle or smaller container that fits inside (the reservoir)
- Cotton cord, candle wick or strip of cotton fabric
- Nail and hammer for the holes
- Soil or substrate and your seedling
- Utility knife to cut the bottle
How to make it
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1
Make a hole in the bottom of the bucket, in the center, and a side hole near the base — the central one lets the wick through, and the side one is for filling the reservoir and relieving excess.
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2
Cut the plastic bottle at the height where it fits inside the bucket, keeping it mouth-up and slightly smaller than the inner diameter — it will hold the water without touching the substrate directly.
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3
Thread the wick through the central hole of the bucket and leave a tip of about 10 centimeters hanging inside the bottle — the cotton pulls the water up by capillarity, slowly rising to the soil.
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4
Fit the bottle inside the bucket and fill with substrate on top, burying the top end of the wick right in the middle of the soil, where the roots are.
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5
Plant the seedling and fill the bottle with water through the side hole — from then on, the system feeds itself for days.
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6
In the first days, water from the top as well, until the roots settle in and the wick takes over on its own.
Finishing touches
Check the water level each week through the side hole and refill as needed — on very hot days, consumption doubles. Herbs like basil and parsley love this system, because they get constant moisture without waterlogging.
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