Upside Down Watering System

[Xil]

SO let me just start by saying I'm not (yet) a grower, but I'm always looking for more knowledge so that when I do grow (re:no longer live with parents) I'll be able to do it right, and grow that good shit.

Anyway, I ramble. I just saw this article on a cool way to water plants and it made me think of you guys at GTGH. What do you all think?

Lifehacker - Turn Storage Containers into Self Watering Tomato Planters - Garden (from The EarthTainer™)
The second link tells how to construct it with videos and whatnot.

Originally Posted by lifehacker.com

Turn Storage Containers into Self Watering Tomato Planters
By Jason Fitzpatrick

If you'd like to have delicious home-grown tomatoes but lack a garden to grow them in, you'll definitely want to check out this ingenious and inexpensive self-watering system.

Ray Newstead, silicon valley executive by day and gardening aficionado by night, wanted a more efficient way to grow tomatoes. He was tired of the wastefulness of having to deeply water large areas of soil to make sure his plants were well watered, along with the hassle of weeding all the nuisance plants that sprung up between his beloved tomatoes. His solution was to create a simple self-watering container from readily-available and cheap hardware store buys.



Unlike manual or drip irrigation top watering, the Earth Trainer employs a bottom up, automated watering approach based on the principle of capillary action. Water stored in the lower reservoir is wicked up into the soil much like the wick in a candle draws the liquefied wax upward to the flame. Moisture meets the roots of the plant where the plant "drinks" just as much water as it needs. This water consumption will vary significantly throughout the growing season as the plant produces fruit, and by providing a constant supply of water from the reservoir, the plant can achieve optimal growth and productivity.

Ray estimates the system consumes 75% less water than his in-ground tomatoes, and because of the way the water is stored within the planter, it requires radically less fussing. As an added bonus for apartment and condominium dwellers, the planter is easy to move and rotate for consistent sun exposure in small places. More information, including a video and plans, at the link below.

The EarthTainer™

[Xil]

Also this is kinda cool, if your growing in a shed or something it lets in a bit of light from the outside.

Lifehacker - DIY, No-Electricity Lighting from 2-Liter Bottles - Household

[Cerebro]

i'm using self watering pots atm
they are good but have a few downsides
the water is essentially the plants waste, that's not a great start
the aeration bench, whatever that is, would help alot tho
these work best when the soil is still able to dry out before the water is refilled from the overflow hole (not from the top)
and for plants that like wet feet

[Xil]

Do the ones you use have a similar design to the ones i showed? I think the ones i showed just pull up what they need, are you describing something that cycles the water through or something?

[Cerebro]

no, pretty much the same.
the roots get down into the res on mine, yours uses wicking to get water up
so similar

[Xil]

ah gotcha.

i guess watering the good old fashioned way remains king

[Cerebro]

yes, probably.
but it's labour intensive.

[Lord X]

I'ma try it come over and help me build it.

[Xil]

alright man. sometime this week.

[Thepizzaguy]

I think USD growing will will better for tomatoes because of the plants weight, than for pot which is fairly light through most of it's life cycle.