Self-watering containers can keep your container garden healthy and thriving – even while you’re away!

If you’re starting a container garden, one of the greatest challenges you will face is keeping everything watered – especially in the event that you have to travel or leave your garden for any period of time. Containers can dry out amazingly fast, especially in hot weather, or the warm, dry environment inside your home during the winter.

A wonderfully ingenious way for dealing with this problem is to use self-watering containers. These nifty pots can keep your plants happy and healthy, with just the right amount of soil moisture. By using a self-watering container, you can make sure your plants won’t dry out while you’re on vacation, and you won’t have to drown them before leaving to make sure they’ll have enough water to make it through.

Here’s how self-watering containers work:

Self-watering containers are different from regular containers that you’d plant in. The main reason is that the water is sucked up by the roots from the bottom of the container.

They made up of two containers of the same size called a reservoir and planting container….

Inside of the reservoir container, you place a wicking basket with small holes in it…. There is also an overflow hole drilled into the side of the container to allow for drainage.

…………………………………………………..

………………………………………………….

Since there are holes in the wicking basket with the soil, it will soak up the water and allow the plants roots to drink up the water as needed. This is a more natural way for the plants to soak up water as opposed to watering them from the top.

………………………………………………..

For more details on self-watering containers, check out the full article at UrbanGardener.com.

Photo Credit: Urban Organic Gardener