Self Watering Pot Outside Setup... whadya think?

I found this pot at SH Hydroponics > Outdoor Self Watering Wick Planter

Basically it has a water reservoir underneath and some cotton wicks that poke up from it into the pot through holes in the bottom. I've heard these setups work great for household plants. The plant just sucks up water as it needs it. I'm thinking this will help reduce the frequency with which I've got to visit my plants to water.

What do you think of this setup? I found a 15'x15' brier/thornbush patch in the middle of a nature preserve I've never seen anyone near. No large trees around, plenty of sun. A freshwater creek runs about 50 yards away. The brier patch dips in the center, so it is almost like a little fort in there. The only way for me to even get into it is by laying some heavy carpet over the side and climbing in (those little thorns are fucking *sharp*). I'm thinking of setting a few of these pots in the middle of that thing. I figure I'll visit them once or twice a week to check up, and refill the "tank" with some water mixed with soluble fertilizer and LST the plants so they don't poke up out of the thorn patch.

Cool. Sounds like a nice setup as well. You'll be growing a lot more then me that's for sure. Are you going to be doing a lot of watering with that many plants, or do you think they take care of themselves once established outside?

I'm planning on growing some "orange bud". I love NL, but I've never had any of these "sweet" strains and I'd like to try one. If I plant 4 hopefully I'll get one nice female out of the bunch.

I've actually started leaning toward another system. I found these online: Earth Box - Homegrown Vegetables Without A Garden Supposedly you just ad water to the reservoir and it takes care of itself with nutrients and everything.

I figure if I set up a couple of those with two plants each along with a battery powered watering system ( Automatic Watering System) and a Rubbermaid tub full of water I could leave it for weeks at a time! It wouldn't be cost efficient for growing as many as you are, but I think it'll work perfect for me.

I may go with a different spot too. The thorn patch I found is very hidden on the inside, but from the outside it is sort of in the middle of a clearing. It would be very easy for someone to be standing in the treeline and watch me climbing in and out from a variety of angles. So I've found another clearing with some bushes on the northwest side that should hide the earthbox well. And a couple of trees are nearby (on the north side so as not to block the sun) that I could hang a motion activated hunting/trail camera on.

I figure I'll visit every couple of weeks to check on the water. But before I actually tend to the equipment I'll check the camera for signs of tampering and any pictures. If anyone has been near the site I'll be able to tell. So worst case is the cops sting and I can say I'm just a hunter, saw someone was growing something, I figured deer might be attracted, so I put up my camera. :p

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Originally Posted by devon420

Hi, your setup is very close to mine lol, found a forest of sticker bushes and cut out a center and the only way for people or animals to get to it is by climbing underneath layers of sticker bushes. i'd say go for it! and about the pot if those werent so damn expensive id buy them because they would come in handy. but for what im going, id need 20 or 30 of those which well ... im dead broke (which is the reason why im growing in the first place) this summer i will growing northern lights crossed with grapefruit (NLxGF) i'll be cloning outdoors and planning on using a compost soil mix with some added perlight and i'll be using organic nutrients on 10 clones and chemicle on 10 so compare what's the difference in terms of taste and smoke and what not. Good luck during this season and happy growin any questions i'd be happy to answer.

Stay Peaceful

Devon :rasta:

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I would recomend either one you showed.
I bought a wick pot at wal-mart for around $6 the reservoir only holds about a gallon. I noticed the plant grew alot faster probably because the soil stays light and fluffy. The only drawback with mine is I had to refill it every 3 days. I plan on using more of these in the future.

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Originally Posted by 19Chuck85

I would recomend either one you showed.
I bought a wick pot at wal-mart for around $6 the reservoir only holds about a gallon. I noticed the plant grew alot faster probably because the soil stays light and fluffy. The only drawback with mine is I had to refill it every 3 days. I plan on using more of these in the future.

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Every 3 days, aye? That's great to hear actually. I had heard that plants can take up to 1 gallon of water every day. So I figured one of those 1-gallon self watering pots like you used wouldn't help with watering at all... which is why I was interested in the 4-gallon earthbox. Maybe I'll go with the one gallon pots after all... I could certainly get them a lot cheaper then the earth box.

Did you grow in a northern, cooler climate? I would be growing in the Southeastern U.S. (North Carolina) and it gets pretty hot in the summer here.

If the watering would only be 1 gallon every few days I could easily set up a gravity pump somewhere in the woods with a timer to take care of watering for at least a week or two at a time.

the big ones look good, loose soil is a good thing but ur going to need a 3-5 gal section for roots and soil, and then probably the same for the res. but that set up should last atleast 2 weeks with out topping the res. Very goood find that thing looks perfect in size for a full grow, if you dont want you roots to grow so much out then into a ball i would suggest using smaller pots at first and then when they get too big transplant them and u have a nice root ball already.

hey can i buy these pots down at the hardware store etc , and what exactly would they be called

Hey jsn i'm growing during a Canadian winter so it's a fair amount cooler than the southern US. On the plus side, this has been one of the mildest winters that I can remember, I hate cold.

I'm planning on building a trash-can system that I am going to put in the ground with only 6" sticking out of the ground. I am going to have it be a wick-style desert grow version. I am going to get some slow release soil and go check on it about every 2 weeks or so with 2 5 gallon containers of water.

I live in AZ and it is fucking hot and dry as hell here. Since my parents are divorced, I have two houses I live at (One normally then I go see the other about once a week or so and they are not home the majority of the time) so I am going to live at one, and grow behind the other. I am raising the plants from seed to where they are about 1' tall and have a decent stem/root structure then I am transplanting them into 3-gallon pots. I am going to raise them in holes behind my house before they go in the garbage can to grow up.


Well I am pretty stoned right now, no tourettes though, but anyways, I hope this message made sense to you guys.

hey jsn,

I am not sure why your planning on using self watering pots or boxes, but you might want to consider just planting directly in the ground and apply mulch around them. Ir takes a bit more work to get started (digging the hole, removing, roots, adding admentments, etc.) However it needs less tending once they get going. If you can't get into visit the pots for a few days, and they go dry, you will likely lose everything. Not so in the ground.

good luck