Edited:
Once I discovered pre-manufactured self-watering flower pots in the store, there was no turning back!
So, what is a self-watering pot? Think of it as a flower pot with a built-in saucer that keeps water available to the plants for a couple of days after watering. The reason I prefer self-watering pots is that the 9 inch commercial nursery pots, like their hanging pots, require watering each and every day in order for annuals to survive for the entire growing season, and that is not my idea of a good use of time. After all, we are a busy society, right? I prefer to work smarter, not harder! More importantly, self-watering pots aid in saving money on water and plants! In my opinion, it's a no-brainer.
Summer after Summer, the neighbor across the street waters her, nursery bought, pre-planted annuals in commercial hanging pots, each and every evening. You know, the kind with excessive drainage holes in the bottom? Water drains out like a sieve, before the soil gets a good soaking!!
It's a waste of water and, if those types of pots aren't vigilantly watered each and every day, the soil dries out and the plants die before you can say, "Get the hose!!", sending your hard earned money down the drain! (pun intended
) Okay, okay, that's an over-exaggeration, but I think my point's been made. Those pots serve nurseries well, but they're not for the consumer's long-term use, in my opinion. In her defense, the neighbor waters those hanging pots vigilantly, every single day of the season, thus keeping her annuals looking gorgeous, but it's not for everyone, particularly me. As a consumer, that's not a ball and chain to which I'm willing to commit.....absolutely not! After my pre-planted annual pots come home, I transplant them in to self-watering pots. It's a habit with practically no exceptions! Even my wall pockets were manufactured as self-watering pots, so they won me over immediately, and I've had them for many years!
My self-watering pots are the decorative, re-usable type. If I find an easily drillable 8 inch (or larger) pot, without a drainage hole, I'll turn it in to a self-watering pot, firstly, by drilling a hole on the side of the pot, using a 1/2 to 1 inch drill bit, at approximately one or two inches from the bottom. The size of the bit can depend on whether or not you prefer to check for water with your finger, but it needs to be large enough to allow the exchange of water and air when excess water drains out. Drilling the hole takes some patience, because the pot, particularly made of plastic material, can buckle and crack under too much pressure on the drill, so press firmly but gently to aid the drill in doing the work.
Keep in mind that the bottom of the drilled hole makes for the top of the water reservoir (for false bottom pots, the bottom of the hole should be even with the false bottom platform). Next, on the inside of the pot, I fasten a small piece of aluminum window screen over the hole with a piece of masking or duct tape, to aid in containing the soil when excess water drains out. Then I fill the bottom of the pot with stones up to, and level with, the bottom of the hole (again, which is the top of the water reservoir) and cover them with a piece of landscape fabric that is (a minimum of) 3 inches larger in diameter. I cut the landscape fabric larger in diameter so it will go up the sides a bit, all the way around, to help contain the soil within the landscape fabric. It's not foolproof, but it works pretty well.
If your pot has a false bottom, there's no need to add stones in the bottom. Finally, I fill with soil and plant away! Tip: I save produce packaging nets to make 'stone sacks', if you will, to place in the bottom of the pots, so that, when removing dead plants and the root ball, at the end of the season, the stone sack is easily retrievable to reuse next year, rather than surrendering loose stones to the compost bin!
I do double up the real thin netting for strength.
I personally choose to make self-watering pots using flower pots that are only made from materials that are easy to drill. As far as ceramic pots are concerned, if it doesn't have a drainage hole in the bottom, to use with a saucer, I personally don't buy the pot. Ceramic isn't impossible to drill, though. It takes a specified ceramic drill bit (as shown below on the right side of Ken's comment photo) and the patience of a saint, in my opinion.
So, if you dislike watering your outdoor potted plants every single day and losing money on dead plants, try making your own self-watering pots, and you'll have a little more free time to play in the dirt and some money to spend on your gardens!
Happy Gardening, my Friends!!
Dana P.
Ginny!!
