Self Watering Containers

I built a self-watering container this weekend. They contain a reservoir of water on the bottom, which gets wicked up by the soil, through a cup that hangs into the water. Picture the soil as a big sponge, with just a bit of itself sitting in the water; over time, the entire sponge is moist.

If this works, it'll be perfect for my tomatoes. Somehow, I can never water them right. Tomatoes are incredibly picky; they need just the right amount on a regular schedule. Get it wrong, and you have blossom end-rot or cracks.

Here's the screen (above) the separates the soil and the water. The two big holes hold the cups. The little holes are to allow oxygen into the bottom of the soil.

This is the storage bin I used to make it. The screen was cut out of the lid. One more hole off to the side allows for the pvc fill pipe to stick through.

And here's the finished product, before I added the soil. I ended up getting the shape of the screen wrong, leaving gaps between the edge and the container. To keep soil from falling into the reservoir, I draped a piece of shade cloth over the interior.

For more info, you can check here, or Earthbox.com to buy one. I say make your own. It's less than half the price.

Keep you posted for what grows!

First Tomatoes! Sorta.

The very first ripe tomatoes to come off the vine! The upper one is a Celebrity, your basic supermarket tomato. The lower one is an heirloom Carbon. They are juicy and sweet and totally better than any tomatoes from the grocery store. Unfortunately:

They've the dreaded blossom end-rot. This happens when the watering is either too irregular, or there is a calcium deficiency in the soil. So I now water with milk every day.

Actually no, milk is too expensive. Bill over at City Farmers got me some gypsum and told me when to water. He also told me that I could still eat them. I wish that tomatoes weren't so damn picky. The squash certainly don't have this problem.

Sprouts!

My very first tomato seedlings. I'm so proud.