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I don't think I get the "self-watering" part.

The plants are contained and I am sure that the amount of moisture lost through evaporation has been reduced, but it doesn't look like they are somehow watering themselves.

I am a not a gardener, some maybe I am missing something.

maybe it should read easier watering or friendly watering... not self-watering - that would be like Seymore who eats people being a self-feeding plant.

Is this the same idea as the "Watering Globes" I see in infomercials? Or something different?

She is able to water them once a day and the tube holds all the extra water. Throughout the day as the tomatoes drink, they are able to obtain more water that wouldn't have normally been there without the watering system.

It would however be nice if they walked themselves to the garden hose to get their drink on :) Now THAT would be a self watering tomato plant!

thanks sarahrae. that was helpful!

These have been really great for me. I followed the instructions from the link below and constructed a container with a resevoir. Even in hot July and August, I can get away with watering once a week, which is great for summer vacations.

http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2007/01/self-watering-containers.html

yeah if you did a double bucket, the gap that is in the bottom one would create a nice reservoir.

I use "agardenpatch" self watering containers and it has a 4 gallon reservoir in the bottom. I just left from thursday til sunday and there was still water left in the bottom of it. With a trellis of pea pods, a red pepper, 1 large basil, and 2 tomato plants all drinking from it.

Great post Sarah...a triple! You just need more specific DIY details for a home run. They're on the web.

Emmeryville's question is spot on! The so-called "self-watering" term unfortunately caught on in the consumer market.

Plants do not have a brain like animals. They have no intelligence to "drink" or "not drink". You are the "self" and you need to use simple techniques to manage the soil moisture. Use a soil probe (not a moisture meter) to check soil moisture at the bottom of the planter.

Professionals use the correct term sub-irrigation which is simply capillary action. Water rises from a bottom reservoir via a soil or fabric wick up into the soil mass. All of the water is distributed evenly with minimal loss. This is not simply a matter of personal preference.

It is the best way, the correct way to water plants in containers in spite of what you read in houseplant books and on the web. I call drench and drain "poke, pour...and pray...with emphasis on the "pray"!

Drench and drain watering is a dumb way to water container plants. Its widespread misuse is a reflection of our retarded horticultural education system.

Thankfully when our institutions fail us, we now have the web with blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Posts like this will help get the word out there to city dwellers who will benefit the most.

Use sub-irrigated boxes, beds and buckets and there is no need for tilled earth. Also, have no fear of contaminated soil.

All you need is a location with 6 or more hours of full sun to grow food anywhere in the city. Use them and you will grow more vegetables per square foot while saving precious time and water. It is the truly green way to garden...in every sense of the word.

there are these things called the earthbox for $50/box (see earthbox.com). my tomato plants are on fire and are bona fide trees!!! it is a self-watering box complete with the tube. considering the above effort (cutting tubes and finding buckets, etc) and the proven effectiveness of the earthbox, i'd give the earthbox a try first.

Not quite the same as those infomercial Watering Globes. They don't hold much water and you have to fill them from the tap (which, according to Amy Sedaris, isn't very easy what with their long thin necks).