Show #8/2708
Gardening With Containers
Containers That Use Less Water
There is something unusual about the brown containers - they're self watering containers. Pamela was surprised because she thought the water reservoirs were too small for the heat in Georgia and was concerned she would need to add water twice a day. But she's been pleasantly surprised to find they use about 1/3 less water than the plants in the crayon box garden. The way these containers work is there is a little thermometer looking gauge with a float in it. When the float is all the way to the top that means it's filled with water, when the float goes to the bottom you lift the plastic lid and fill it with water. That's it. Basically the container is surrounded by a reservoir that allows the water to be soaked up from the bottom. It's a very efficient way of using water. There's much less water loss to evaporation. The water is being delivered to the plant and held in the reservoir so the roots can uptake water when needed. The net effect is considerably less water used.