How to Make a Self Watering Container

One of the best parts about making self watering containers for this project is that it’s cheap. Most of the supplies needed are either already laying around the house or you can easily get in your neighborhood.

Tools, materials and costs involved in making a self watering container:

5 gallon bucket (cost $0.00). I was able to get a boatload of these from the local bodegas by simply asking. Other places that you could check are your local delis or supermarkets.

12″x12″ vinyl tile (cost $7 for box of 20 $0.35/tile). Picked these up at the local variety store. Can sometimes go to tile store and get samples that they are throwing away.

20″ copper pipe (cost $25 for 10′. Cut into 6 20″ pieces $4-5/piece) This is the most expensive thing that goes into the containers. Priced out a few stores and saw upwards of $65 for 10′.

Plastic deli container (cost $0.00) Friends and family have tons of these, so asked them to save for me. Can use the various sizes for various containers.

Other tools -- marker, razor, scissor, drill with 1/4″ bit and duct tape (cost $0.00) I had all of these or was able to borrow them from people.

Total cost per bucket = $4.35

That’s pretty damned cheap.

Now that you’ve got your tools and materials. Here is how to assemble and put together.

Step 1 Put the plastic deli container in bucket and fill up with water using a measuring cup until the water reaches the top of the deli container. This gives you the amount of water that your reservoir will hold.

Write that amount along with the total bucket capacity, diameter and height on the bottom of the bucket. This will help you to keep records of what vegetables grew in what conditions.

Step 2 To make the insert for the self watering container. Trace the top outline of the bucket onto the vinyl tile. Inside of that circle, flip the container over and trace the bottom outline. This gives you a circle within a circle. Cut somewhere in between until the tile is able to rest on top of the deli container in the bucket.

Step 3 Trace the top circle of the deli container in the middle of the vinyl tile. Draw a “T” in the middle and then connect the lines to form a diamond. Use your razor blade to cut out the diamond.

The tile should now be able to rest on top of the deli container. This will allow the soil to wick the water up to the roots.

Step 4 Use your drill with the 1/4″ and drill holes all around the deli container. This enables the water to come in contact with the soil in the deli container and keep the plant hydrated.

Step 5 Measure the length from the insert to the top of the bucket. Write this down with the measurements from step 1.

Step 6 Trace the circumfrence of the pipe on the outer edge of the tile insert. Cut out the hole for the pipe.

Step 7 Put the deli container in the bucket, put the tile over it and insert the pipe. If it doesn’t fit perfect, fix it up and secure it with duct tape. Hold the bucket up to the light and mark a point that is just below the insert. Drill a 1/4″ at that point. This will make sure that you don’t overfill the bucket because it will spill out of the hole.

These self watering containers are out on my fire escape.

  • cityslipper
    Wanted to let you know that I absolutely love your video. You've created the poetry slam of small-space gardening. If things ever slow down, I'm going to work your video into one of my blog posts during the winter. Thanks for posting it!
  • Mike Lieberman
    Thanks Daniel. It's been fun so far. Besides being fun, everything has been much more productive than I anticipated as well, which is a bonus.
  • Thanks. This is great. I have a few vegetables in containers but it's hard to keep the watering up in summer. We have really prohibitive water restrictions here in southern Australia, but this should solve the problem.
  • Mike Lieberman
    Cool. Let me know how it turns out for you. It definitely helps to lessen the watering.
  • s_trevor_sh
    so do you have to continually monitor and fill the reservoir, or do you just let rain water fill it trough the copper pipe?
  • Mike Lieberman
    I've found that it depends on the vegetable. Tomatoes and celery definitely require watering frequently, but others can go a few days without watering. Depending on the container you use, you'll be able to see the water line.
  • Karen Cook
    Copper's not cheap; if you can get pvc, it's used for cold water lines in houses and pretty much the same material as the bucket, and costs about 1/10th the price of copper. Instead of $4.35, the cost would be about a buck.
  • Mike Lieberman
    You are correct Karen. It would be cheaper, but I didn't use PVC pipe because of the harmful potential to leach plasticizers and chemicals into the water, soil and vegetables. Wanted to strike a balance between price and health.
  • gloriabrownbates
    You have made me begin to think about garden container growing. Thank-you.
  • Mike Lieberman
    Thanks for the comment. Don't think about starting one. Grow one.
  • gloriabrownbates
    I was wondering how you protect your containers during the wintertime.. I know it gets very cold there! Goodness! Also, do you always plant from just seeds?
  • Mike Lieberman
    This was my first time. I didn't start from seed this time. Next year I will start some from seeds.
  • gloriabrownbates
    I think the phone books are a good insulation between the containers and the cold metal. What a good idea. Gloria
  • Mike Lieberman
    Thanks. They've been workin well so far. The greenhouses have been good for the fire escape, but not great for the backyard. Should've built something larger there.
  • Deanna
    This is really cool. I've made something similar but used recycled "water" bottles. Cut the bottom off and inserted into the pot upside down (with the cap removed). Mulch on top to help retain water. Not as pretty as the copper and would eventually break down but lasted for a growing season.
  • Mike Lieberman
    Thanks Deanna. I like that idea. Hmm, might use that for this coming season and hang them.
  • Man, is it supposed to take an hour to get the diamond cut out, or did I go wrong somewhere?
  • Mike Lieberman
    Definitely shouldn't take an hour to cut the diamond out. That's the easy part. Cutting the circle out takes a bit, but the diamond should be about 5 mins or so.
  • I just went to the store again. I think my tiles were some special extra thick kind, they had a clear glaze layer on top, and some black matting on bottom. I think the thinner stuff should breeze by.
  • Mike Lieberman
    How'd the thinner tiles work out for you?
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