I decided I was going to try something new with my tomatoe's this year. I am in the process of re-doing and adding a food-garden which will not be ready for use till late in the season. So I decided to grow some tomatoes in pots. I also know I have enough to water already, so I am going to water my tomato plants using a wicking method. I sure hope this works. I have enough 5 gallon pails left over from the studio remodel we did upstairs. This will be a good use for them all.
Items I used to make the planters:
5 Gallon pail with lid
A pot that fits nicely on top of the pail lid
100% cotton rope
Nuts and bolts
Drill
Scissors
Drill Bits
Wire Fencing
1. The first thing I did was attach the lid of the pail to the bottom of the pot. Drill two holes and secure with bolts and nuts.
2. Drill six holes around the lid/pot spaced evenly. I also drilled a hole on the side of pail towards the top that I will use to fill the pail with water as needed.
3. Cut three lengths of rope to thread into the holes so the ends are inside the pot, and to leave enough to hang inside of the pail.
4. Make a wire frame to fit inside of the pot.
Fill pail with water and make sure you get the rope wet that is inside the pot also. This is to make the wicking action start easier.
Place the wire frame inside the pot and hang the rope over the frame as far up the inside of the pot without pulling the length out of the bottom of pail.
I filled the pots with a potting mixture of compost, perlite and peat moss.
Planted the tomato plants and gave them a light watering. The test begins
How well did this work?
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