I LOVE plants! OK, that is definitely an understatement – but I DO...love...plants! Any chance I get, it seems I’m adding to the urban farm and garden. So if I have a chance to bring some of the outdoors in, I’m all over it!
After doing the DIY for the Ollas, it got me thinking that I could reverse engineer the terracotta pot and turn it into a self-watering planter for herbs. I have some wine barrel planters that I’ve planted my most utilized herbs, but a self-watering planter would allow me to bring herbs indoors that can be enjoyed all year round and have readily at my fingertips! A self-watering planter could also be handy for those that travel often or want to keep herbs watered indoors more easily.
If you purchase a ready-made self-watering planter, you can spend anywhere from $30-$45. The best part of this DIY is you probably have all or most of the materials already and it’s so simple to make. If you purchase the materials for the planter, it would cost around $5-$7 (sans the herb plant) – if you repurpose, recycle and reuse, it's free.
Unlike the Olla where the water seeps through the terracotta pot to water the soil surrounding the Olla, with the self-watering planter, we have the reverse happening where the water seeps into the pot through a force called capillary action. This happens through both cohesive and adhesive forces that make the material you choose to act like a wick. The planter draws up the water as it begins to dry out from evapotranspiration, and the soil and the plant’s roots will remain moist, as long as there is water in the jar. Pretty cool, right?
What you will need:
Vessel to hold water (this could be a glass vase, glazed pot, candle holder, something that is not porous on the inside)
Terracotta pot or planter pot has a hole in the bottom and a rim to hold the pot from the rim of the vessel that holds water
Wick material (this can be cotton or jute string -- you can also use strips of cotton fabric or strips from an old t-shirt or an old shoelace)
Potting soil to fill in any gaps in the planter pot
Small rocks (optional)
Herb plant that will fit in the planter pot
Let’s get to it!
Make your wick (take your cotton or jute string (or cotton strip or shoelace) and make a knot big enough so that it will not slip out of the hole at the bottom of your pot -- the knot end will be inside where your plant goes-- and the length of your wick should be long enough to touch the bottom of the vessel that holds water).
Place your herb into the planting pot over the wick knot -- filling in with extra potting soil if needed.
Pour water into the vessel to 1.5-2” from the top (this will allow for water displacement when you insert your planting pot).
Place your potted herb into the vessel…and you’re done!
Tips:
Place your self-watering planter on a window sill that will get lots of sunlight, preferably a south-facing window.
If you want to hide the string or cotton strip, you can add decorative rock in the water vessel (make sure the string
You can also decorate the planting pot with string, ribbon to match your home décor. If you have a planter pot that is a little too small for the water vessel, you can build up the rim with some rope or string that you wrap around several times and knot around the rim.
The self-watering planters can be made for individual herbs or you can use a larger pot and vessel to do a mini indoor herb garden.
Happy growing!