Recycled UTZ Pretzel Container

Click to enlarge. This is an an UTZ pretzel container that was recycled to make this sub-irrigation planter. It was made using the same technique as the soda bottle planters .

The plant is a Schefflera arboricola that has been growing in one of my other sub-irrigation planters. It is now over 8 years old and in extremely good health.

There is one change that improves these planters. If you insert a strip of polyester backing material (1" wide in this planter) (AquaPad ) under the cap you will create a very functional wick. Just lay the wicking strip inside the cap and screw it on. This fastens it and creates a wick for capillary action from the reservoir into the potting soil.

Using this method the cap or lid in this case does not need to contact the bottom of the reservoir. The polyester wick bridges the gap between the cap and the reservoir bottom.

This planter is equivalent to an 8" grower pot. It cost nothing and is in my opinion better than the majority of so-called self-watering planters sold at retail.

You can see everything that’s going on…reservoir, soil moisture and the root system. You can either use it free standing with a high-tech look or install it in a decorative cachepot.

NOTE
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A Message From Greenscaper If you’re top watering your houseplants, there’s a better way...for both you and your plants.

Follow the advice you read here and that of Dr. Bill Wolverton, retired NASA scientist and author of the most popular houseplant book "How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants that Purify Your Home or Office".

He correctly recommends hydroculture first and subirrigation second. He rates drench and drain top watering as a poor third choice.

There is no advice here about sub-irrigation or hydroculture that you cannot prove to yourself. It doesn’t take a sophisticated plant lab. Just do it! You and your plants will find the benefits in short order.

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