Self watering pots

My first post!

I've done a few grows over the decades both indoor and outdoor, mainly before the internet was about, (you younger growers have it so much easier!)

Does anyone use self watering pots for their outside garden grows? I understand for a gorilla grow they may be unsuitable but for the garden they used to work well for me.

They seem to have allot in their favor but i haven't seen them mentioned here at all??

Lucky Luke said:

My first post!

I've done a few grows over the decades both indoor and outdoor, mainly before the internet was about, (you younger growers have it so much easier!)

Does anyone use self watering pots for their outside garden grows? I understand for a gorilla grow they may be unsuitable but for the garden they used to work well for me.

They seem to have allot in their favor but i haven't seen them mentioned here at all??

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There's a thread on them HERE (shame I had a typo in the title - obviously should be "sub" not "sup"). Several people are using them indoors, haven't heard of any outdoor yet. I've no personal experience yet, but in a week I'll have two going inside and then June 1st I'll have 3-5 (not sure yet) outside. My outdoor ones I plan on burying in the ground up to the overfill hole, so that the water res stays cool.

So I can't personally report on any successes outside yet, but I am definitely interested in them, for what that's worth.

I use them inside, but I can't see why they wouldn't work as well outside. If you're not going to plant in the ground, It seems like the extra water capacity would be nice during the dog days.

There may be heat problems outdoors. Self watering sounds a lot like hempy...

Chunky Stool said:

There may be heat problems outdoors. Self watering sounds a lot like hempy...

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Yeah, definitely hempy. I grow in super soil, but the pots I use have a wick that comes up through the bottom. I think they would work very well for hempy from what I know about the technique.

droopy107 said:

Yeah, definitely hempy. I grow in super soil, but the pots I use have a wick that comes up through the bottom. I think they would work very well for hempy from what I know about the technique.

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Similar to hempy, but I've been told there are differences. I've never done hempy, but people who have done both say that the difference is the SIPs have actual reservoirs that are just water, and there is an air space of an inch or so between the water and the bottom of the pot with the plant in it. The connection is through a wick, and that creates a separate environment and a different relationship between the plant and the res. Some people are putting air stones into their res, others don't. Like I said, I'm new to this, but I love what I've seen and I'm definitely moving forward with them.

Ive used them outside before in Sydney Australia (so fairly high temps)and had really good results. Really good. Cannot over water and good air flow for the root system to.

Not a pot, but my Red Neck Rain Gutter Grow System would work with weed too. I just sit the grow bags and pots in an inch or two of water. A real RGGS has 3" net pots in the bottom of the buckets for the water to wick up from the rain gutter.

That would work well Larry but allot more work, not as "attractive" in a normal home garden and would more than likely use more water. Would be allot cheaper though. Would just need to watch it doesnt over fill.

Its very similar to the kiddie pool idea.