Hello,

I have been thinking of putting together some minimal effort self watering planters for growing tomatoes on my back deck this year and wanted to get some feedback from those with more experience.

My current thought is to buy 17 1/2 gallon muck buckets (approx 21 in top diameter, 17 in depth) and a smaller (approx 11 inch) circular 4 inch plastic pan to place inside the bucket upside down. Drill holes in the inverted pan for water and air to pass through. Drill drain holes around the outside of the bucket. Fill a couple of small mesh bags with clean gravel... place a PVC tube about 1 inch in diameter into the end of one and tie it closed so that one end is in the center of the gravel. Then place both bags inside of the bucket between the walls of the bucket and the inverted pan (probably a 2.5 to 3 inch gap at the base) to hold the pan in place leaving two gaps between them for the container mix to fill and provide wicking from the very bottom of the "reservoir" (provided by the inverted pan and the gaps between the gravel) up into the rest of the soil. Fill the remaining space with potting mix. Add whatever fertilizer is desired if any. Cover the soil with plastic, cutting a hole for the watering tube (the one with the other end in the bag of gravel) and the tomato plant.

My reasons for not going with the normal bootleg earthbox is primarily a desire to have something that looks more like a pot for aesthetic reasons (my better half would prefer a completely traditional pot and saucer and can't understand my interest in the bootleg earthbox idea so this was my compromise) and this also seemed like a lower work design as with a sufficiently durable pan there is no need to build structural support in nor is there a need to cut large holes and attach secondary containers to act as the wick.

My main concern is whether there would be sufficient aeration since there would not be direct airflow from the drainage holes to the space under the pan, and whether the gravel bag around the watering tube would provide sufficient drainage for a quick and easy filling or whether soil would infiltrate the gravel and stop things up by the end of the growing season.