I take a gallon can from food, punch some holes in the bottom with a nail, put the lid I removed to open the can over the holes, then fill a plastic bag with water and put it in the can. I have never found a plastic bag that would not leak, but if you do, poke a hole or 2 near the bottom of the bag with a pin so it will leak slowly. If your plants are in large pots like mine are (cut-off plastic barrels, usually), there is room to put one of these in the barrel. It will water your plants for almost a week if the pinholes really are pinholes.. If you want to decrease the amount of water your plants will need, such as during really hot weather, make some kind of simple shade over them before you put the self-waterers to work.

Hope the return shipping won't be too much Delora. When I first got my 4" potted violets, I wanted some decorative pots to set the plastic pots into. Found some small pots that were big enough to set both the pots and reservoirs down into them. Inexpensive at about $5-$8 each at the time. Only had a small number of plants at the time. Pot was not exactly the correct proportional size for these young plants but it did hide those plain plastic pots for me. (Plant could also be set on top of a slightly lower reservoir but should be high enough to lift plant out easily.) As the plant grew I added a pot ring to keep the leaves off the ceramic pot. Made it even easier to lift the plant up from the pot.

I realize SWCs are convenient, but I'm not a fan for a number of reasons. In order for a SWC to work, the soil used must be fine enough to wick effectively. Fine soils are water-retentive and the source of a number of problems related to root health and being able to provide for the plant nutritionally. If all I had was a self-watering pot, I'd modify it so it functions as a conventional pot with a drain hole and a collection saucer (if required). Al

If you are going to use this pot as manufactured, you better thoroughly SOAK thoroughly the inner unglazed pot BEFORE you plant into it. And make sure you use a very loose soil/perlite mix. No peat or vermiculite. They hold water and you don't need anything to hold water since you are now working on a "wick" system. Your wick is the entire unglazed portion of the pot. Understand however,,,,,bisque is very porous, those pores in the bisque will eventually become clogged with the minerals from fertilizer and what comes from water passing through as it "wicks" water from the bottom of the pot, through the wall of bisque and into your soil and then evaporates out of the soil. You will have no way to "leach" excess minerals out of your rootball. When you wick water every so often you should "leach" or take the plant of the reservoir and water from the top to bottom thoroughly and that washes a lot of excess minerals out of your pot so you don't have mineral/ salts buildup that will eventually kill your plant. I am not trying to talk you out of using those types of pots, some people love them. And some hate them. Seems there is really no middle ground. But it is a game changer on how you manage the plant you have in that pot. And no,,,,it does not give the plant exactly the moisture it needs and not a drop more. There is no sensor or shut off valve with this system. As long as you maintain water in the reservoir touching the bisque, water will keep absorbing into the soil and evaporating out of the top provided the pores do not clog and shut down the process. I have made these pots from scratch,,,,pouring slip into the mold, cleaning, glazing and firing the piece (ceramics and porcelain dolls are another one of my hobbies) and I am not a lover of the pot as it pertains to growing a violet. But that is just me. For me the deal breaker was no way to "leach" or flush the excess soil from the plant thru top watering. If you understand the dynamic of ceramic bisque/glazed plant containers then try one plant. See how it works and learn from it. Good luck. Rosie