I have used both the Gardener's Supply SW containers and the ones from Walmart. I think the most important thing to consider is: are you planning to use chemical fertilizer or organic? Originally I planned to grow herbs and edibles using organic ferts. I bought the GS windowbox (about $25)and Fiore Planter (on sale for $19.99 I think it is discontinued now though) before I considered how funky fish emulsion would probably get after percolating in an enclosed environment for an entire growing season. So okay, I decided to use them for ornamental plants using chemical fert. I planted petunias in the windowbox and it worked just fine. The main drawback is that the windowbox uses evaporation instead of wicking, so if you dont put some kind of slow release fert like osmocote in the potting mix, you will have to water from above with liquid fertilizer. Not a big problem. The biggest problem I had with the windowbox was I had some heirloom trailing petunias that needed to be dead headed regularly. I had them on brackets trailing over the my balcony railing. Eventually it got to where I couldnt reach them all just leaning over the balcony so I had to pick up the whole thing and turn it around to prune it, then pick it up again and put it back on the brackets. That sucker is heavy and cumbersome when full of water (and I could never seem to remember to prune BEFORE I watered LOL)! The water guage worked well and there are holes in the bottom to drain the overflow if you over fill the reservoir (or if it rains). I had some problems with the Fiore Planter. The water guage didnt work as well as the one in the window box and didnt accurately reflect how much water was in the reservior (maybe that is why it is discontinued). I was always seemed to end up with water coming out of the overflow hole. I got so disgusted that I ended up taking the plants out and repotting them in regular pots. When I did that, I found that the roots of the plant nearest the water guage had deep roots that had sort of clogged up the pipe. So I will probably try it again, making sure I dont put anything with deep roots in that particular spot. For my edibles, I decided to try the Walmart SW containers. The are cheap, and you can take the bottom off, and change the water so that organic ferts dont get too nasty. But you will get some icky larvae in it especially if you use organic ferts. I put mosquito bits or pieces of mosquito dunks in in the resorvoir and changed the water every week or so. Worked great. The only problem I had was with plants that have deep/invasive roots. They eventually grew down through the grid and turned brown when I forgot to top off the water. Freaked me out and made me think I had root rot. So overall, self waterers are nice to have for annuals that need consistent moisture (especially in this hot TX climate). For perennials that need good drainage and like dry conditions I follow Al's (tapla) recommendations for soil mix. Bottom line? Gardener's Supply self waterers are higher tech and stylish but pricy . But I wouldnt recommend using them if you plan to use liquid organic ferts. Walmart self waterers are cheap and functional. If using chemical ferts you probably dont even need to drain the water, but you will need some mosquito dunk/bits. Just my 2 cents Lydia PS. Someone else on this forum recommended filling the water channels (the part that sits in water) with something other than potting mix. I put used perlite to fill the channels then 1:1:1 (peat/coir:compost:more perlite) mix on top of that. Gardeners Supply has a mix designed for their self waterers but very pricy.

They sure do - figuratively and literally! That's why I don't use those containers. I'm always dumping wigglers out of the ones at my Mom's house. But I certainly understand that not everybody has the time or desire to spend time watering every day, I'm not knocking their use. Instead of spending money on the dunks, and if this is physically possible, dumping the water out every 5 days can prevent having any wigglers reach maturity.

Im using two sub-irrigation planters from Walmart with my standard 1:1 perlite and peat-based potting mix or pine bark fines with some CR fertilizers and top dressed with a thin layer of compost. Neither the planters nor my potting mixes smell. IÂm, however, not using these self-watering planters as you are or as instructed by Earthbox. The Misco Wal-Mart self-watering planters IÂm using have exposed and removable bottom water reservoirs. Since I am gardening under semi-protective shelter on a balcony and for various unique and horticultural reasons, I opted not to use and cover the potting mix with plastic mulch during this trial period. My potting mixes in these planters are not protected from Texas downpours and humidity. Under recent prolonged rainstorms and not being able to deliver and retain the necessary fertilizers to correct prior nutritional deficiencies, my transplanted gardenias showed emerging water stress - increased yellowing and browning of the leaves; hence, I also chose not top off the water reservoirs after the first week of use. A few days ago, I relocated the pots to let the potting mix dry out between rains to facilitate the movement of oxygen to the roots more efficiently and only filled the reservoirs partially with a weak acid-loving fertilizer solution. Any visible progress was slow. Instead of risking damaging the roots by watering and delivering the needed soluble nitrogen and micronutrients to the potting mix and the roots or further delaying supplementing the needed fertilizers and micro-nutrients until the potting mix moisture is ready, I also made due with a temporary weak concoction of acid-loving fertilizer foliar spray. The temporary foliar spray made a quick visible difference. The two gardenias have stabilized and are both doing well in the Wal-Mart sub-irrigation planters and with empty and partially filled water reservoirs. I project based on my short-term experience of using the Misco sub-irrigation planters so far with my fairly light mix and under my current wet growing conditions, topping off the water reservoirs may only be necessary periodically during vacation or hot and active growth periods in mid-summer growing conditions. Odor invariably has to do with soil moisture control and air movement. The wet rag smell is due to poor aeration, which can be caused by many factors such as, waterlogged growing medium, overpotting  little or no water and air movement due to reduced plant respiration and transpiration, emerging bacterial/fungal population, the use of plastic mulch for the wrong plant, climate/zone/season, or on the wrong SW planter, stale, unmoving, under-utilized water in reservoir over prolonged period of time, or any combination of the above. In theory, all passive sub-irrigation planters, small or large, closed or open, and without the use of air and water pumps, work off the same principles. Unless a design violates and neglects some physical laws in a major way, any differences in the effectiveness between planters should not be significant enough that they can't be easily accomplished in another way or managed by proven horticultural practices. Moreover, any advantages over hands-off effectiveness and good designs of one sub-irrigation design over another may be neutralized and less essential as in meeting the diversity of growing conditions and horticultural needs of different plants. In any case, itÂs more economical and effective to increase soil aeration (and/or the effectiveness of capillary action) by modifying the potting mix directly rather than shopping for the best sub-irrigation planter. Even if one has the best passive sub-irrigation planter on the market, the composition of a potting mix is still a leading consideration with respect to the needs of the plant and specific unique growing conditions. Other than the viewable exposed water reservoirs (an advantage or disadvantage depending on perspective) that may compromise the health of roots in extreme micro-climates and temperature fluctuations, or may subject them to attacks from insects (not an issue yet in West-Nile country Texas but the opening can be covered or insulated), I kind of like the simplicity, the functional flexibility, and the prices of WM's welf-watering planters, especially when the same laws of physics apply in all passive sub-irrigation growers. While there has been a lot of intervention on my part with this current semi-open sub-irrigation setup exacerbated by frequent downpours while trying to correct certain nutritional deficiencies in the first few weeks of this trial period, I am satisfied with the progress made by my gardenias in the Misco Self-Watering Planters. There is some appeal in branding a method or a planter as hands-off user-friendly, but my primary interests in using sub-irrigation planters and hydroponic systems in gardening are not for hands-off benefits but to be surrounded by nature, eat clean nutritious foods, grow things well with less efforts and higher yields while conserving resources  water and fertilizers to reduce environmental pollution. There is no buyerÂs remorse so far, but without testing the planters over at least one summer and winter and in other pot sizes, itÂs still too early to reach a verdict about the value of the purchase or future purchases.

Hi Rina, You are right. The past 2 weeks it has rained a lot and I had to build a temporary shelter for all my potted plants - even the ones without the outer container. Drainage is not a problem with the addition of the coconut coir. Some of my bottom containers have holes that make sure only 2 inches of water remain there. The one in the photo does not have holes because the space between these 2 containers is narrow and I don't want to keep on adding water every 2 or 3 days. I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, swiss chard, kale, various herbs, etc. Bell peppers, strawberries and zucchini are doing exceptionally well in this setup. Younger plants [with few and small leaves]not so well.