Hi crmjtm, You can just use the cement planters as receptacles for bottom wicking pots. These are pots in pots, with the upper one's holes drawing water up from the one it stands in. The bottom one has no holes & this way your cement leakage is solved. The cement planter just becomes where you place several dual container growing sets inside. These are sold ("Dutch" pots among other names) & also do-it-yourself ideas can be searched for on the GW "Container Gardening" forum as "SWC" (self watering containers).

Not really necessary. Hypertufa & cement are much the same. I usually build my hypertufa containers w/o holes in the bottom. After they cure, I fill them with water & vinegar to neutralize the lime, or just leave them weather for a year before using. I drill drainage holes when I'm ready to plant them. Al

I have a concrete planter, it's about 2'x2' and actually retains water quite well, surprisingly. You could make an olla or two, place the top of the olla at soil level then make sure the olla is filled Friday before you leave for the weekend. Also, plant drought tolerant plants. I can share some cuttings with you if you are interested. These olla's are have been placed too tall, they should be level with the soil. I hit solid clay at the bottom of the raised beds. Google 'olla gardening'. You can buy more fancy ones but these are just unglazed clay pots, two pots siliconed together, a stopper in the bottom one's drainage hole, cover the top with something to prevent evaporation. Works GREAT. This tall squiggly plant is pedilanthus macrocarpus and very easy to propagate. This is the one I can send you cuttings of if you like. A large skyscraper office in downtown Phoenix has this plant in two large cement planters at their front entrance. It blooms and hummingbirds love it. HTH. Mary

I am late to the party but something you can add for watering is an OLLA ( Ola sp?} which is basically a large clay jar or plastic bottle with tiny holes to bury near plants for slow drip watering I use recycled soda bottles in my patio pots. Fill with water and keep bottle capped to avoid mosquitos. this will keep plants watered for a few days depending on the heat. You can glue together small clay pots and use a saucer for lid or just a clay one. Your big planter might take two, Pebble mulch is great to keep in moisture and keep rain or watering from splashing mud or up rooting plants. so i hope this helps your new plants thrive.