Self Watering Planter Boxes

Self watering planter boxes can save you time - but they can also wash the nutrients out of your soil. This article will show you how to pick self watering window planter boxes for your home or apartment.

Let's start with the definition of a self-watering planter box.

Basically, it's a planter box (or some other container designed to hold your plants) with a water tank or reservoir built right into the plastic, terracotta or wooden structure.

You can get all sorts of sizes of self-irrigating planter boxes - anything from 4 gallons and upwards.

There are two main advantages of self-hydrating planter containers. First, you only have to fill up the reservoir every few days or weeks. You don't have to worry about watering your plants every single day. If you're anything like me, you've forgotten to water your plants more than a couple of times.

This is important because indoor plants dry up more quickly than outdoor plants. This is so because outdoor plants get the advantage of morning dew as well as moisture from colder nights.

The second big advantage of self watering planters is that you can pack up and go on vacation at the drop of a hat. While you're busy getting your trip organized, the plants will take care of themselves. Simply fill up the water reservoir and away you go.

It's also a good idea to group your planter boxes together in a cluster so that they help one another retain moisture while you are away.

However, self watering planter boxes are not perfect. One of the disadvantages of the basic models is that they never give the plant's soil a chance to dry out a little. They dispense water whether the soil needs it or not. This can have the negative effect of washing the nutrients out of the soil.

The more upmarket self hydrating planter boxes have sensors that go in the plant's soil which help regulate the flow of water to the plant. This helps preserve the nutrients in the soil. If you get a basic box without sensors, you can always let the soil dry out a little between reservoir refills. However, this kind of defeats the purpose of having an automatic watering system.

When looking to buy a good self hydrating planter box, look for durable plastic that won't fade, crack or peel. Wood (for example, cedar or oak) and glazed ceramic planter boxes also retain water well. Unglazed materials such as porous ceramics are not recommended because they do not hold water well.

When trying to work out which is the correct size for a self hydrating planter, keep in mind that the larger the box, the more you will allow the plant's roots to grow.

The longer the plant's roots, the less water it needs. In other words, geraniums in a large planter box will require less water than the same amount of geraniums in a compact planter box.

So if you're someone who forgets to water the plants or you simply want to be able to go away on vacation for the weekend without worrying about your expensive plants, simply pick up a few self watering planter boxes and watch your life become easier.