Self-Watering Trough Planters

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

Great self-watering planter! These are beautiful, sturdy, and a good size for growing vegetables. I'm going to be shopping for a couple more.

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

I bought several of these planters and they are wonderful. I have planted basil, parsley and peppers in these and they are doing great. I live in the forest with very limited sunshine, so I have a bunch of veggies growing on my deck which is the only sunny spot by my house.
I highly recommend these, especially for the herbs!

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

I bought a couple of these about 20 years ago (probably more like 22 years ago). One "died" last year, and this year I am using the other. I will replace them next year. I use them to grow lettuce on the deck where it is easy to harvest for dinner each night and the rabbits won't find it!

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

I bought two of the 31" in the spring. Assembly was easy. Drilled holes as instructed for outdoor use. Never had a problem with it overfilling when it rained. I grow four green bean pole plants in one & short round carrots with chives in the other. I also ran a dripper into each water spout that was connected to my landscape irrigation system so I never had to hand water. All the plants did great. They kept kicking until frost. The only issue I had with these is the water-level indicator. The plastic sticks kept getting stuck. I would highly recommend these for the price. I am ordering two more for next year!

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

I upgraded to these to use as liners for my cedar windowboxes. They wouldn't look good enough as windowboxes alone. During weeks of 100-degrees this summer I only had to water once a week compared to every day for my traditional pots. With the water reservoir, I was worried about mosquitoes but once the boxes are planted mosquitoes can't access.
I did do some extra work to try to reduce watering (Dallas Texas has long hot summers).
1. Added water absorbing polymer crystals to the potting soil
2. I used a potting soil with a wetting agent to aid water absorbency (MiracleGro SoilMoist).
There were only a few misses with this product:
1. The water level indicator lids don't stay down and soil isn't supposed to drop down in the reservoir.
2. The water level indicators didn't really work so I ended up sticking my finger in the soil anyway.
3) The self-watering wicking material didn't cover the entire bottom of the planter. I think it should. I'm going to add water absorbent mats like those used in hanging baskets to aid watering to see if it works. The self-watering aspect worked even with the material not covering completely.
4. You can't use this out in the landscape without the drainage holes and then I don't see how it would be self-watering anymore. Mine are under the sofits of my house and don't get rained on at all so it works great.

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

We have a summer home. Plants don't dry up when we are not there to water them. We have the planters on the seawall for decoration.

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

The design flaw is that the filler tube does not fit securely into the reservoir. Also, there was no indicator to show when the water was low. Other than that the unit works well.

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

The mints, stevia, and chamomile I planted in one of these containers are growing beautifully; and the radishes I planted in another container grew very well. It's great to have self-watering containers small and light enough to move; but large enough for herbs and veggies.

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

I bought two of these, one has strawberries and the other broccoli and lettuce. It's been over a month and I've already picked a few berries and harvested some lettuce and the broccoli is growing very well. I will definitely be buying a couple more next year.

Comments about Self-Watering Trough Planters:

I used one to grow leaf lettuce and it's growing beautifully in this planter. Since the plants receive a steady supply of water, they are really thriving.

Mild chard (perennial spinach) was planted in another. It's also doing great.
These handy planters should work great for growing salad veggies most of the year.

Inexpensive, wonderful planters.
You can't go wrong with these whether you use them for ornamentals or edible crops.