Self Watering Seed Starters

There are a few different ways to set up self watering for your plants, and each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Here’s a look at at one method that I have used so far.

I use two different sized cups.  The larger cup I use is 16 oz and the smaller is 9 oz.  I prefer the clear cups so that I can see how much water is remaining before I need to refill.  In the smaller cup, I drill one larger hole to run the string through.  I used the 1/4″ drill bit for that.  Then I drill 2-3 smaller holes ( 5/64 drill bit) to allow for drainage of any extra water.

Once the holes are drilled, I run the string through the hole where it can reach the bottom of the cup and make it through the majority of the dirt within the smaller cup.  Then I fill it with dirt, plant the seed, label it, and add water to the larger cup.  After that, I sit back and watch it grow and keep an eye on how much water is remaining in the bottom cup.  If it looks dry I’ll occasionally add water on top of the dirt, but so far it’s been pretty rare I’ve needed to add any water on top.

So far I have been able to go a week without adding water to any of the seedlings.  This was great while I was out of town, not having to worry about finding someone to water them while I was gone.  Everything was still looking great when I returned home.

One issue I’ve had with this method is some mold grows on the dirt.  So far I’ve tried adding a hydrogen peroxide / water mixture and sprinkling cinnamon on the top.  I’ll post an update once I see which seems to create the best results.