I think that is neat, I already use rain gutters for starting plants. I saw something a month or two ago where someone had a system something like you posted built on a wall. I boutht 2 10' sections of rain gutter to play with to see if I can grow somthing up my south shop wall, when it gets too hot I hope to drop shade cloth from the eaves and drive stakes into the ground to latch it to so the wind wont blow it around. I hope to start high enough up on the wall that I can mow and trim the planters. I have not had a chance to try it so I have no idea if it will work.

Larry

That self watering rain gutter is cool, my only worry it should not become mosquito breeding center. and wind should not knockoff pots from the gutter channels.

My thimking on the wall planter is to use some 2' wide x9' long sheet iron bent into a "U" with the bottom of the "U" down in the gutter. The topof the "U" would be much wider Have a timer to run the water into the gutter and hope the potting soil will wick up the water. In my case I would have to have something to shield the sheet iron from the sun to keep it from getting too hot.

I have the sheet iron and I can use the gutters if the projert does not work. Matter of fact I can re-use the sheet iron, it has used one or two times already. This is just one of many projects I would like to play with if I can ever find the time.

Larry

A lot of people have brought up the mosquito issue and a lot of people have said they don't have an issue with them and they thinks it's because the water is fresh... I'm letting my young dd have the rain gutter to garden in... I think it will be easier for her and have great results.

I'm not really understanding what you want to do Larry (I'm very visual) but if you are talking 2 rain gutters above each other 4" is too shallow for soil. On a Facebook page, someone tried it with strawberries and it didn't work.

I'll post pics through out the season of the difference in our gardens : )

Melissia, I am looking forward to you post on the garden.

The thought that is in my mind is to use the gutter as a water passage only. The gutters I use for starting trays are 4.5" wide and 2.5 inches deep. the sheet iron I have is 9' long and 2' wide, if I bend it along the center it will be 1' long on each side. I pull the top edges open to make about 9" side to side I will make 2 ends to keep the potting soil from falling out the ends. The brackets that attach to the edge of the shop will extend out past the sheet iron "V", and a piece of wafer board will attach to the end of the bracket and extend up to shield the sheet iron "V" from the sun to reduce heat. Its the same concept as featured above, except I don't have pots or buckets, but I have old sheet iron that I can use to make one long "V" shaped pot, or maybe trough would be a better term. I expect I could use a soaker hose or a PVC tube and get the same thing, but I have never played with a system like shown above, and I like to experiment.

Larry

Melissia, thanks for posting the link above. I got to researching the subject and found another system I like very well that works on the same principle but uses PVC pipe and a tank (which I have also). It will be easier to seal to keep insects out, plus it will be easier to adjust the water level. It I build that system I will use large tubs and mount them on a trailer.

Larry

Larry, you might want to look at this. She did the concept in metal horse toughs with PVC and it worked great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Horse trough garden

Melissia, thanks, this stuff is great, I'm still digging and reading. Its so simple there has to be a catch. My wife is wanting to try container growing, this just may be the ticket for her. Just what I need, another project, I'm only a few years behind now.

Have you tried you system? If the water level is just inside the pot, how far will it wick up? Do you have to hand water till the roots can grow down to the water?

Thanks again, Larry

Yes I have done self watering - I usually get a better yield from those gardens - because you control the potting mix and the plants take exactly as much water as needed. I have done it in troughs, buckets and totes. This will be the first rain gutter though, but the concept is the same and I expect excellent results.

When you fill the net Cup just fill it with moist potting mix So it gets the wicking process going and keeps the mix from falling in your water - and I do usually water from the top a couple of times but that's it.

This year we will have a 80x40 garden in the pasture - husbands
Mine is in raised beds and my self watering containers
And my daughter is doing the rain gutter. I'm thinking she will probably out garden us both - just because of the ease Of it, but we will see. I like the float added to the rain gutter.... We can still go fish for a couple of days and not worry about watering.

I have seen people garden in horse troughs, but if she ordered 40 she better grow a lot of food, because it would take a lot of years to equal the $2800-$3000 that that many tanks would cost.

Larry, the idea is the same thing that they build the cheap self waters out of plastics totes to use for tomatoes. Raybo has posted instructions as he has perfected his. This is just one location that I am posting, but there are lots of threads on the subject.

Here is a link that might be useful: Self Watering container

Carol, Thanks for link to Inn-Trainer self watering container, very impressive! I am going to forward and suggested my sister to build some of them for her roof top garden, which I helped her to build nice garden over her new home in the city. regards -Chandra

Chandra, Here is a good explanation.

Here is a link that might be useful: Self Watering container2

Melissia,

How is your self watering bucket garden growing? Am considering this but my husband wants more success stories before we commit to it.

Thanks

It has done great - its super easy to maintain. My 10 year old is actually the one that is taking care of the rain gutter - she's gotten green beans, carrots and peppers so far.

I too seen this last winter and said' "This is really neat and I'm going to build one of those." Well spring gets hectic here and it didn't get done last year so I'm starting to build this today, well at least the holes cut in the buckets and net cups inserted. After buying 25 of those cups I realized those small yogurt cups with slits cut in them would work just as good and they are the same size with saving to boot. I do have a bit of a concern with some of the storms and high winds that Iowa can get in the spring so I'm thinking of a few extra steps to help keep it from getting blown over.

Check out also beatusplanters.com