Zero Power, Self-Watering, Self-Regulating Container Garden

Step 2 Constructing The False Bottom

This is the part that borrows from the original earthbox idea.

You want to make a false bottom to your container, creating a separate chamber in the bottom with a hole cut in it for the colander or basket to sit in.

The original earthbox instructable suggests doing this by placing one container inside the other. This is fine, but I'm a cheapskate and I don't want to have to use two containers, so I just used the lid that came with the container.

1. Trace the outline of the basket on the lid
2. Trace the outline of the tupperware container alongside it (note: In the picture this is a circle, but this was for the first version of this project which didn't work, yours will be a rectangle)
3. Trace around the bottom of the container onto the lid to create the edge that will fit into the container
4. Cut out the container outline and the two rectangles

(construction note: when I cut the lids of the 5-gallon buckets I used all purpose snippers and discovered that the material is waxy and cracks easily, so cut carefully, the cuts don't have to be exact or tidy and most cracks can be fixed when you mount it, but you don't want the material to crack completely)