Upside-Down Hanging Self-Watering Earth-Filled Box!

Step 6 Hook 'Em Up!

So you've hung everything up, despite your wife or your neighbors and you're giddy with anticipation. Time to hook it up.

• Cut and connect a length of hose from the reservoir stop valve to the quick-connect tee connector on the first planter." Don't make the hose too short. It's good to have a little room to raise, lower or move the reservoir or planters.
• Connect each planter to the next in series.
• Put water in the reservoir.
• Stare at it and wonder if it's working. Water moves through the wicks slightly faster than paint dries. In a couple days, you will be pleasantly surprised to see your plants are still alive and happy and you will be able to relax.

Troubleshooting:
When I first hooked everything up, I noticed some air bubbles gathering under the wicks. I worried that they would block the water from being absorbed by the wicks. Punch a small hole just above the bottom of the wick. Squeeze the area around the hole until water comes out. Patch the hole. Teflon ribbon does the job very well.

Comments

[ondoratmo]

great!!!
I wanna ask you something about the sprinkling.
is it an automatically sprinkling or you must open the faucet from water reservoir??
thanks before.

[Motta]

This is just GREAT!

[WickedSpindle]

Wow this looks amazing, and I love the instructable, very thorough with tons of picture tags. I love it. I think I will make these for the next our next house when we change duty stations! I'm so excited. Thank you!

[blaskos]

Do you have a total price that this costs. What you did looks awesome and i just want an idea or ball park range so i can figure it out. Im thinking about trying this or doing a hydroponics set up, do you have any suggestions which would produce more fruit for tomatoes? Also, it will be in my basement since its coming to winter time!

[velvel]

I built it gradually in iterations over a few years, so I don't have an exact price tag. For sure under $100. Hoses and PVC pipes are cheap. Connectors and caps can get expensive - $2 here, $5 there - it all adds up. From what I understand, hydroponics generally yields better volume but has smaller margins of error. Soil is much more forgiving. Good luck!

[hybridracers]

I kind of wish you had actually did the step on this instructable as you wrote it. I find myself confused with the wick, aeration hole and that stuff. I tried to use some 2 liter bottles but I dont think they work for even small tomato plants, too small of a container. Maybe strawberries though.

[velvel]

I'll try to get more materials this weekend and elaborate some steps.

[velvel]

Actually, I don't think I'll have time to buy the parts. I'll make some detailed diagrams. Stay tuned. (I'll message you when I have them up). Thanks for the feedback. (That goes for everyone else, too!)