self-watering planter from found dresser drawers

Step 5 Drill holes & cut screen

Drill holes in all ABS pipes to allow the soil to pull water up from the reservoir without spilling into it.

I also used holes at the bottom of the fill tube instead of cutting it at an angle, only because the drill was out and it serves the same purpose of allowing water to flow into the reservoir.

I needed 2 baskets to fill in the extra length of the drawer, so I did the same (see photos) to both, cut down the edge, and laid one on top of the other. Yours may be a different length or from a different material, as long as it serves as a screen and ends up fitting snugly against all sides.

Use one of the ABS pipes to mark a spot for the overflow hole, then drill. This is to allow excess water to flow out, so your roots will never be water-logged.

Comments

[EmKay73]

Could you have used galvanized "hardware cloth"? Its a fencing item like chicken wire that comes in a 1/4" or 1/2" grid widths.

[chandra.nalaani]

I thought about that for the screen, then did some research, and galvanized metal leeches into the water over time - I'm not sure how much time or in what quantity, but I decided against it since these are edibles.