Self watering containers are a great solution for us gardeners who don't like to water our containers very often. There are a multitude of these types of containers available on the market, but unfortunately some can come at a steep price. I have some self watering containers as window boxes which I love, but they were a bit of an investment.
To lower the costs, I've been experimenting with a make your own type of self watering container and I've had great success so far.
The idea behind a self watering container is that there is a reservoir of water at the bottom of the container ready to keep the soil moist as needed. There is a small basket sitting down in the reservoir that is filled with soil as well. This soil serves as a wick to pull the water up into the rest of the container. There is also an overflow hole in place to make sure the reservoir doesn't get too full.
I've made these containers with 18 gallon tubs but really any type of container can be used. Step by step instructions on making your own self-watering container out of an 18 gallon tub can be found here. I currently have 3 of these containers set up on the sidewalk outside my office growing a variety of different vegetable sand they are doing great.
If you're limited on space, don't want to go through the effort of building raised beds, or maybe don't have ideal soil, these containers can be a really low maintenance way of gardening!