A plant pot with its own water reservoir? The lazy gardener, who doesn't feel like checking the water balance in his flowers every day, rubs his hands together. But even the hard-working gardener will prick up his ears here, because you can easily build such a practical container yourself.
Expanded clay can store water
Utility meets aesthetics
If the first thing that springs to mind when you think of a water storage tank is a large water tank, you're dead wrong. In addition to its practical function, our plant pot also has a great appearance. While you are planting the flower in a smaller pot inside the water reservoir, the outer, larger pot will serve as a receptacle.
- Screw together a box of weatherproof Douglas fir wood.
- Lay this out with foil.
- Plant flowers in clay pots.
- Hang them in the box so that they don't quite touch the ground.
It is important that the clay pots do not touch the ground so that there is no waterlogging. Nevertheless, the roots have the opportunity to grow out of the hole in the bottom of the clay pot and to get water.
Alternatives to the box-shaped water storage tank
In specialist shops you can get water-storing mats as an alternative, for example, which you can place under the planter. Cut other specimens into small pieces and mix them into the potting soil. Granules such as expanded clay (€19.73) are also a useful way of not having to check the water content of the substrate every day.
You don't actually have to spend any money for an alternative water reservoir: you can replace a water-retaining matter by cutting up a conventional sponge and placing it in the ground. You can also find out here how styrofoam is used for drainage.