Quote:
Originally Posted by jdmfish
Question -
When you fill the home-made version, how do you know when you've applied enough water, and not too much?
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In any well-designed self-watering container, there are one or more overflow holes to prevent overfilling and to leave an air chamber between the plant and the water chamber. In this single-bucket eBucket design, that overflow is a straw inserted through the side of the bucket and into the colander about 1/3 of the distance from the top of the colander to the bottom of the bucket. This gives you a decent size air chamber at the top of the colander for aeration, and an even bigger water reservoir underneath.
To be clear, I have not personally built this type of eBucket. I use a two-bucket design that provides a bit more space for roots and doesn't call for a large, sturdy, and cheap colander, something I didn't find readily in my local dollar store. If I did build this design, I would probably replace the flimsy straw with a stronger copper or plastic tube. If highly recommend you visit Dave's Garden and read the original thread on these eBuckets -- it has a lot more pictures and instructions for building them.