Self watering Raised Bed

thingiverse

My wife has been trying to collect cake frosting containers in order to finish her planter project but after 2 years and no frosted cakes I took it upon myself to get that stuff out of the garage and put to some use before the growing season is lost. These are parts intended to convert a large storage bin into a self watering raised bed. I'm expecting to use a 27gallon tote as the bin and cut it's cover to fit down inside to hold the soil. the "plumbing" stl contains: -a drain spout: (you'll need to drill a hole just under the trimmed lid to allow excess water to drain out of the box and prevent your plants from drowning. Probably some glue or silicone to hold it in place would be good. -PVC Pipe stand: for filling the space below the trimmed lid with water. The "Upper parts" contains: -Mosquito/Dirt Blocker (updated to be perforated) -funnel -Pipe attachment (needs to be epoxied/glued into bottom of funnel) -Feet should be printed as needed. need minimum of 4 feet to support weight. The "Funnel" STL sits on top of the pvc pipe and the "water here" thing sits inside the funnel to make it hard for mosquitoes and larger pieces of debris from getting into the water supply for the bin. Originally, I intend to use some kind of fabric wicking material to get the water up to the soil above the base plate (trimmed lid) but decided to use some braided rope purchased from harbor freight and glued up the sides along with some weed block fabric that might not transfer enough moisture because it doesn't seem to be a good wick. The funnel is intended as a catch for a watering can or hose so I don't have to be precise about how I aim the water when I need to fill the bin. The 'water here' cover will allow water through but higher volumes of water like from a hose will require removing the cover. I'm using hot glue to seal the drain valve to the side of the box. You will need to fill the box until water comes out of the drain. I'm also gluing the feet at the joint as well as where it sits to persuade it to stay in place once the soil is added. I don't think the orientation of the base plate (up or down) will make any difference with respect to strength but minimum 4 sets of feet are definitely required. The pipe attachment is glued to the bottom of the funnel and the other side should slide onto the PVC pipe without any glue. The finished box takes roughly 2 40lb bags to fill and I strongly suggest using a lightweight potting medium that has perlite in it because the base (trimmed lid ) is quite flimsy. 2 plants left alone for 4 weeks in the heat and they didn't die or wilt (I fill the reservoir on the weekends). Seems like a success even though the soil feels just barely moist to my finger when I poke it into the soil.