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bear999

self watering containers and root rot

bear999
9 years ago

I built some self-watering containers this year using 5 gallon buckets. I used the standard 2 bucket design you can find anywhere on the web. I've planted most of my squashes and tomatoes in these buckets.

My mother in law was in town yesterday and we were taking a tour of the yard and she asked how the self watering containers worked. So I lifted the inner bucket out of the outer bucket to show her the reservoir and how the inner bucket wicks water up through the soil. When I did this, I noticed that the roots had extended out of the bottom of the inner bucket and were immersed in the reservoir. I checked another plant and it was the same situation. The plants are doing great, but now I'm worried about root rot. Is it OK for the roots to extend into the reservoir and be immersed in water?

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