Destiny Survival

A few days ago I was contacted by the author of these plans. I think you’ll appreciate knowing a little about him because he’s a believer by necessity in doing things as naturally and inexpensively as possible.

He goes by the online name of BlindSquirl. That name is in his Web address as well, but the name with the proper spelling of squirrel was already taken. He said the name comes from the saying, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.”

BlindSquirl spent 20 years as a product designer in the auto industry. He definitely has credentials I don’t have for designing self-watering planters. As a result, a good bit of thought went into the design of his self-watering planter plans. He has successfully used several for growing his own plants, so the plans are not merely theoretical.

These self-watering planters are a low maintenance way to grow plants, as is the case with any well made self-watering planter. They’re great if you live in an apartment, have limited space or are tired of growing in poor soil. You can practically eliminate weeding and stooping as in traditional soil gardening.

All you need to make one of these self-watering planters is two large Rubbermaid totes, a six inch plastic pot, a five foot piece of two inch PVC and some window screen. If you shop as frugally as BlindSquirl, you can get these for less than $22.

You’ll need a few tools, such as a drill, utility knife, a hole saw kit, tape measure and felt tip marker. Construction can be done without some of these tools, but alternative methods will take you longer to build your planter.

Obviously, you need a certain amount of skill to do this project, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. Once you’ve done one, you’ll probably want to do more. But be careful. Playing with PVC is addictive. That just might apply to constructing from other plastics as well.

When it’s done, you have a planter with a 14 gallon soil capacity and a four gallon reservoir, and it will last years if you take care of it. BlindSquirl offers tips on how to do that.

According to BlindSquirl’s experience, you can grow two tomato plants in one planter. Or try two cucumber plants. How about 8-10 Swiss chard plants? Try beets, turnips, spinach or carrots. Grow whatever you like.

Think of these planters as a mini square foot self-watering garden. BlindSquirl recommends growing as naturally and free of chemicals as possible, and I agree wholeheartedly.

The plans give you step by step instructions with helpful color photos. You’ll get your money’s worth from these plans, especially when you build a number of these self-watering planters. And I’m sure you’ll want to do that.

Order these instructions for do-it-yourself self-watering planters by going to http://www.blindsquirl.com . While you’re on the site, take a couple minutes to look at the video. This site bears watching because, as you’ll see when you view it, there’s more to come.

Meanwhile, give your survival gardening a boost by buying and following the instructions for making your own self-watering planters.

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