The document describes the components and process of making a self-watering planter. It has four main parts: the soil and pot, the plant, a water reservoir, and a wick to move water from the reservoir to the soil. The wick is made of fabric or string that connects the reservoir to the soil. It moves water to the soil through capillary action as water molecules stick together and to the wick fibers. The planter allows a plant to be watered as the wick replenishes water lost through evaporation and drawn up by the plant roots.

1. Agricultural Science
Objectives
Standard 3
The Self Watering Planter

2. A self-watering planter has four main parts:
• the soil and pot
• the plant
• the reservoir (to hold water)
• the wick (fabric or string to
Connect the reservoir to the soil).
Self-Watering Planter

3. How to make a self-Watering Planter:
1. Using scissors, cut a 2 inch wide strip of cloth as long as your bottle,
then carefully cut the pop bottle in half.
2. Turn the top part of the bottle upside down and sit it into the
reservoir. The top half will be the planter and the bottom half will be
the reservoir.
3. Feed the cloth through the hole at the top of the bottle (bottom of the
planter), until it touches the bottom of the reservoir.
4. Holding the cloth upright, carefully fill the planter with a few inches of
soil. Curl the remaining cloth into a circle around the planter and cover
in soil.
5. Plant your plant (or seeds) in the planter and fill the reservoir, ensuring
that the cloth is sitting in the water. The cloth will now begin its work
as the wick, providing a pathway for water to move from the reservoir
into the soil.
6. Place your plant in a sunny location. Re-fill the reservoir with water as
needed.
Self-Watering Planter

4. Here is an example of a Self-Watering Planter:
Self-Watering Planter

5. Here is an example of a Self-Watering Planter:
Self-Watering Planter

6. Here is an example of a Self-Watering Planter:
Self-Watering Planter

7. Once the self-watering planter is put together, water will be able to move
up the wick and into the soil from the reservoir by capillary action.
What is Capillary Action
The cloth of the wick is made of many
tiny fibres with spaces in between,
water molecules will stick to each other
(cohesion) and stick to the fibres
(adhesion) to fill the spaces between
fibres.
Let’s look at the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGW8rc151fQ

8. Water tends to move from areas of more water to areas of less water
(osmosis).
When water is lost due to evaporation from leaves, it is replaced as plant
roots pull water from the soil. In this planter, water is moved into the soil
out of the reservoir via the wick.
What is Osmosis

9. Draw

10. Ask yourself the question:
1. How does the wick move water?
2. Why do plants need water? What will happen to the plant if the
reservoir dries up?
3. Where does the water go?
4. How does capillary action overcome gravity?
• Because of the clear bottle, you will be able to watch the plants roots
grow. This is especially interesting with seeds.
• Instead of a pop bottle, any set of containers will do as long has you
have a hole for the wick and the planter can sit above the reservoir
with the wick in place.
Self-Watering Planter

11. Activity
Draw and Label your own Self-Watering Planter:

12. Capillary action or wicking: the ability of a liquid to
flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of, or
even in opposition to, external forces like gravity.
• Osmosis: the movement of water from an area with
more water to an area of less water, through a
selectively permeable membrane.
• Evaporation: the process by which water changes
from a liquid to a gas or vapour.
Glossary

13. Cohesion: The attraction of water molecules to each
other. Water molecules tend to stick to each other in a
regular pattern due to the extensive hydrogen bonding.
This phenomenon, called cohesion, is easily observed
when you carefully overfill a glass with water (by just a
little bit!) and observe the water molecules holding
together above the rim; this is called a meniscus
(eventually, however, gravity overcomes the hydrogen
bonds and the water molecules spill down the side of
the glass). Likewise, the cohesive property of water
allows tall trees to bring water to their highest leaves
from underground sources.
Glossary

14. Adhesion: the attraction of water molecules to other
substances. This is the reason water “sticks” to surfaces
and makes things “wet”. The attraction of water
molecules to other substances. This is the reason water
“sticks” to surfaces and makes things “wet”.
Glossary

15. Transpiration

16. Transpiration
Transpiration is the process by which moisture leaves the green plants
through small openings in their leaves called stomata. Stomata are
present on leaves and stems of plants and are outlets for plants to
exchange water and gases.
Root hair present at the terminal ends of roots absorb moisture from
surrounding soil and transport it to the leaves through the stem. Leaves
release this absorbed moisture into the atmosphere by transpiration.
In dry weather conditions, the stomata expand and open wide to release
water vapor during transpiration to keep the plant cool and also pulls up
groundwater through their roots to the leaves. During wet and cool
weather conditions, the openings of stomata shrink to prevent
transpiration, reducing absorption of groundwater through roots.

17. q
• Plants need water to grow and maintain their structure.
They absorb groundwater, that is, water collected below
ground level due to percolation of rain water, through
their root system. During precipitation, water that falls on
the ground is absorbed deep into the soil by plant roots.
• Vegetation plays an important role in the water cycle by
preventing soil erosion and increasing groundwater levels.
In areas with thick vegetation cover, the foliage cover
breaks the force of precipitation falling on the ground,
which may otherwise cause erosion. Green plants also
release water vapour in the air as a by-product of
photosynthesis, thus involving groundwater in the water
cycle.
The Role of the Plant
in the Water Cycle

18. q
• The role of plants in the water cycle is easily demonstrated by
comparing tropical rainforests and places that have been heavily
deforested. Rainforests are densely packed with different types of
vegetation, from tall trees to ground level grasses. Plants in such
areas have high transpiration rates, and water vapour released from
plants is visible in the form of steam rising from the vegetation.
This expelled water vapour helps to cool the area and retain
moisture.
• On the other hand, many urban areas have cut down vast forest land
for constructing buildings and procuring raw materials for various
manufacturing industries. Lack of forest cover results in soil
erosion and depleted groundwater reserves as there are not plant
roots to absorb water deep into the soil.
Effects of Plants
on the Water Cycle

19. q
Over time, deforested areas become arid and often get
flooded or face droughts. Without plants, there is no
way for surface runoff to percolate deep into the
ground and therefore, the groundwater level keeps
getting depleted. Moreover, no transpiration occurs in
deforested area, eventually leading to low moisture
content in the atmosphere and dry arid environmental
conditions.
Effects of Plants
on the Water Cycle