Good morning everyone,

I have found that 20-25 gallon nursery pots are cheap and plentiful in my part of NJ however they have holes in the bottom. I have a couple sub irrigated planters (SIPs) from Bills's Figs. They were expensive.

Using #25 pots without the sub irrigation would also give me 3-4 gallons more soil.

What would be the best way to achieve similar SIP results using nursery pots? I'm considering keeping the tops wrapped in plastic but adding an irrigation system that goes on 1-2 times a day and maybe also put the pots in saucers?

Any thoughts on this or other alternatives.

Rich,

You can used duct tape to cover the holes.

edit: sorry, misread the part where this will hold the water.  ;)

Rich,

I just set up a system like Bill's.  I simply used 55 gallon barrels cut in half so two 30 gallon pots.  I have them on a timer and they get watered twice a day for 1 minute and the excess of course just overflows.  All an experiment for me. 

Rich, you can use your nursery pots, holes and all, as long as they are on top. For the reservoir (bottom half) you will have to find/buy a container without holes. No amount of duct tape will seal the pots well enough to hold water.

I've done this using 5 gallon containers from Lowes as the bottom reservoir and 5 gallon nursery pots for the medium containing part on top and I can comfirm that it works very well.

you can buy 17 gal. tubs at most home improvement stores for under $20, tha't what I use

Rich,
  I've been musing about this on and off, too.  One thing I considered (but haven't tried) is to use 2 nursery pots.  One remains unchanged.  On the other, cut the majority of the sides off so that you basically have a nursery pot that's just a few inches high.  (The height will determine the depth of the water reservoir.)  Then use a plastic bag as a liner for the smaller pot.  Put the shallow, lined pot inside the unmodified one.  This should hold water up to the level of the smaller pot and then spill over the sides, and the water will drain through the holes of the larger pot. 
  You'll still have to rig something up, e.g. the way Bill's Figs SIPs do, to keep the bulk of soil out of the water reservoir.  I haven't thought that far ahead yet.  Maybe you could try a third pot, a bit smaller, with the sides cut off, turned upside down and placed in the reservoir.  That would create a void for the water to occupy but also allow for some soil to fill the sides of the reservoir wick water up. 
  I'm pretty much winging it with ideas now, so I'll stop.  If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Jim

Jim, I tried the plastic bag in a pot idea and it worked for a few months, but they invariably spring leaks negating the entire SWC concept. Using a rubberized bag (if there is such a thing) would be costlier than buying a cheap container. 

Frank,
  Any idea what was causing the leaks?
  Maybe a typical "plastic bag" is too flimsy but something like 4 or 6mil polyethylene sheeting would work better...?
Jim

I think you were on to something there with the saucer idea. That should work fine.

Jim,
I used 1 or 2 mil garbage bags so 5 mils would definitely be an improvement. I think that the pressure and friction of the superior pot filled with medium and plant as well as moving them around takes its toll on the thin plastic material.

Al,
Saucers wide enough and deep enough that make a good sized reservoir would work well but they would probably be as expensive as ordinary pots without holes. Increased water evaporation from the saucers as well as constructing a decent wick would also be factors to consider.