I have a Ryobi Drill Press from Home depot and a rechargeable 12 volt hand held drill.  I also use a couple dremel tools like the one to make hole cuts and the circular saw one to make cuts in the support base.  My numer is 702-296-7086 is you have questions.  I work my casino job dayshift 12PM - 8PM usually Mon/Tues off.  I made 28 of these so far and they work well.  I used to use more 5 gallon sips like Kerry (Drivewayfarmer) does initially but these are very mobile and do exactly what I want.  The 55 gallon food grade service barrels are nice to have the larger water tank but are pricey and tougher for me to get along with being less mobile (heavier).  You could use an automatic drip system to keep the tank on these filled and fertilize on top (slow release) or possibly use a food injector with a liquid MG sort of fertilizer once a week I guess?  Sips are pretty flexible.  I used 20 something 5 gallon sips last year for my vegetable garden.  The plants grew well but they seem to grow quicker when watered and fertilized on top until the roots grow down some in the bucket.  So I made those without the soil dome top so I water them form the top easier.  I started a facebbok page justfigs with some pics of my cats enjoying some sun under the fig trees.

Duane and Kerry, I like the way you guys designed yours.  Giacomo, I like yours too!  Im in the process of fertilizing all my trees this week including those in SWP.  I got a couple of trees were the roots are already kissing the water.  Last year, I sat 2 Galbuns in 2 16" Walmart SWPs.  They did great for about 3 months.  Then one day...BOOM!  They took off!  I had them in UPM and found myself adding water every day.  I ended up transplanting them to my self made 22 inch SWPs.  That did the trick! 

I like how you don't have to water these guys except for maybe once a week.  I got some of mine on an automatic dripper line.  Great thread guys!  thanks!

Bill told me his larger mature trees in his sips take up to 2 gallons of water per day (in the summer in full bloom I am guessing) and he is zone 6 (NJ) I believe.  In my zone 9 (Henderson NV) I wonder when my trees get bigger if watering them once per day by hand right now will do it?  I guestimate the tank should hold at least 2 1/2 gallons measuring off 3 1/2 inches at the bottom overflow mark.  The plastic tarp really helps here.  The desert can be brutal in the summer reaching close to 120 if not more degrees and is arid (dry).  When people visit I always tell them to drink especially when they get tired.  You dont notice dehydration because you dont sweat that much in arid places.  Your body sweat dries too quickly to notice much.

Giacomo,

Thanks for the great description and photos.  Very nice.  I just made a SWC from a 6.5 gallon (outer) and 5 gallon (inner) bucket a couple of weeks ago.  I hope it can give me a couple of days between having to water here in hot Houston.  What did you use for a soil/potting mix if you don't mind me asking?  Oh, and welcome!  And thanks for some of those recipes on your Facebook page.....fig ice cream, fig smoothies......yum!

Hey Steve (and everyone else :-).  For rooting my cuttings I use (scored dipped in clonex) the clear 24 oz cups I get at smart and final in a plastic bin with the top flaps closed.  I drill 7 3/8" holes in the front of the plastic bin not to get mold when rooting them inside.  I use 50/50 coarse grade perlite and potting mix for cuttings.  New plants get potted up using 2 parts potting mix and 1 part coarse grade perlite.  Established trees I use just straight potting mix.  Losing too many to over watering I now use a squirt bottle to gently water my newbies in pots sparingly.

I would think your 5/6 gallon sip will be fine for a couple of days if need be as the tree and roots are smaller using less water?  I guess it depends how big you let them get.  I am surprised nobody is creating a stand/platform inside the bottom bucket so the top part simply sits higher and the drain holes are drilled higher.  This would give you a larger tank and just sit higher up but who cares?  You would use a taller plastic cup as the wicker.  I just make skirts for my 5 gallon bucket SIP's so people don't have to tell me they looks ghetto.

I just bypass those now going right from 1 gallon pot to the 22 1/2" Whiskey barrel SIP or I would use a 20 gallon plastic container.  For those of you who use them I would simply use the burlap sack dress over it to protect it from sun exposure maybe lengthening its life?  I invite everyone to post on my page your fig pics, videos and articles.  Even your offerings.  Have fun! 

That David Lebovitz book "Whats the scoop is assume!  We make many sorbet recipes from there.  One of our party favorites is his chocolate sorbet recipe http://food52.com/recipes/17877-david-lebovitz-s-chocolate-sorbet yet we make it mocha!  Add equal parts folgers instant crystals (3/4 cup and you can use decafe) and 1/4 cup kahlua.  We add spirits to all our sorbets keep them from freezing (yeah right ;-).

Hi 
not smoking pot here. but i saw in a website of weed growers that they cover drill holes to the sides of the inside bucket and layer them with burlap-they got no root bounding  and hyper growth rate.....

heres the link:
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/303229-diy-air-pruning-pot-experiment-6.html

Another interesting idea:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Milk-Crate-Air-Pot-Square-Foot-Urban-Container-G/

Thats cool also if you have access to them.
they are not the best looking but i think they are very strong and can survive few decades...

Nice, I'm going to try the corrugated drain pipe.

Hi
that seem to be a proffesional SIP build.  i dont know if i could do it for 100 pots +....

justfigs i dont understand somthing--if the soil is touching the water and there is no fear of root rot, what is the difference if i take rocks and put it in a pot (2-3 inches high)  without holes and the soil on top and than cover the pot to protect from rain. the wicking system will still work doesnt matter if i water from below or from the top? cause the water will still be on the lower part of the pot where the rocks are!!

also above the height of the rocks i will do a drain hole to protect from overwatering..

maybe would help if i put lime stone in the bottom to balance the ph...

This may have been covered on the forum before but does anyone have an opinion regarding how well the Misco self watering containers/SIPs perform relative to the 5 gallon DIY types?  This is the commercial one I am considering:

http://www.amazon.com/Misco-1654-Watering-Planter-16-Inch/dp/B0053NKIVA

I need to set up about 20 containers of around 5-6 gallons each and am weighing cost vs. labor vs. performance etc.  Thanks!

Rewton,
Walmart has those exact planters for a lot less.

HD even has them for less and if you have a Tractor Supply, they have some sizes on sale.

Tami and Mike - thanks for the tips though I don't shop at Walmart.  Have either of you used them and, if so, how do you like them?

Yes.  Mike and Tami and others are correct!  Walmart has those exact same ones.  I have just about 50% of my collection in those pots.

I am buying them at Target. Love them, esp. the larger sizes. The small ones (< 1G) are too wet for figs, I think.

Rewton, I am just trying out my first one so I don't have any results.

Rewton,

I bought a 14 inch for $9.97 at Lowes.  I have a TX Everbearing planted (May 11, 2013) in it using only Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil.  For me SWCs seem to take some time to get their SWC characteristic going, but so far this planter looks good early in its test.  I only bought one to try it.  If successful this season I may buy a few more next year.  For comparison, my Hunt planted in a self-made 6.5 gallon SWC took 3 months to show growth and wicking action.

Rewton, I just bought a 16 inch for 11.97 at Home Depot

Thanks Mike.  The closest HD to me did not have them when I looked recently but I'll try a wider search in the area.

Steve

Giacomo,

Where did you get the 20 ga. tub for your first version of the SIP? I'm planning to make a SIP from the H.D. planter also.

Thanks.
Peter

I would be interested to hear from people either in the desert or on the west coast.  My experience with SIPs is that I saw no noticeable difference, and possible poorer results.   Most of my vegetables did very well in SIPs, except for beets which came out super salty.  My fig trees didn't do that well and I didn't use less water.  I still had to water every day if not more than that daily.   They would be dry within a few hours in the summer.  Plus, we have very hard water and the salt doesn't get flushed out.  Over time (say 1+ years), none of my trees did well which I attribute to salt accumulation.   Who in the desert or West Coast can give your experience using these with for figs?

You raise a good point about the water used to fill the self watering containers.  I am planning on using water from a rain barrel as long as that holds out.  I might install another one to keep up the supply.  In the desert this would be a bigger issue.

Steve