Literally...

Very nice, Frank!
where did you buy the buckets from and how many gallons they are?

Nice job Frank and thanks for the picture instructions.

Nice job Frank. Looks like a new winter project to get ready for spring.

Great Stuff Frank, Love what you are doing, you need to come to California and bring your trees.

The inner bucket says 2.5gallons on it, so the outer one looks to be about 3gallons.
I'm guessing the $2 figure in the title refers to how much potato salad you have to order to get the plastic deli container ;-)
Frank:  This looks like a really nice, clean, simple setup.  Beautiful!
Jim

Jim, I didn't notice the writing on the buckets, thanks!
After this summer my February rooted cuttings need 5-7 gal pots though. It seems these are too small for the September planting, no?
Well... Unless the cuttings were started later.

Indeed, the Dollar Tree has the pails and 2.5 gallon containers. The Deli containers were a gift from a valued NJ forum member, Vince.

Here's the thing...these swc's are not meant to house the tree forever. They are to be used either for rooting cuttings and/or  growing newly rooted cuttings (especially root riot transplants).
The entire SWC concept is to prevent over or under-watering--the two death knells for young plants.
Growing cuttings in an SWC vs a regular pot will almost guarantee survival. It will also increase the rate of growth from 2-5x compared to  typically grown plants over the first year.

Check out my other tutorial on even smaller SWC's here:
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/pictorial-the-5-minute-mini-sip-6416006?highlight=mini

I've found the 32oz containers fairly cheap on ebay, and I have also gotten a few just for asking at Walmart and my local grocery store in the produce dept...

Greenfig -- sounds like your cuttings did very well this year.  Personally, the cuttings I started last winter and this spring would be very happy to live in a 2.5 gallon bucket next year ;-)  They have not yet outgrown their 1-gallon (or less) pots.  Growing conditions for them have not been good this year, but overwatering (due to excessive rain) was one factor.  These 2-minute SIPs would have helped with that.

Frank -- Well, you were not exaggerating...FYI, those black pails (or something very similar) that are $1 at the dollar store are about $4 each at Sears.  (Maybe the one from sears is more heavy duty -- hard to tell online.)
It looks like I'll be stopping by the dollar tree tomorrow to check out these pails.
Cheers,
Jim
P.S. for anyone reading this thread -- I once posted about finding a $1 pencil soldering iron at a dollar store.  These are perfect for melting the drain holes in the deli containers...and at that price, you don't have to worry about ruining it and not being able to use it for real soldering...

Frank,
  Based on your experience so far with this setup, would you speculate on whether a 24-oz plastic cup (right side up) would work as opposed to the larger (32-oz?) deli-container with a lid (upside down?)  Or does the type of potting medium now become more of a factor.  (e.g. maybe a medium with more of a wicking action would be needed with a smaller cup.)  I'd be interested in just using what I have on hand, but I don't have enough experience with SWCs to know if I'd be limiting the self-watering action...
Cheers,
Jim

Very nice, thanks.

Best,
Tam

Jim, great question!

Potting medium is the most important factor in the wicking process. I am sure that 24 ounce cups would work jus as well. You may consider doubling them up (one inside the other) to add strength. Also, you could drill holes at the bottom of the top container for better oxygenation of the roots. Good Luck.

Frank,
  Just curious -- what potting medium have you used in your $2 SWCs?  I've been using a 5-1-1 (PineBarkFines-PromixHP-perlite) and sometimes a 5-1-1-1 (previous 5-1-1 with an additional one part NAPA floor dry) in my containers.  I might try to do an experiment...make up one of each and see how well they each wick up water.  Unfortunately, I'm too much of a noobie to really know which one would be better even after I see the results ;-)  The extra water retention of the floordry was my bane this spring due to the non-stop rain we had.  However, if the SWC is covered and only pulling water from the bottom, maybe it won't be too bad.
  Again, any insight would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Jim

I stopped by The Dollar Tree and got 6 each of those buckets and two 3-packs of 24oz drinking cups to use for the wick.  So my total is $2.33 per SIP.

Edit:
Be very careful cutting the hole in the bottom of the upper bucket. The bottom is not as thick as it seems.. lol  I was using a box cutter that probably was not nearly sharp enough.  When I was about halfway around, I just punched through the bottom.

Nothing a little outdoor duct tape can't handle though..  We'll see how it holds up.
  

Here's a pic of the cup I'm using for the wick.  3 for a $1.
 

Still have to drill all the holes in the wick and the overflow.  Thanks for the info, FMD!

Nice McGivering of that container, James. Yes everyone, please be careful when cutting the hole. 

Jim, I have never had problems with wicking as long as the media does not contain garden soil. Various proportions of peat moss or coir with perlite, vermiculite, fines etc work just fine.

I've found that when the buckets are together, that the fit is too tight for water to easily flow down to the bottom trough the side spout.

Frank, what did you do to get around that?

I've been putting 8" green bamboo stick between the buckets right where the side spout is, so it has a little space for the water to flow down.  I Have to use a fairly thin one, or it might tear the outer bucket.  But now it's quicker to fill them.   I read in another thread about bamboo skewers promote mode in humid enclosures... so now i'm worried about my choice of "spacer" material.  I may replace all the sticks with a peace of vinyl tubing.

James, the 32 ounce container elevates the internal container just enough to produce a small space from the outer container.

Ah, I see what you did. Yours is sitting on an inverted cup for the wick and mine has a cup hanging down for the wick. So my top bucket sits lower & tighter.

After reviewing this thread, I'm still a little confused about the cup used for the wick.  The method for making 5-6 gallon SWCs (e.g. "global buckets") uses a 16 oz cup right side up for the wick.  If I understand correctly a larger (and I assume sturdy) 32 oz deli cup used here is needed so that the upper container with wick rests directly on the bottom of the lower container and sits high enough to create a space along the sides of the two containers (and a larger water reservoir). It seems that for this to be successful the diameter of the hole cut for the upper container must be precise.  Depending on how heavy the mix is and how sturdy the wicking cup is I would be concerned that the wicking cup would collapse under the weight such that sides of the upper container would then rest on those of the lower container (as in James' situation above).  I am wondering about placing 3 small blocks of wood (or some other material) in the lower container for the upper to rest on rather than the wick.  Then one could use a 16 oz cup as a wick as is used for the global buckets.  Thoughts?

I understand your concern, Rewton but I haven't had that problem yet.
I am actually using two 32 ounce containers, one inside the other for greater stability. Furthermore, the growing mix is quite light. Also, remember that this is a temporary, one year or less solution to accelerate the growth of rooted cuttings and not a permanent home for your tree.

Frank,
Thanks for starting this topic.
Here's a simple 5 gallon SIP based on the Alaska Grow Bucket without the automatic self watering feature, <or the experimental Global Bucket.>

The total cost for the pictured SIP is $1.58 which included sales tax on the colander from Dollar Tree.
Holes were drilled on the side of the bucket 3-1/2 inches from the bottom for drainage and aeration. The handles and rim of the colander were removed for proper fit in the bottom of the bucket (use scissors for a clean cut). Total fabrication time... under 5 minutes.
    


      
<edit>. Added a link and 5 new photos.

Pete, how do you add water to the reservoir (collander)?  It seems like you would need a pipe.  Or do you water from above?

Rewton,
Yes. It can be watered from the top along the side until it starts to overflow, or  an 18 to 24 inch Fill pipe between the bag and bucket can be added at a cost of $0.20.
Also the Automated watering system of the Alaska Grow Bucket, or a standard distributed automated fill with the fill pipe grommet installed at 3-1/4 inch from bottom of bucket (or slightly lower than the aeration holes, or through the fill pipe), or the siphon used in Global Bucket Automatic Watering.
   .

James,
After several tests, the Colander SIP actually wicks too much water (35 sq. in. cross section) with a standard 75-85% peat based potting mix. For a drier (75-85% peat) mix a reduction of the "wick" cross section area is needed.
By using the following simple modification (adding a 10-1/2" piece of plastic pipe, 1/2" PVC (@ $0.20/foot) or any other similar material) the cross section area can be reduced closer to the 10% (10 to 12 sq. in cross section) of the planters 113 sq. in. cross section area (12 " diameter) which IMO is optimal. For plants that require an even drier media the wick area can be further reduced by filling and packing only one end of the bag, the other end can be folded on top of the colander.
Also after fabricating the first few SIPs, the fabrication time has dropped below 2 minutes each. I'm currently fabricating several dozen Easy SIPs for my 1 gallon fig plants, so I will post an evaluation on this design in use.
      
 Good Luck.

Here's the instructional video for the Alaska Grow Bucket, the fabrication of the Colander SIP (Easy SIP) is very similar, except the colander is placed upside down in the Easy SIP.