Sub-irrigated planter is a generic name for a special type of planting box used in container gardening and commercial landscaping. A SIP is any method of watering plants where the water is introduced from the bottom, allowing the water to soak upwards to the plant through capillary action

Capillary action

Capillary action, or capilarity, is the ability of a liquid to flow against gravity where liquid spontanously rise in a narrow space such as between the hair of a paint-brush, in a thin tube, or in porous material such as paper or in some non-porous material such as liquified carbon fiber, or in a...

. It is possible to automate the watering and thus popular with professional landscapers in buildings or urban settings. SIP's are available as products, under brand names such as Planter Technology (commercial) and EarthBox (consumer), or as do-it-yourself projects made from plastic buckets and boxes.

External links

• Global Buckets: A nonprofit organization using sub-irrigated planters to reduce global hunger.
• DIY Two Bucket EarthBox Sub-Irrigated Planter
• Advantages of Sub-Irrigated Planters
• Earthtainer Open-SourceSub-Irrigated Planter Design
• Blake Whisenant, Inventor of the Earthbox, demonstrates how it works