The Self-Watering, Composting Planter

Last crawled date: 1 year, 11 months ago

Bergen County Academies
Mr. DeFalco

This planter combines self-watering technologies and composting into one. The pot consists of three chambers. The lower chamber is meant to hold water. Water can be poured into it through the spout on the side of the pot. The ceiling of the lower chamber has small holes for plant roots to grow through, thus providing direct water access. The holes are small, and relatively few, so that the ceiling can still support the soil. The upper chamber is for holding soil, and will also hold the plants.

The cylindrical structure (worm tube) within the upper chamber is for vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is a natural method of converting organic waste to fertilizer by utilizing earthworms. In the pot, organic waste such as fruit and vegetable scraps would be loaded into the chamber. A lid could also be produced to prevent animals from accessing scraps. Earthworms would be added to the chamber, and holes in the side of the chamber would allow them direct access to the soil. These worms would carry digested material into the soil, which is an extremely useful form of fertilizer for plants. Plant roots could also grow into the tube, providing direct access to nutrients.

Using 3D printing would assist in producing this one-piece design. The design is intended to be printed using PLA with the FDM method. Thus, the pot will be constructed in layers, creating a cohesive product that ideally would not need any assembly in production. For example, the spout on the side of the pot would be built as part of the pot rather than attached to it. Similarly, the worm tube would have had to be welded into the pot using current methods; with 3D printing this step is eliminated.