Last night I put together the base of the do-it-yourself planter out of a translucent bin from Staples ($7.99) and a small cobalt-blue bin that I hacked (really the best way to describe what I did) down to about 20% of its prior height, and pierced with dozens of little triangular holes. The translucent part is the main body of the planter, and the cobalt-blue part is the reservoir. Today, I'm going to order the earthbox , get some gravel, and plant some tomatoes in the do-it-yourselfer. More later.

I want to build one of these Reservoir Planters with Alix this spring. I'll try to keep our progress and plans up to date here.

Patrick Kalaher: Gardening