Tierra Verde 10 in. x 20 in. Slate Rubber Self-Watering Planter (1)

Looking at this planter in it's box, super baffled! Never fear. I bought this at Home Depot and I'm leaving this review to help others. They are good planters in a lot of ways - they survive the winter very well and they're super durable. However, they come with a huge design defect that has me totally baffled. Fortunately, it is easy to fix.The Tierra Verde planters SHOULD come with a planter and a plastic mesh watering grid that sits at the bottom of the pot and creates a reservoir, with a dip in the middle for the soil to soak up water. If you bought one and it did not come with this, full stop. It will never self-water.Now, for the weird part. Obviously when you inset the watering grid you can only fill the thing one time before you put soil on top of it. This is very bizarre - none of the Tierra Verde planters I have bought had a watering tube included. Maybe they're supposed to. I don't know. Anyway, search Amazon for a 1 inch diameter, 2 foot long piece of PVC pipe. Or buy one at the hardware store. Cut it to the height of the planter down to the watering grid + a couple inches before you put dirt in. Set the pipe in a corner, standing upright and flush to the grid. Now put the dirt in so it stays put and sticks out a couple inches from the soil. You now have a tube to pour water into the planter reservoir. Since there is no water level indicator, be certain the overflow valve is open!You can now plant your plants, refill the planter every few days as it empties, and your plants should be as happy as mine are.

I will agree that calling this "self watering" is a stretch. What it should be called is "water it less." There's no tube needed. There's nothing extra needed. Put the grid in the bottom of the planter. Put your potting soil on top of that. Plant your plant in the soil. Then water the darned thing. If you put it outside, pull the plug from the bottom. This will let any rain water fill up the reservoir at the bottom and when it is full, it will allow excess water to drain out. You might be able to go all summer without having to water them. If you have it in your house, just do a quick test with the plug out. Water the plant until water flows out of the hole. Put the plug back in. And now you know how much water to give your plant the next time the soil starts to feel dry to the touch. This isn't hard. It's not mystical. It's a water reservoir in the bottom of a planter that you will need to occasionally top up by watering the plant and letting the water drain to the bottom THROUGH THE SOIL. I have them out on my patio during the summer and never have to water. And in the winter, I usually go a couple of weeks between waterings. And that's all the magic there is to it. It just lets you go longer before taking an active hand with your plants. No tubes. No sensors (other than your own finger). No self watering either.

I bought it at Home depot and tried to figure out how to use it. The instructions are useless, so I went to their website, again useless. After looking at other makes on Youtube, I agree it needs to have a tube to work as advertised.I called the customer service department and still waiting...

There is a plug in the bottom. It would be wise for the company to be clear about that on the label.

I bought it from home depot too. I can't understand how it is self watering. No explanation anywhere that I can see.

Very nice, but found at Home Depot for one third the price and in an assortment of colors and sizes.