Honestly a simple drip irrigation system is how I would go. You can set them up with a timer on a garden hose. You can controll how much water each pot gets with the number and type of emitter. Its a lot more setup at the start but once it's installed they tend to work seemlessly.
this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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It's a balcony setup without a water outlet, so this is unfortunately not possible.
Some drip irrigators draw from a bucket of water. You just need to top up the bucket.
Beware of soil mixes that have "water crystals" mixed in, they are just microplastics that absorb and release water for a while. I used to have soil moisture behave erratically before discovering these were the cause
Oh, I were not aware of these. I'll have to check my soil mixture to see if they contain any, and at least be on the lookout when getting new bags. Thanks :)
Adjusting the soil mix sounds like a good idea. Could you also have the upper pots dipping more shallowly into the water, reducing their wicking surface?
The way I designed the baskets in the end was to have holes to allow water to seep in only at the very bottom of the baskets. That way I can still make use of the entire reservoir, but reduce the amount of water that is in contact with the wicking material. This was a change from my initial design that had holes along the whole basket. This approach did reduce the overall moisture I believe (I mean, it should right?), but since it was later in the growing season with higher temperatures, I couldn't judge the effect very accurately.
I have tried to think up some way that would allow me to completely close of the water from the wicking material and reopen after it had dried out, but so far I've not had any luck with this.
The most accurate solution would probably be moisture sensors and controlled valves.
I don't have a water outlet on my balcony, and I wouldn't want the noise associated with a water pump running. But I have been wanting to add moisture sensors later, and if I could find some other way to regulate water flow in, I could use that to control it.
Elevated tank and gravity feed?
If you setup a small reservoir on a small table or stand in the corner of the balcony you could do a gravity-feed system. Just fill the reservoir every few days when it gets low, and you could still play around with sensors and valves to control the flow.
Hehe, now there are three different suggestions for a gravity-feed system, so I will need to take a closer look at how I could set that up!
Thank you (and to the other suggestors)! :)