For many gardeners, going on a vacation or a mandatory work trip means leaving their plants at the mercy of nature.
To prevent your plants from withering away, Hyderabad’s Gowtham Reddy has worked on the simplest self-watering system called ‘Osmos’ that can sustain plants for at least 15 days.
In 2017, the engineer designed a self-watering terracotta planter, made using 60 percent soil and 40 percent of low-weight-expanded clay.
“I utilised the clay’s porosity property to design the planter. As clay is a porous material, it allows for air and moisture to pass through the walls of the pot,” says the graduate from Gujarat’s National Institute of Design.
He further added a glass fish bowl element to this planter design to keep the water level in check. The bowl can hold 1.5 litres of water.
The easy-to-use Osmos system allows gardeners to keep a planted pot inside the water-filled bowl.
The clay terracotta pot absorbs water and the soil inside the pot remains hydrated. Interestingly, this planter is designed in a way that it doesn’t breed mosquitoes.
“I applied my design knowledge to create a planter that is both simple and optimised. At the same time, I also wanted my design to be fascinating for others,” he adds.
In 2018, Gowtham’s innovative self-watering system received recognition at the Lexus Design Awards under the category of the Best Student Project.