Fig. 1

‘Pot in Bucket’ system. a A schematic diagram of the system, b a photograph where the bucket has a section removed to exhibit the capillarity mat that allows water to be taken up from the bucket to the soil in the pot, as well as the float valve, which controls the water level in the bucket, and c a photograph and d diagram of the float valve, where the micropipette tip can be blocked by the polystyrene float to stop the water flow from the water reservoir, and thus controls the water level in the bucket. Details of the system and how to construct it are presented in Additional file 1: Figure S1 and Additional file 2