How do you water your pot-plants while away?

[steve69]

For those of you who have pot plants, I came across a very simple and cost-free way of buying a bit more time before your pot plants shrivel away thru' lack of water in your absence. I hadn't come across this method until recently, so if it is common knowledge then sorry.
If you take a bucket of water and set it at a slightly higher level - just a couple of inches/centimetres - than the pots you want to water, then soak a long piece of old cotton rags in water (in my case an old T-shirt ripped up). Place one end of the rag in the bucket of water and trail the rag over the side and just rest the other end on the soil of the pot. As per the - admittedly very basic - sketch. You will find the water slowly syphons into the pot over a few days - slow drip feeding if you like. Make sure the end that is in the bucket can reach the bottom as the water level drops. Hopefully you will come home to an empty bucket and a still-alive plant. Much cheaper and easier than automatic watering systems don't you think?

 

[Gellyneck]

Hopefully you will come home to an empty bucket and a still-alive plant that's taken over the conservatory.

Father used to do that trick with lengths of "cotton" string but pushed into the soil \ compost, multiple pots from one source.

 

[John Barrett]

We use Gardena Automatic Watering to the pots and artificial grass. No worries!

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[Speve]

Fill a plastic bottle with water and put it neck down in the soil by the plant and it will slowly drip feed the plant.

 

[Coolcats]

We use a water controller flex but there is a range of controllers
I also use the micro drip system It depends how much irrigation you want to do in the garden if you look at the site you can cover the lawn and flower beds. the important items in the garden for us are pot plants and bird baths.

You will see on the site a large range of controllers you can also have a controller that you can operate remotely so it really is how sophisticated do you want to go.

We tried the plastic bottle method but it did not work for the longer trips,

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[TheTwoOfUs]

We buy artificial plants to go with the artificial lawn. No matter what time of year they always look good.

 

[Lenny HB]

Ask daughter to pop in and water them, 6 weeks later come home to dead plants.

 

[steve69]

We use Gardena Automatic Watering to the pots and artificial grass. No worries!
View attachment 404399

Gardena Water Management | Buy from the Gardena Experts

Gardena Water Management System - The Ultimate Solution for Sustainable, Automated Garden Watering!

www.worldofwatering.co.uk

..and do you hoover your lawn regularly

 

[Riverbankannie]

I use that method for indoor plants but I line the bath with the greenhouse shelving mats which protect the bath from the pots and wick up (wick down?) the water from a bucket. Grouping the plants together helps to form a microclimate and the bathroom is a cool room anyway.

 

[John Barrett]

..and do you hoover your lawn regularly

You mean like this?

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[Brains]

Massive hydroponics system for my pot plants !

 

[tboy]

with a very loooong hose

 

[tboy]

with a very loong hose

 

[Vipar]

Oh dear got to go to B&Q now for 14 more buckets or is is Bouquet’s

Got a good neighbour

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Well..........spent a small fortune on Hoselok systems for watering the plants in tubs and baskets. Decided on a wifi timer and a back up using batteries. Spent one day last year setting it up around the house and gardens and was really chuffed to bits with both my work and more importantly...the system! It worked really well.
However...................................I decided in my wisdom that the timers should equate to approx 60mins in total. Bad move! Over the 2 months we were away from home .....The bill went up to £400 ! I pay £30 p month normally! But over a two month period............£400!!!!!! Sorry..over kill with the exclamation marks!
I was told by our friendly Mr Water board man that if you leave a tap on for 1 minute...it uses 6 litres!
If it was on for 1 hour ....60 x 6 is 360 litres! a day!
So ......I now use a neighbour and buy him 6 bottles of merlot at £7 a bottle.....I now save my money!

Its either that ...or plastic flowers!

kev

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[autorouter]

First I have to say that gardening is one of the many things I know nothing about. But my daughter keeps her house plants watered using 'hydrospikes' One hydrospike per pot (or more than one if it's a very big house plant), and a jar/vase of water for several of the tubes to the hydrospikes. This video shows the idea.

 

[John Barrett]

Oh dear got to go to B&Q now for 14 more buckets or is is Bouquet’s

Got a good neighbour

Is her name Hyacinth?

 

[Taran_Las]

Servants​

 

[PaddyM]

David my fastidious, ex nuclear engineer neighbour , he is brilliant, nowt dies and everything flourishes when I’m away .
Ive told him he can never ever ever leave / move ! Costs me a bottle of v v v expensive port each year !

 

[rosalan]

We have 2 cats that do their best. This is not generally appreciated by the plants.

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[steve69]

David my fastidious, ex nuclear engineer neighbour , he is brilliant, nowt dies and everything flourishes when I’m away .
Ive told him he can never ever ever leave / move ! Costs me a bottle of v v v expensive port each year !

The garden doesn't happen to glow in the dark by any chance does it?

 

[The Simpsons]

We give the next door neighbours son a tenner a week to water the pots and planters.

 

[Minxy]

Ask daughter to pop in and water them, 6 weeks later come home to dead plants.

I have the in-laws who come round and water them for us, trouble is the usually overdo it and I end up loosing some ... last time they killed a couple of my lovely cyclamens ...

 

[Baden87]

Don’t you get a couple of Vietnamese/ Chinese to to look after your crop of POT PLANTS ?

 

[Boris7]

Use a lady called Sue if it’s a short break, or a Lady called Jill who stays in the house for longer trips and looks after everything

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[TerryL]

Used a good friend and neighbour - he managed to drown a couple but then watered the artificial ones as well!

Politely told him not to bother in future and got another neighbour, who's a bit more plany savvy, to watch over them.