Hey y'all,
Need some quick advice. Going out of town for 4 days. Weather here is high 80s and sunny so I have been watering my containers daily. My containers are not self-watering - boo hoo. Have all types and sizes. Should I get a child's wading pool and sit my containers in water or move to a shady location? What is the best method? No family close by to stop in and my only neighbor will be out of town as well. Thanks and a happy Memorial Day to everyone in advance.
Liz
How to keep container plants watered when away from home
I usually water REALLY thoroughly, then move mine to a shady area and that keeps them fine for a few days. Or if you don't mind spending some money for a more high tech approach, I've seen kits for sale (mail order garden places and local home centers) that come with a water reservoir and some type of wicking or dripping system that you connect from the reservoir to each pot. I would not recommend the wading pool approach unless your plants are tolerant of wet feet
Thanks a bunch!
Hi Gliz.
An unexpensive way is to make a little hole on the cap of a soft drink bottle (like coke). Fill it with water, and put it up side down, a bit in the earth, near the root. It will them drip little by little.
Don`t know how many containers you have, if there are to many this will probably be to big a job. And maybe you are not able to get hold on so many bottle :o)
Ecrane`s idea is also very good. Monica
for about 20 dollars you can get a soaker hose and for 8 dollars you can get a timer.
Oh wow can you really get them that cheap in the US?
That is a much better suggestion when it is that inexpensive.
Herbie - I haven't seen a timer that cheap! found one that can be set for once a day watering - $29 at Lowes. We are going away for 5 days. It's funny you mentioned the soaker hose - that's what I bought but DH and I just couldn't get the hose to cover all the containers and drip evenly - maybe we need to practice more. Anyway, we are going with a regular sprinkler that will water the containers and my flower bed as well! Thanks for the suggestion. Liz
How does that timer thing and the soaker hose work? I'm a newbie, who ends up watering plants at least an hour each morning. An automatic timer would be a Godsend! Please tell me how to hook it up and how it works.
THANKS!
You can also put some soil moist in your pots. I read about this on another thread and added it to all off my pots. It really seems to work as I am watering much less now. Just be careful how much you add. I think I put too much in one of my pots because after I watered it, it puffed right up and the plant popped out. It looked really funny but I don't think the poor plant liked it.
GG - the timer is so easy - even I can set it, LOL. All you need to do is screw one end on to your outside faucet and your hose on the other end. Set the time your want it to go on, how many minutes of watering (mine has 15 min increments) and if you want it to turn on every day or every other day, etc. Then turn the faucet to the on position. It won't run until it reaches the time you set. You can run either a soaker hose across the top of your containers or use a sprinkler.
glitz - i got this timer years ago from ltd commodities.
dthe best way to run the hose is to drill a hole on each side of the containers near the bottom and run the hose right through and then into the next container.
Hi Liz, I'd do soaker hoses (SH) and timers! End of June and Summer is best time to buy both. I bought . mine after the Fourth of July when discounts are deepest. Unfourtunately the downside of buying at the end of season is that selections are limited.
Some of my neighbors eliminated flower beds and gardens because of drought conditions here: but I just added SH and 2 more inches of mulch. I ought 2-event timers from WM and HD on sale for half price ($15.00) and 25' SH ($5.00)50' ( > $10.00).
Best of luck, I hope you automate your watering because it will save you time and $$.Please test your sytem to make sure it works prior to going live with it.
Bernie
Thanks Glitz and Alpha!
Need Blaumats! I have that problem: I travel in my work sometimes for two to six weeks at a time. From October through May my plants are in the greenhouse. We live off the grid and there is no water piped to the greenhouse. I use large black plastic 2 gal. bottles from smokeless propellant my husband uses in reloading. I fill them insert Blaumat waterers individually for each plant. This arrangement will last two weeks at least during regular sunlight in winter, but obviously needs refilling as growing action speeds up in spring and summer.
I use the same arrangement when I move my container herbs outside with one bottle watering 2-4 plants. For larger containers, like the big porch planters where peas are growing, I embed a half-gallon bottle in the planter and use the Blaumatt waterer to supplement the "self-watering" reservoir in the bottom of the container.
I have been getting the Blaumatts from Gardens Alive. Does anyone know any other suppliers? They run out of them right away and I haven't found a supplier anywhere.
How expensive are these?
Blaumats come in packs of 4 for about 10-12$
Hey thanks. That's not so bad a price but it would be an investment for all my plants. May try to select the more difficult ones.
Try www.balconystore.com
They have a lot of solutions, from pots to watering, specifically aimed at container gardeners.
The easiest and cheapest solution may be to hire a pet sitter to come in one or two days while you're gone to water the plants. Most pet sitters water plants, pick up mail, etc. as part of their pet care duties so they should be willing to do the watering part without the pet part, probably for a reduced rate.
What a swell job. I could enjoy that.
Gliz... Did you have a good weekend and did your plants survive?
Yes, thanks. We grouped all the containers together, placed in the empty space of a flower bed. DH set up the timer and a rotating sprinkler which watered both the containers and the flower beds and surrounding grass. Nothing was lost. Next trip is for 10 days - that may need someone to actually check on the containers.
I need someone to come in also while I am gone, but you guys have given me ideas as to what other options I have.
I am looking at
http://www.windowbox.com/cgi-bin/store/prod_item.asp?ProductID={A8E288F4-EADC-11D3-9376-0090271AB532}
and that looks nifty but I was wondering - how hot is the water when the container is being watered? I have to discharge the water in my hose every evening when I water since the water in it gets pretty warm. I wonder if the water in the plant minder container gets too warm and ends up killing the plant? Same question for bottle based water (like with a coke bottle with a hole on the lid).
tmm
Oh! Plant a disposable diaper, drenched in water; in the window box under the soil. It really, really works!
~* Robin