watering plants whilst away on holiday

magali

I am a gardener and i agree with pboae 1 week is no that long.

Nile

Hello damo101

I'll move your thread to the 'Greenfingered' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

heatherw_01

Water them before you go away. They will be fine for a few weeks.

angelavdavis

damo101 wrote:

Hi,

While away is there a way to keep potted plants watered? I have only 2 to keep watered for a week so seems to be a lot of hassle for a friend to come into water to small pots.

I was thinking of leaving a large pot of water beside my 2 pots and placing a piece of wool in it and running it from there to the soil in my pot - as the soil dries out will it suck water thru the wool and keep moist? (think it might - capillary action and all that - but just wondering if anyone heard of this before)

Thanks in advance,
Damo

The principal is the same, but I use an old towel, on the drainer but draped in the sink which has an inch or so full of water in it. The towel acts as the wick and then I place the pots on top. If anyone has lots, you can just leave the plants in the bath on top of a towel (the towel retains some water)

yram_slim

Anyone got tips for watering tomatoes in the greenhouse whilst away on holiday. Unfortunately, no neighbours or relatives on hand to do this. Any brilliant inventions (not using electric automatic watering systems).

Many thanks

KatrinaC_2

Have you thought about capillary matting?

It's a sort of fibrous material which you place under the pots and then dangle one end of it in a bucket of water. The matting soaks up the water from the bucket and then the plants absorb the water from the matting. In theory the plants then shouldn't dry out or drown.

Whether the matting will be able to supply enough water for thirsty plants like tomatoes is another matter.

If all else fails, try an upside down pop bottle filled with water. Drill holes in the cap to slow down the flow of water from the bottle to the plant and have a practice run to ensure that it works OK before you trust it to keep your plants watered for a prolonged period of time.

Kat

smk77

yram_slim wrote:

Anyone got tips for watering tomatoes in the greenhouse whilst away on holiday. Unfortunately, no neighbours or relatives on hand to do this. Any brilliant inventions (not using electric automatic watering systems).

Many thanks

May I ask the reasoning for not wanting to use a watering systems?

I'm going to get a complete system shortly for the same purpose. I have noticed that you can buy all the bits you get in a set individually so you might be able to assemble the bits you require and then get a cheap timer (runs on batteries) from ebay. I'm sure i've seen then for about £10.

yram_slim

I might try the capillary matting. I did have a go at making a pop bottle drip feeder using a rope line which was supposed to wick the water into the soil. Needless to say, it didn't work and I was left with a horrid green water bottle and dried up string. Perhaps the upturned drip feeder (drinker?) might be a better bet.

yram_slim

I was cautious about expending a lot of money on an electric/tronic timer system. This was going to cost in the region of £40 (cheaper to buy organic tomatoes from the shop). Also, the greenhouse is a considerable distance from the hose tap. Where can I get the kit form you mention?

navig8r

yram_slim wrote:

Anyone got tips for watering tomatoes in the greenhouse whilst away on holiday. Unfortunately, no neighbours or relatives on hand to do this. Any brilliant inventions (not using electric automatic watering systems).

Many thanks

How many Toms and for how long a holiday..may make quite dif in suggestions for a solution.

Dave