watering plants whilst away on holiday

cwp500

shopaholic2006 wrote: »

I've seen on various gardening shop websites they sell watering spikes, you screw the spike on to an empty drinking bottle, the soil then takes what it needs. They are about 4/5 pound each, however wilkinsons do a pack of 2 for 99p.
I

Sounds interesting.

Note of paranoia here folks; if you are going on holiday please dont advertise the fact by Heath Robinson contraptions in the garden to water the plants. It is like a sign saying "Rob Me" to any passing burglar.

House plants can be stood in the shower tray on a bath towel with one end hanging into a full bowl of water and compost. Remember to keep a bin bag over the plastic bowl to minismise evaporation. The towel acts like a wick and if it is thoroughly soaked prior to the holiday should keep the plants ticking over nicely. Try it and see.

Garden tubs are a problem because the roots are so restricted and cant seek alternative sources of water. Therefore its as important to conserve the water they have as it is to provide additional water.
Try covering the surface of a saturated pot with a bin bag to prevent evaporation.

Growing herbs on the patio is a good idea as they will tolerate harsh treatment and dryness.

cwp500

cwp500 wrote: »

Sounds interesting.


House plants can be stood in the shower tray on a bath towel with one end hanging into a full bowl of water and compost. Remember to keep a bin bag over the plastic bowl to minismise evaporation. The towel acts like a wick and if it is thoroughly soaked prior to the holiday should keep the plants ticking over nicely. Try it and see.

Should read; "and weak liquid feed".

OOer sorry.

poppyoscar_3

Do you have lots of pots?

I used to take mine round to a friend for their holidays while i was away! but then i didn't have too many! then i would do the same for her.

PO xx

noonesperfect

I don't know how much they cost but you can get some things called water slices which are supposed to work for 2 - 3 weeks.
I wasn't really paying attention, but I think you use a slice for each week you are going to be away. ie 2 weeks use 2 slices per plant.

olly300

cwp500 wrote: »

Sounds interesting.

Note of paranoia here folks; if you are going on holiday please dont advertise the fact by Heath Robinson contraptions in the garden to water the plants. It is like a sign saying "Rob Me" to any passing burglar.
.

It's not a note of paranoia it's common sense.

The contraptions should be tried out randomly before you go on holiday and a few times afterwards.

Just_Me_4

I don't know if there is a way of doing this with pots but on This Morning last week (OK I'm a saddo lol) they had a section on hanging baskets and they hung over the basket a plastic bag with holes in it and filled it with ice. As the ice slowly melts it waters the plants. HTH;)

noonesperfect

Those water slices can be bought off ebay. I presume they can be rinsed and reused indefinitely.

janetmw

When planting tubs, I put strips of capilliary matting (bought from garden centre and cut into 2-3inch strips) in the compost. The extra length dangles over the side and into a bucket of water, weighted down with a few stones. I also add a few lumps of charcoal to help keep the water sweet. Make sure everything is throughly soaked initially and the matting should remain damp and draw the water very gradually into the tubs. A bucket full of water has lasted a tub for at least a week.

The tubs sit on the doorstep and the buckets are hidden behind them. This a permanent arrangement which cuts down on the watering chore.

The buckets are topped up as necessary usually using the water drawn off from the hot tap before the hot water comes through!

HTH

Janet

mirry

any tips on how I can water my pots and beds whilst away on holiday for 4 days .
All my Neighbours are too elderly and my friends are away the same week as me :mad: .

I am worried that all my hard work will go to waste,
but I have to go away cos its my 40th birthday, please help !!!

WestonDave

IF you have a wilkinsons near you, they sell microirrigation kits (thin tube and little dripper attachments) for about £8 that you can connect to your outside tap - for a bit more money you can also get a timer that goes on the tap that will control when the water comes on.

The other option (again in Wilkinsons) is that they do attachments to fit on the top of used drinks bottles (2 litre coke bottles etc) that enable you to spike a full bottle of water into the ground and it will slowly feed out into the pot.

Depends also on the weather unless its really hot and dry for all the 4 days you may get away with giving them a really good soaking just before you leave and then watering again when you get back.