Solution For Watering Plants While On Vacation – Festive water can be easier than you think. No need to depend on your next-door neighbor to take care of houseplants while traveling.
I’m going on vacation for four long weeks and I have house plants that need water,
Solution For Watering Plants While On Vacation
Outdoor plants need watering to survive. With no neighbors here in the country, and hoping rain wasn’t a good option, I had to take matters into my own hands. Fortunately for me, there are many ways to help keep plants watered during the holidays.
How To Save House Plants While Away On Vacation
Indoor plants often have different needs to survive and thrive than their outdoor counterparts. But don’t worry! Below I share some great indoor and outdoor plant tips.
Now we really want our plants to grow in our absence, just to survive. So I recommend feeding them well a month in advance and cutting the leaves of your plants a week before you leave so they use less water.
First, be sure to try these methods a few weeks before your trip. That is important
Be sure to water your plants well before you leave, even if you use one of these methods.
Watering Plants While Away On Vacation: 8 Easy Tips
Place a wire or twine in the water on one side of the plant and a gallon jug or bucket of water on the other side next to the soil of the plant (size depends on how long you plan on going). Water from the cup drips onto the plant and keeps its soil moist while you’re away.
Make sure it works before you go. Sometimes the type of string or material you’re working with only throws off part of the process…you may want to change the type of material (make sure it’s a natural fiber) or place the jar with the smaller string above the plant. . .
This is the easiest and most effective method I have found. It works on all kinds of baked goods, inside and out!
Thread the cotton string through the water hole at the bottom of the plant and place the planter in a deep/large container filled with water. The idea is to put a smaller plant inside a tall planter… it helps to choose the same width but one deeper than the other.
The Best And Easiest Way To Water Plants While On Vacation For Two Weeks
Or make a planter nest by punching a hole in a planter that doesn’t have a hole. If you can’t find one with a rim that allows it to fit in a large planter, use something (brick, jar, small plant) to lift it up enough.
Benefits: Indoor and outdoor plants need moisture. It can be used for a long time on most medium-sized plants. I use this as a regular way to water my plants, so I only have to water once a month.
Warning With this method, large trees cannot get as much water as they need from small cables. Increase the cable size for larger plants and see if that works if you like. Be careful doing this on plants that are prone to rotting or need dry soil or sand.
If you travel a lot, you can buy your own water equipment as an investment or you can make your own! I have shared a complete tutorial on how to convert an existing planter into a self-watering planter.
Vol. 2, Day 11: How To Water Plants While On Vacation
Advantages: Outdoor plants, but can also be covered as houseplants. Special plants that need to be watered from the ground.
Your gardens can also be designed to “irrigate”. You can learn how to make irrigated garden beds and use the same technique for indoor gardening here.
This is especially good if you are a low maintenance gardener but want to maintain high yields. It takes a lot of work at first, but once it’s done, you don’t have to worry anymore!
Some of my tropical plants need humidity and a terrarium-like environment to thrive in my absence.
You’re Going On Vacation, But What About Your Plants?
Simply place the plant in a large double-folded garbage bag (like this one), water the plant well, and tie the bag to the plant. Poke several holes in the top of the bag so it can breathe, and you’ve just created a makeshift terrarium!
An elegant version is a bell jar that covers the plant with about an inch of water so the plant can pull up from the ground.
Warning: Keep these “terrariums” out of direct sunlight or you will cook your plants. To make sure there are no leaks, you can place them on an aluminum cookie sheet or something to catch the excess water.
No doubt you’ve seen a variety of bulb watering and terra cotta + jar watering systems. They work great if you’re out of town for a week or two and can be great for both decorating and helping out!
How To Drink Water Safely While On Vacation
Warning: If the nozzle of the irrigation bulb is blocked, it will not work. To prevent this from happening, wrap the cuttings in a small cloth before placing them in the soil.
The water holds a lot of extra crystals and should be used in conjunction with another irrigation system for best results. If you plan to be out of town for a month or more, add moisture retention crystals with a second irrigation system.
I used Miracle Gro Water Storing Crystals and it seemed to work great and I don’t have to water my houseplants as often.
I’m sure when you read this you immediately think of complicated and expensive drip systems.
How To Water Plants While Away On Vacation
Water your houseplants! It can be installed on the system or an app can be used to run it on demand.
This is called without for your outdoor plants. Several inches of mulch will help retain moisture in your garden and is great for a secondary irrigation system.
However, you can also “cover” your houseplants by adding layers of watered peat moss or placing a wet rag at the base of the plant and covering it with a plastic grocery bag.
Warning: moss can persist and make a great addition to your potted plant! However, you don’t want to leave the rag or plastic out for more than a few weeks if you bring in the mold.
How To Water Plants While Away
A reader suggested this method to me and I have to say it’s genius! It’s the easiest and most effective method I’ve tried.
Place potted plants with holes in the bottom in a shallow container of water, or set a tub or sink that receives more indirect light. And it’s enough to water your plants as you go.
Warning: Standing water can attract insects and flies. Spray the tub with bug spray if you’re going away for more than a few weeks. Purchase an herbal solution or mix a teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide in a cup of water and add three drops of dish soap in the morning. Shake and spray the tub full of water before adding the herbs.
Warning: Some plants hate too much cold and need to dry out between waterings…this is a temporary measure for these plants and you want to let the soil dry out after repotting to prevent root rot.
Watering Plants In Containers: Top Tips To Get It Right |
When working with outdoor plants without a drip system, another great option for watering the garden is a soaker hose. You can buy a timer (like a drip system) that turns the water on and off every day, or you can attach a hose to the dripper.
Learn the best way to grow an avocado plant from seed! Forget the old dental method, find a safe method here.
Ursula Carmona is the creative mind behind Carmona Home Made, where she shares her knowledge about decorating, DIY, organizing and gardening. Ursula is also a public speaker, hosts the HGTV digital series “Table Wars: The Look for Less” and has been featured widely in print and online. My husband and I want to travel to other countries, but we also want to explode like a houseplant forest in our house. This combination creates problems because there are only so many times you can force friends to flood their home forest, even if you bribe them with attractive souvenirs from foreign lands.
From Bali we have made professional solutions cost effective. I decided to do the pipe system, but my husband was worried that the house might leak without anyone.
Use String Or Even Shoe Laces As A Wick To Deliver Moisture To Your Pl…
So I came up with a cheap, easy, and truly leak-proof solution to this mess: you need a resealable plastic bag filled with water with a string inside to pull it up.
