Help i have nobody to water my hanging baskets when im away?
Question:Im going away for a few days and have nobody free to water my plants whilst im away, does anyone have any tips on how to stop my plants drying out and keep them with sufficient water until i get back?
Answers:
Put your potted plant in a shallow pan of water. The dirt will suck the water up a little at a time and should keep it moist for a few days. Move them out of the direct sun into the shaded area.
You could also put your water sprinkler on a timer and place the Baskets close enough to be sprayed, not in the direct sun though.
You can be helped:
www.homesitters.co.uk
Take your hanging baskets down and stand them in shallow water in the shade. They will last for weeks like this.
you can get some water crystals from most garden centres its about £4.00 a bag and just mix it some how in your compost
run a bit of water in your bath and pop them in there?that way they will be out of direct sun-light to stop them drying? works a treat?
Most of the water loss in baskets is from wind and sun,if your only going away for a few days why not take them down and put them in the shade with a good soaking.
At garden centres they sell lots of irrigation systems and also slow watering gadgets.
You can get gel to add to the compost which holds lots of water .Or you can take the baskets down and put them in a shallow pan of water or space them round a bucket and put capillary strips into each basket.You might be lucky and it rains while you are away but that would dampen your holiday wouldn't it.
The best way is to get some empty plastic bottle with the screw on caps, stand upright, just below where the lid put a couple of tiny holes in with a small nail,the bigger the holes the faster the drip and a tiny hole at the bottom of the bottle, fill with water and replace the caps, put the bottles upside down in the basket with the cap just under the surface of the soil, the water bottle will slowly drip over a two week period and keep your baskets moist while you are away.if you stand the baskets in water for a long period the plants will go very spindley and the baskets will go green.
o.k. you will need to put your plants in the shady part of your garden, give them a good watering. then take a empty pop or water bottle cut the bottom end off,then with the cap removed push the cap end into the soil, fill the bottle with water, so as the soil becomes dry it will take in the water. you can also use a plastic pipe for this.
In the super long term (I dont water my baskets) Take a washing machine 'solenoid valve' hose on each end.connect to tap. Trigger the valve with a timer (I use a digital timer short period, 1 minute from DIY store.) squeeze down the inlet, so that you get about 1 litre of water/ minute. Feed this to a small (I use 3 lirte milk container) tank. Now, a short distance from the bottom an outlet pipe (I begged an old car brake flexy with a long male threaded section) and feed this to your baskets. The logic behind the 'short distance up' is that you put say 'miracle grow' in the bottom, hey presto, water and feed for the whole summer.
Not so easy, but a cheap fix for a good result.
With a wet bank holiday on the way your plants should survive the few waterless days...plants don't get watered as frequently in the wild, they should be alright for a few days if you water them enough just before you leave. A helpful tip is to keep wet newspaper at the bottom, it retains water for longer.
yep go buy yourself some water retainin gel from your local garden centre,mix it in with the compost but use the recommended dose dont mix it all in or ul ave disasterous results.have a good holiday.
you could try a slow release dropper that lets water out gradually,put it in the soil near the plant stalk that should do it.
water them right before you leave.They won't dry out for a while
put old tea bags in them and give a good watering just before you go . it really works!!
More Related Questions & Answers...