Going out of town, even for a vacation, may be stressful, especially if you have to travel far if your in-laws are going along.
You probably forget how you’re going to water the lovely houseplants and robust vegetable garden you’ve worked so hard to grow by the time you get your bags packed, kids in the vehicle, pet care planned, and travel arrangements made. It’s time to leave your obligations behind and enter vacation mode! Make sure your plant babies are safe and sound before you leave though; you’ve been so wonderful to them and wouldn’t want to come back to find them wilting. There are simple, inexpensive, and long-lasting solutions for this.
If you’re not into building your own system but getting something off-the-shelf we also covered automated plant waterer systems in one of our posts.
Build a water wicking system for plants
Did you know that you can water plants using a wicking system? All you need is a sizable water bottle and some cotton ropes for this. The best clothes-line is cotton, which can be found at most hardware stores.
Cut a cotton rope long enough to extend into the soil of your plant and fit between the bottom of your water container. Push one end of the rope near to the plant, a few inches below the soil’s surface. Don’t disturb the roots at any cost. Place your water containers’ bottom with the other end of the rope laying there, then add water. Make sure the rope is in contact with the container’s bottom. In order to keep the soil’s moisture level consistent, the cotton rope will gradually wick water from the container into the pot.
DIY drip apparatus
Those glass watering globes that you insert into a pot to water your plant have probably caught your eye. However, you don’t have to buy them because you can try your own version at home in just few simple steps.
Start with a plastic bottle that is clean and empty. A water bottle will do just fine as a small to medium container. Drill drainage holes at the top of the bottle. Water your plant as usual before you leave on vacation. The plastic bottle should be filled with water before being quickly turned over and inserted into the top few inches of the pot’s soil. Assure that the bottle is not too close to your plant and that the dirt covers the holes in the bottle. As the soil dries out, water will gradually flow out of the bottle. Use an empty wine bottle for larger pots. Simply fill it full, put your thumb over the entrance, flip it over, and bury it in the ground.
Inquiring with a Friend or Neighbor
Find a trustworthy acquaintance or neighbor. Access to your lawn and, in some situations, your home will be granted to this person. Ensure that you have faith in this person. If this individual is caring for indoor plants, don’t forget to provide them a spare key so they can get to your plants.
Be sensible. Asking someone who lives far away or for whom travelling to your location would be difficult or inconvenient is not appropriate. Try to limit the visits as much as possible. Even if your home is out of the way for them, they might not be willing to come over every day, but they might be willing to stop by once or twice a week.
Think about employing some handmade irrigation systems. So long as your neighbor remembers to replace the bottles when they get low, your plants will rely on the DIY watering systems. Depending on their water requirements, group potted plants together. Your neighbor will have an easier time monitoring this. The ivies, for instance, can be kept in one area and all the succulents in another. Consider placing the plants on a tray and storing them there to keep your home tidy. Note down specific directions for maintenance and watering.
Be thorough without being complicated, and avoid assuming anything. You might not have the same gardening talents as your buddy or neighbor. Your acquaintance or neighbor could not even think about something that is obvious to you. Water Before you go, inspect your plants for pests and disease. Watering your plants will cut down on the number of trips or hours of effort your plant sitter has to put in. Make sure your plants are healthy while you are away by inspecting them for pests or illness. Your friend or neighbor might not know what to do if your plants die from pests or disease while you are away.
Water-Retaining Granules or Gel
Using water-retaining gel or granules is a terrific way to cut down on how often you need to water your plants. They conserve water and release it gradually over time, keeping the soil moist. Follow the directions on the product’s packaging, but normally, you just mix it into the soil. Both flower beds in the ground and potted plants can benefit from their use.
Remember to mulch
Mulching is a fantastic technique to shield plants from cold in the winter and hot, dry weather in the summer, keeping them healthy all year round. It’s helpful if you’re arranging a trip because of the latter. According to the Greenhouse People, mulching drought-prone regions will help retain moisture, fend off sunburn, limit weed growth, and replenish the soil with minerals. Mulching is best done using garden compost, but you can also use organic materials like bark, grass clippings, wood chips, and straw.
After watering, apply a thick layer of mulch to borders, making sure to leave a good gap around plant stems. The mulch should be at least two inches deep. Special attention must be taken while mulching around woody stems because mulch left on top of them can cause them to decay.
Indoor Plant Bath
You take baths, you may have bathed a pet before, but did you know you can bathe your plants? Absolutely, while you’re away for a week, you can let your plants soak up some bath water. Remember that since the bathroom is typically the room with the least amount of light, this strategy works best for plants that demand a lot of water, such as tropical plants, and plants that don’t require much daylight. You only need a towel and a sink for this task, which can be completed in about five minutes. This project only takes five minutes max and you are set for one week.
Depending on the number of plants you need to care for while you are away, fill your bathtub or sink with a few inches of water.
Put a towel over the water so that the plant pots won’t scratch the sink or tub. Make sure the plants are in pots with sufficient drainage so the water can soak through the roots before putting them in the tub or sink. Up to a week should pass after using this strategy to care for the plant.
Setup of Plant Saucers
Although it’s one of the easiest methods, you shouldn’t use it for plants that require specific care. In addition to helping your plants retain water, saucers prevent soil from leaking out of the bottom of your pot while you’re away, keeping everything neat and orderly.
Although it’s one of the easiest methods, you shouldn’t use it for plants that require specific care. In addition to helping your plants retain water, saucers prevent soil from leaking out of the bottom of your pot while you’re away, keeping everything neat and orderly.
Make sure the saucer you choose for your pot is almost the same size as the pot or perhaps slightly larger so that it has space to hold water and still touches the entire bottom of the pot. It is crucial to use a drainage pot so that the plant can access the water that will be in the saucer. To provide extra water for the plant to drink while you are away, submerge the saucer in water or fill it with water.
Small-scale plastic bag greenhouse
This method is very easy to use and a great long-term solution while you’re away from your plants. You don’t even need to build walls or a roof. Follow the directions on this method carefully to prevent damaging your plants’ foliage. Avoid using this technique with succulents or in direct sunshine as they may overheat or shrink.
Place one of the four wood stakes in each of the pot’s four corners. To prevent the plastic from encircling the leaves, this will serve as the basis of the greenhouse plastic bag tent.
Do not overwater your plant; just water it as you normally would. As direct sunshine may heat up the plastic bag too much and potentially kill your plant, place your plant in indirect sunlight instead. Find a plastic bag that is big enough to completely enclose your plant. Place the stakes in such a way that the leaves do not touch the bag when you wrap your plant within the plastic bag. It’s okay if the leaves just barely touch the bag. As the water evaporates, the little greenhouse will catch the droplets, which will then fall back into the plant.
You can finally unwind and stop worrying about how to water your plants while on vacation once you’ve chosen the DIY self-watering planter that best suits your needs. If one plant is wilting when you return, don’t worry too much—there are ways to rejuvenate houseplants so you don’t lose all of your plant pals forever!