How to water your plants when you go on vacation.

You have made a significant investments in your plants. You have nurtured, cared for, and coddled them for months and even years! When you go on vacation how are your babies going to get the life-sustaining WATER that they need? You may be lucky enough to have a family member or neighbor who is willing to come over and water. However, if you don’t this article may help with some ideas on how to water your plants when you go on vacation.

There a few common DIY watering techniques. Here are a few ideas on how to water your plants when you go on vacation.

Water Wicking

Take a piece of cotton rope and a clean glass container. Fill the container with water. Place one end of the rope into the glass container all the way to the bottom. Place the other end of the rope into the soil of the plant an inch or two down. That’s it. This technique is mostly for indoor plants.

Make your own drip system

Take a clean plastic bottle similar in size to the amount of water you will want your plant to receive and will fit on the surface of your pot upside down. Drill some holes in the top of the bottle near the neck. When you are ready to go on vacation water your plant well, fill up your bottle to the holes, and turn the bottle upside down and quickly place the top of the bottle snuggly into the soil. The water will slowly drip out over time. This method is mostly for indoor plants but can also be used outside. The technique is not very accurate and it is hard to gauge how fast and how long the water will drip.

Tub Soaking

Fill your tub with a couple of inches of water. Lay a towel in the bottom and place your plants on top of the towel. Your plants will soak up the water over the next week. The only problem with this method is making sure they get enough lighting in your bathroom. Maybe use a portable tub where there is plenty of light.

Plastic Bag Greenhouse

Water your plants thoroughly but don’t drown them. Take a lightweight plastic bag and cover the plants. Take care to not let the bag touch the leaves as much as possible. The plastic bag will create a greenhouse affect and keep a lot of the moisture trapped. Be careful not to set in too much sun as the plastic can create a hot house affect and over heat the plants.

Self Watering Pots

There are quite a few self watering pots available to water your plants while away.

Watering spikes or Globes

There are many different types of watering globes and spikes. The spikes are usually used in conjunction with a wine bottle. Place the ceramic spike in a filled wine bottle and the ceramic spike slowly seeps into and onto the plant. Be careful in how you place the wine bottle on the plants and also how firmly you seat the ceramic into the glass bottle as it may break the glass.

Water globes work well and look aesthetic pleasing in your plant container. Fill the globe with water and place the spike or outlet down into the soil. The water will slowly seep out into the soil. The downside is that you need a globe for each plant you want to water.

Sprinkler and drip sytems

Drip and sprinkler systems are very common in the southwest and other areas that are dry and hot. They are usually installed when a property is built. They can have drip, sprinkler, or soaker components that provide different functions. Sprinklers are mostly for large areas like lawns or gardens that need to be blanket watered. Soakers are for targeted areas that have a faucet or other pressurized water source to water an area. Drip systems water individual plants. Most of these systems require a water source like a faucet or be directly connected to an irrigation water line. These are great systems and once installed will offer years of successful watering needs.

The only problem with the current drip and sprinkler systems is that they are not portable. Their tubing and water source is fixed and therefore can only water the same basic area. They also require electric to run the pumps and timers.

Watering Rocks Portable Automatic Drip Irrigation System Kits and Hanging Basket Portable Automatic Drip Irrigation System Kits.

These sturdy, durable plastic (no BPA) rocks come in decorative White Granite and Sandstone colors. They look great in your garden. They are lightweight (4 lbs empty) and measure 12” high, 14” deep and 16” wide. Believe it or not, that size holds 5 gallons of water plus any added nutrients.

That five gallon supply will water your plants for 2 to 3 days and provide plenty of moisture. These rocks can even water longer if they are hooked up in tandem as shown on their website. The rock will take care of your plants, watering them 24/7 while you are away having a blast.

The system includes 15 feet of 1/4” drip line to carry the water. Six 1/4 inch adjustable drippers control the amount of drip to the area you want. Five 1/4” T-barbs are used to make branches off the line to the areas you want to water. A threaded 1/4” barb screws into the threaded hole on the bottom back of the rock for the main line hook up. The hanging basket kits include much more.

These kits are easy to assemble with explicit instructions and help available on their website. Once you see how the components work together you can design the watering configuration you desire. Assembly of the vacation plant watering system probably takes about half to hour. They are always available to assist by email or through the website.

Water for More Than 2 to 3 Days

Use one Watering Rock to fill the other rock and double the watering time. While adding another rock triples the watering time. They thought about manufacturing a 25-gallon rock and may someday, but felt the 5 gallon was the best size to start with and offers the most flexibility for size and configuration.

This vacation plant watering system has proven itself many times. There are some excellent testimonials and reviews out there to confirm that they do work and do work well.

The rocks use pressure from the volume in the rock along with gravity to facilitate precise water flow which makes them completely portable requiring no electric.

Where to Buy

These rocks are available through several sellers on Amazon, Ebay,Walmart.com and other websites. Their prices may be much lower than the plants you want to save.

You can visit our retailers page for a complete list of where to buy. Our website also provides pictures, videos, helpful hints, and reviews.

We hope you have enjoyed this article and found it helpful and informative. We hope you will visit our website for more informative articles. Above all, quit worrying because now you have the answer. Go have some fun.