Watering plants while away - can I just stick a pop bottle full of water upside down into the dirt ? Selfwater

Question

I watered them well and then did the pop bottle - which didn't empty out - do you really need those self-watering spikes or as the dirt dries will it allow water out of the bottle and keep the container moist enough for the long weekend ?

Answer 1

Possibly if you poke holes in the cap, screw that on the bottle full of water and then stick that in the dirt that might help to control the flow of water better...you may want to put some hosiery over the top too so that dirt doesn't get into the holes and plug it up. I have not tried this, but I did buy the spikes when I went away... they worked okay, but some drained faster than others.. I would use them again though. Even though I had someone watering for me, I still used the spikes because she wasn't really a gardener and I was worried that she wouldn't water enough for a long enough time. I was away for a week and everything was still alive one way or the other... well, I lost one plant, but I didn't think that was bad for a week.

Answer 2

Water Plants While Away

Answer 3

Good answer fom Ben, I haven't tried that. I just poke a hole with a needle in a gallon jug. Just enough to let the water drip a drop every 5 sec or so. Then I put the jugs into the house plants, and enough water is supplementing the good watering I gave them before I left that they survive 4 wk away. Caution: Plants in a very small pot will not. I get a big tub, like a horse-watering tub, put some potting soil in it, and the plant pots that are small, and put the jug in there. It is not neccessary to provide optimum water, but sufficient water.
Good luck

Answer 4

you could, however the water will drain out too straight away to be of any earnings in long-term watering. I extremely have been employing a 5 gallon bucket with a percentpipe linked to the backside. The pipe has a million/sixteenth inch holes drilled interior the edge and interior the cap on the top. The pipe is inserted into the soil and the bucket is crammed; it supplies you the water over some hours promptly into the muse zone. It takes approximately 4 hours for the bucket to circulate from finished to drain. i exploit it for water soluble fertilizer applications, too, yet no longer very normally. reliable luck and luxuriate in!

Answer 5

Good one.
A better way is to stick a thick wic in the bottle and run it underneath your soil. There is more surface area on the wic to leach into the soil and to draw water from the bottle. Plus, the bottle remains upright with little risk of spillage.

Answer 6

if u water the plants with the pop bottle, all of it is gonna come pouring out too fast even if it doesnt come out all at once its still gonna be too fast and the wholeplant is gonna drown and get ruined. you should poke a hole so the wat erleaks in the cap of a big pop bottle so it leaks out and little by little it will leak into the plant.

Answer 7

if your going to be away for say two or three weeks just have someone to water the plants for you but if your only going to be away for say two or three days then just water them good before you go and they should be fine for a couple of days but be sure not to over water them or you will cause root rot witch will kill the plant.

Answer 8

If I were you I would have friends or family water the plants for me.

Answer 9

doing that with a bottle will just over water for that 1 day!! youll need a timer on your water source, or have someone go water for you!!

Answer 10

You can do this will a tiny hole in the bottle made with a needle.