GARDENING
Avoid worrying about watering your plants while on vacation by setting up these relatively simple selfwatering systems
Keeping your houseplants alive while on vacation can be a challenge. Although houseplants generally don’t need the daily care that pets demand, they do require some basic maintenance to stay alive.
Avoid worrying about watering your plants while on vacation and throughout the year by setting up an automatic drip irrigation system for your plants. Using timers, pressure regulators, hoses and drip emitters, indoor automatic watering systems can be as simple or complicated as required. Contact a local garden centre or irrigation store for assistance with setting up your own personal system.
If a friend is taking over your houseplant responsibilities while you are away, ensure that they have careful and detailed instructions regarding how much and how often each plant requires water.
The following are some relatively simple self-watering systems that you can set up for your plants while you are on vacation. Prior to setting up any self-watering system, water your houseplants thoroughly, ensuring that the potting soil is moist but well drained. Water bath method: Fill a bathtub, kitchen sink or large container with a couple inches of water and set your plants in the container. The plants will soak up water through their drainage holes in the bottom of the plant pot. This method works best for tropical plants in well-drained media that prefer moist soil and require little light; especially if they are kept in a dark bathroom during your holidays. Suitable plants can survive under these conditions for seven to 10 days. Water-wicking method: This method is recommended for plants that do not tolerate saturated soil for long periods of time. Secure one end of a cotton string to the bottom of a water supply container such as a pail or used water bottle. The other end of the cotton string should be buried three to five centimetres under the soil surface, near the plant. Cotton absorbs water. As the media in the plant pot dries out, water will be drawn from the concentration of high moisture (the water source) to the area of lower water concentration (the drying plant pot). This movement of water will keep the plant moist for as long as there is water in the water supply; depending on the size of the container, it can be several weeks. Self-watering plant pots: Whether you purchase or make your own self-watering plant pot, the principle is the same. A self-watering pot has a growing bed made up of potting media at the top of the pot, a water reservoir (at the base of the pot) and a wicking system between the growing bed and the base of the pot. The wicking system may be two or three absorbent wicks made of cotton, wool, felt, nylon, polyurethane or microfiber placed midway into the media of the potted plant. For long-term use, use a wicking material that is rot resistant such as the fiberglass wicking that is used in oil lamps. Ensure that the wicks hang out the drainage holes at the bottom of the potted plant and into the bottom of the water reservoir. As the media surrounding the plant dries out, the wicks will suck up water into the plant pot, keeping the media around the plants moist. Self-watering glass globes: Watering globes can be purchased at local garden centres. The globe is filled with water while the long narrow attached glass tube slowly allows water to seep out once turned upside down and placed in potting soil. The long pointy end should be inserted at least one half to three quarters of the way into the plant pot. An inexpensive self-watering globe can be created from an upside down empty wine bottle whose plastic or metal cap contains five mini-holes made by a tiny nail and hammer. Mini plastic greenhouse: Insert a plastic or wooden stake in each of four corners of the plant pot. Place a plastic bag over the plant, making sure that the bag is supported by the stakes and not touching the plant foliage. The mini greenhouse will capture water as it evaporates and the water droplets will fall back down into the plant. Do not place the mini greenhouse in direct sunlight; plant foliage will burn.
May these suggestions help you have a worry-free houseplant vacation.
This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www. facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events. Bleeding Hearts and their Relatives with Lyndon Penner takes place Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 pm. at Emmanuel Anglican Church on 607 Dufferin Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.