Best ways to Water Indoor Plants while you are Away

Water is a transparent and colorless substance that comes from rivers, lakes and oceans. Its chemical formula is (H-H-O). 71% of earth’s surface is covered by water and is vital for all living forms like human beings, animals and plants. Plants need water to develop beautiful flowers and tasteful fruits. It also helps to prevent plants hanging heads in summer.

When you water the plants you must have an idea about when to supply and how much of water is essential for your indoor plants. The main Advantages of watering plants are to keep the soil moist as they depend on moisture to promote the growth of roots. For flowering plants, it’s better to water (plentifully) once or twice a week rather than watering a little often.

Keeping your plants watered when you are away is a tough job especially for container and ground growing plants. Generally we often tell the neighbors to water the plants when we are away for a week or so. If you can’t find a neighbor then we prefer bottle methods for watering plants. Apt for the best bottle method to water the plants before you go for a vacation and check for the soil dampness. Here are some bottle methods that supplies water to the plants roots, provides nutrients, keeps the soil moist, and also promotes healthy growth.

Watering with Bottle
String Drip System
Bottle drip system
Setting a mini greenhouse
Pebble tray

Contents

1 Watering With Bottle
2 String Drip System
3 Bottle Drip System
4 Setting Mini Greenhouse
5 Pebble Tray
6 Tips

Watering With Bottle

You can keep the plant hydrated using a glass bottle. Prefer wine bottle as it can hold water whereas plastic bottles cannot withstand in the same position for a long time. If the size of pot is small you can prefer small wine bottles for watering.

To prepare this, first you need to remove the label on glass bottle. Other glass bottles include old-fashioned soda bottle, olive oil bottle, vinegar bottle, hot or soya sauce bottle. Now take the cap off, keep it a side and clean inside of the bottle using baking soda. Punch a hole in the center of the cap using a drill machine or hammer and nail.

Fill the bottle with cool water. At this point you can also add some plant food into the water and fix the cap or cork. Select the plant for which you wish to implement this method. Turn the bottle upside down and insert it in a hole. Check for any damage in the bottle and you can also decorate bottle as per your requirement to look beautiful at night times.

String Drip System

To begin this method make sure the soil is well- saturated. If the soil is too dry it will absorb all the water content in a jar within no time. Place a jar of size 5 liters next to your plant. Position the jar in such a way that it is away from direct sunlight. It reduces the amount of water in jar through evaporation process.

Cut a long piece of nylon thread using scissors. Place one end of the string into the jug and the other end in the soil i.e. at the base of the plant. Fill the jug with water. Make sure the mouth of jug is above the base of the plant. If you wish to water more than one plant then setup more jugs for each plant. This method will keep your plants watered for a week.

Bottle Drip System

In a bottle drip system the soil should be completely damp. It ensures that the soil does not soak the water quickly. Now take a 2 or 2.5 liter plastic bottle. Reverse it and dig holes at the bottom & side using nail and hammer. Dig a bottle sized hole into the soil next to the plant. Place the bottle in it and cover up to the bottle neck.

Fill the bottle with water. Also add liquid fertilizer to some extent into the bottle. Close the bottle with cap to slow down the rate of water flow. Make a mark on bottle using sketch to ensure water level and check after 1 hour. If the water level remains unchanged then loosen the cap a little and tighten the cap if water drops significantly from the bottle.

Setting Mini Greenhouse

For setting a mini greenhouse, choose a big plastic bag that fits your potted plant. The bag should be clean to allow sunlight to pass through and also traps the moisture released by plants. Place a damp towel at the bottom of the plastic bag to retain moisture and prevent soil by getting dry.

Place the potted plants on top of the damp towel and tie the bag with threat to trap air inside it. Shift the plants to indoors where it is not affected by direct sunlight. If the plants are too big to fix inside the plastic bag, simply shift it to the bath tub with a plastic sheet or newspapers. Water the plant until the newspaper gets soaked in bathtub and close the curtains.

Pebble Tray

Pebble tray method is one of the easiest ways to water your plants when you are away. It is cheap and takes less time to implement this method. Take a shallow tray and fill it with small rocks. Now fill it with water to a certain level and place potted plants in pebble tray. The pebble keeps the plant up out of the water and evaporates water by creating humidity for plants. This method works well if you are out for a short trip (hardly 2-3 days).

Tips

Water the soil not leaves as it spoils your plant growth.
Use moist well drain soil to withhold the moisture levels to some extent.
Make sure the pot or large container has holes at the bottom for proper drainage.
Keep children and pets away from plants when you use fertilizers for better growth.
Wear gardening tools such as gloves, goggles and shoes when you deal with fertilizers.
Avoid water logging as it suppresses the breathing of air roots i.e. root cells without oxygen.
Water regularly and provide sufficient sunlight for a minimum of 6-8 hours a day to the plants.
Water the plant in early morning or late evening as there are less chances of evaporating water.

You can make your own watering techniques in home with proper care for providing sufficient water to the plants when you are away. It also provides nutrients and air-circulation in plants. If you have amazing ideas about watering plants, please share your experience with us.

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