Flowerpots on the window sill or the terrace are usually checked daily and watered as needed. Regular watering can become a problem during the holiday season. If you can't ask a nice neighbor for help, you can make your own watering system for your flower pots.
A PET bottle is good for vacations, but not for permanent watering
Watering systems for flower pots
During the holiday season, an automatic watering system (€32.95) for flower pots is a good solution. There are complete sets available in stores or you can build them yourself.
The commercially available sets use a timer and a pump, with which the water is pumped from a storage tank or the water pipe into the plant pots.
Depending on the quality of the product and the required accessories, costs of around EUR 100 must be expected.
Build your own irrigation system
There are several alternatives for such a system:
- Water dispenser plastic bottle
- water from the bucket
- water reservoir
Water dispenser plastic bottle
Remove the screw cap from the bottle and fill it with water. Then put the bottle upside down in the soil of the flower pot to be watered. As the bottle can be quite heavy, it is advisable to secure it. The bottle now continuously releases water into the potting soil. Of course, it runs out of the drain hole. To avoid flooding, it is best to place the flower pot in a large container on top of a can or similar. The flower pot should not stand in the catchment water, the plant would suffer from the resulting waterlogging.
A bucket for holiday watering
Take a 10 or 5 liter bucket of water (depending on how long you will be away) and dig a few small holes in the bottom. In the holes, tape thin hoses long enough to feed each flowerpot. Now insert terracotta balls into the potting soil with a tip. Hang the bucket on an elevated spot and run the hoses to each ball. The water enters the porous material of the ball via the hoses. The water penetrates into the potting soil via their top. Only as much water runs in as the ball can absorb.
Create a water reservoir for a plant
This requires two buckets of different sizes and a cotton wick. Cut a small hole in the bottom of the large bucket and insert the wick through it. Fill the small bucket with water. Now place the big bucket on the small one, the wick should reach into the water. So that nothing tips over, it is advisable to fasten both buckets well. Now place the flower pot to be watered in the large bucket.
The piece of wick that reaches into the interior of the large bucket is inserted through the bottom of the flower pot into the potting soil. The roots in the potting soil will gradually absorb moisture from the wet wick.