Watering plants on vacation: How to take care of them in summer?

And the doubt is always the same: What can be done to take care of the plants and flowers so that they do not acknowledge our absence during the holidays?

Pull family or friends

The most practical and best thing is to ask someone -a neighbor, a relative or a friend- to take care of them and go water them. But if that is not possible, it is convenient to manage and install an irrigation system.

“A trick, if it is a short getaway of a maximum of 15 days, is to water them well -do not flood them, but soak the soil well- and leave them in the shade or indoors, even if they are outdoor plants, and as long as the house is cool” , indicates Theresa of the RiverPhD in biology specializing in plant ecophysiology.

Drip irrigation or string method

“Then there are the drip irrigations, such as the absorbent wool cord, an inverted bottle with a small hole… The problem with these homemade tricks is that they can become clogged,” adds Del Río. “There are also hydrogels,” he says.

In any case, it will always be better to use one of these methods than to let the plants settle. dry up and end up dying.

Better than traditional irrigation

The method of the wool string or absorbent cord was crucial for the geraniums of Ramon Short. “I had four pots of geraniums, which were the only flowers that survived me, and I went away one summer. I used the string method and when I came back after about 20 days, all four pots were lush and very nice, better than ever “, Explain. “It was a bit frustrating for me,” she explains, “because I was even talking to the geraniums. But it was when I was gone for a few days that they got better,” he adds.

So that what happened to Curto happens to you, and your plants look even better than before you went on vacation, there are three homemade methods that you can use:

Wool twine or absorbent cord

It is one of the methods more widespread, easier and cheaper that exist on the market. All you need is a container filled with water, which has to be placed near the plant you want to water and at a higher height, that is, high up. Ideally, it should be a hard and resistant plastic bag, so that it can be hung without problems and there is no risk of it falling. you take a piece of wool or absorbent string (i.e. not plastic) and sink one end to the bottom of the container or in such a way that it covers the entire interior of it. It is very important that it touches the bottom, so that it is always moist. The other end sinks into the planter, near the roots of the plant. Care must be taken not to break or damage the roots when doing this. The cord will conductive thread of the water: It will absorb the liquid and moisten the soil at the rate that the plant needs.

This system also falls into the category of easy and cheap. For drip irrigation, all you have to do is take a plastic bottle or jug ​​and pierce one of its sides with a common sewing needle or a similar sharp object, which makes very fine holes. After that, the container is buried with the holes facing the plant to be watered. The bottle, filled with water, will release the liquid little by little, constantly soaking the soil. Another variant of the same consists of taking the bottle and cutting the lower part to fill it with water. And, with the plug in place, make a not too big hole in the center, and sink that part into the ground. The problem with this system is that it can become clogged and the soil will be wet all the time, so it is not recommended to use it on plants that are susceptible to fungi due to excess moisture.

As is the case with everlasting plant terrariums, there is the option to recreate a temporary ecosystem so that your plant is self-sufficient during the holidays. That is, create a single greenhouse. To do this, simply wrap each plant in a clear plastic that lets in light and place at the bottom, under the pot, a wet rag. The moisture that the plant loses will stay in the bag and fall back onto the soil. If the plants are too big, you can use plastic wrap and wrap everything with newspaper. Then it will be enough to water everything well until the newspapers are soaked and put the pots on the stretched shower curtain, for example.

Similar mechanisms

In addition to these home irrigation systems, you can also buy similar more sophisticated mechanisms or products like gelled water or hydrogel for watering plantseither for pots or soil, a compound that includes water and nutrients for plants and can be purchased in the form of an injector tube, crystals or pearls.

As the soil dries out, the hydrogel it releases waterwith what goes watering it again and making it easier for the water to reach the roots.

Much more sophisticated is the automated (and scheduled) irrigation by sprinkler or drip. There are even smart systems that can be controlled via mobile phone.

More expensive and sophisticated

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Lastly, one of the latest products to come onto the market is the hydroplanter either self watering pot. They are pots that have a water tank, a liquid that they release towards the ground according to the water needs of the plant. Obviously, together with automated irrigation it is the most expensive option, but also the most effective, safe and decorative: the pots are modern designs and do not look extra irrigation devices.

Any of these options is good for your plants to be without watering for a few days, but it is also convenient to keep them safe from pest of insects and bugs during the holidays. For this, nothing better than treating them with natural pesticidescapable of control, kill or even repel a pest in a more natural, sustainable and even profitable way.