Watering plants while on holiday

 


Hi Guys

This is my first time on this forum.

I go away on business about once a month and i am looking for a way of
keeping
my house plants hydrated while i am away.

I have found a product online and wondered if anyone had used it before
and if
it worked. It's called Holiday Mat and Rainmat supplied by
http://www.plant-watering.com/  
They claim it holds 8 pints of water. You lay it on a draining board,
add water
to it and place your plants on top.

If you have any thoughts on this or better products, i would be very
grateful

Cheers
Mark




--
Greenerdigits

 

On Oct 30, 6:22 am, Greenerdigits <Greenerdigits.
560b...@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:

If you buy this, be sure to give it a test run before you go away.
However, its efficacy will depend on the kind of soil mix you use and
the number of holes in the bottom of the pot. A much surer and cheaper
solution for most plants is to tie a plastic baggie over each one. If
you have a number of small plants, place them together in an empty
fish tank with a cover. Do not leave your plants where the sun will
shine on them. If you can leave them under a fluorescent light, that
will be perfect.
Iris

 

Greenerdigits.@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:

How often you're away isn't important... what's important is how long
you'll be gone.  Most healthy plants when properly watered can survive
quite nicely for up to ten days with no care at all.  Many plants,
like succulents and cacti don't require watering but *lightly* once
every month or even two months.  With most plants less is more.. many
folks kill their plants with kindness... they over water and just as
bad they over fertilize.  Of course some plants, like orchids,
violets, etc. require special care and rreally shouldn' left more than
a day or two.  Without knowing what kind of plants you have, their
ages, size of plants/pots, type of pots, type of potting mix, room
temperature, etc, it's really not possible to give detailed
instructions.

 

On 10/30/2009 2:22 AM, Greenerdigits wrote:

I either ask my son or a neighbor to water my house plants once a week
when we are on an extended trip.  The potting mix that I use retains
much moisture without getting soggy.  Thus, the plants only need
watering once a week.

See my <http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html>  for a
do-it-yourself recipe for my potting mix.

I also have potted plants in my back yard.  I arrange them in a spot
where the automatic sprinklers will water them.  (The sprinklers are
controlled by a clock to run just before sunrise.)  This is on a walkway
between my lawn and rose bed, in an area shaded by a very large ash
tree.  I surround the area containing the pots with several strands of
copper wire to keep snails away from the plants.

--
David E. Ross
Climate:  California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>

 


Hi
Thank you all very much for the advice.
I go away for two - three weeks at a time, and I live too far away from
family
to ask them to come and water them for me.

We are heading in to winter so putting them outside is no longer an
option.

I think I will give the Holiday mat a try and I will let you know how I
get on.
Thanks again
Mark




--
Greenerdigits