Will water themselves: an ingenious way to care for your home plants

From time to time, even the most desperate homebodies are forced to leave their homes and go somewhere for a few days - on a business trip or on holiday. At this point, those who like to grow indoor plants have the most difficult time. You can't give them away for overexposure like an animal, and they still need watering.

Fortunately, there is a way to provide them with moisture even without having to ask someone to come to you and water the flowerpots. Gardening blogger Hilton Carter told about it for The Rachel Ray Show. Carter has dozens of plants in his home, and he works in television and often travels to film, so he has to use this life hack from time to time.

To set up a self-watering system for flowerpots, you will need:

• twine or a thick thread made of natural fibre; natural fabric cut into strips will also work;
• any container;
• a sufficient amount of soft, settled water.

Fill a container (basin, bucket, bowl, vase) with settled water suitable for watering plants. Cut the twine or string into pieces long enough to reach the bottom of the container with one end and the pot with the other. If you have chosen strips of fabric for the automatic watering system, roll them into a bundle. It is important that the materials are natural, as they absorb water rather than drain it.

Arrange the plants around the container of water, dip the twine, string or fabric into it at one end and insert the other end into the soil of each of the pots to a shallow depth. The fabric will absorb water and begin to gradually transfer it to the ground. It is good if the container is located slightly above the ground level in the pots.

It is recommended that you experiment with the length of the strips of material and the height of the water container in advance. This way, you can make sure that your system works efficiently and that the plants receive the required amount of moisture.

An additional bonus is that such a system will create an ideal humid microclimate for plants due to the evaporation of water. They will absorb liquid not only through the ground, but also through the air.

Similarly, you can arrange irrigation for plants that need to be moistened through a tray, such as Saintpaulias. In this case, the twine or cloth should be stuck into the soil from below, through the drainage holes of the pot.

Provided that you install this system where it is not exposed to direct sunlight, which accelerates evaporation, it can take care of your plants even for several weeks. The main thing is to choose a large enough water container.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL published a detailed guide on how to understand how often to water indoor plants and what determines the frequency of watering.

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