Worrying about pets and plants are two things that concern many people headed out of town for vacation or business. Fortunately, several methods of vacation plant watering are easy and effective. Deciding which method is best is up to the individual and his or her particular needs and situation.
There are several commercial vacation plant watering options available, but there are also options that are easy and inexpensive to make on your own. Someone with many plants may find commercial options to be cost prohibitive, and someone with few plants may find making her own a simple solution. While some of the commercial products may be more aesthetically pleasing, the other alternatives are just as effective in most instances.
Hiring a house sitter is an all-inclusive method of vacation plant watering. It is ideal for people with multiple plants, pets, or other complicating factors. A house sitter will visit the home, water plants, take in the mail, and care for pets. They can turn lights on and off, and generally make the home appear occupied. For people with a variety of plants with different requirements, a house sitter is an excellent choice.
It is possible to put together automatic watering stations relatively easily for most types of plants. Putting together watering stations allows the plants to water themselves. They work best on plants that are not extremely particular in their needs. Some higher end models even operate on timers, dispensing water at set intervals.
Another way to handle vacation plant watering is to gather and place the plants, pot and all, in the bathtub. Make sure that the pots that the plants are in have drainage holes. Before heading out on vacation, fill the bathtub with several inches of water, not enough to go over the top of the pots, or float the pots, but enough to provide water for the plants while you are gone. As the soil dries out in each pot, it will absorb water from the tub, keeping the soil moist.
Another method of vacation plant watering allows you to leave each pot in its own spot. This method is a little more labor intensive, but is a good choice for plants that are particular about the amount of sunlight that they receive. Cut the bottom out of a plastic water or soda bottle. Push the neck of the bottle into the soil. Fill the bottle with water. As the soil dries out the water in the bottle will siphon down into the soil.