(Hello again to Amber, who is trying out for a spot on the Re-Nest editorial team. Check out her first post on a modern tree house here. Comments are welcome.)
Normally, when there's a drip somewhere, we fix it. But here's a good kind of drip: instead of wasting water, this particular one conserves water. e know this looks like a milk jug sitting atop a potted hibiscus. Well, yeah...it is. It's no special setup: just a recycled jug with a very small hole in the bottom. We left the lid off, creating enough pressure to let a few drops of water escape and nourish the plant.
After seeing a documentary about drip irrigation in desert regions, we decided to try a small-scale system at home. Drip irrigation prevents flooding of the plants and steadily feeds the roots. Sure, it needs beautification--but the blooming hibiscus is gorgeous enough to overlook the not-so-hot milk jug. Plus, we're able to incorporate some reuse in this process. Overall, the sustainability factor beats beauty marks.
We've got another jug rigged up above a tomato plant, and we're starting to see the first fruits. Even after a long weekend away, our plants have remained quenched--a victory especially considering the 105-degree temps we've been seeing here in Austin, TX.
How about suggestions to make our recycled drip system easier on the eyes? Are you adopting anything like this in your container garden?
-Amber
are there more attractive jugs on the market? I love this idea, can you use a tall narrow jug and burry it in the soil?
view kchoun8's profile
Like kchoun8, I was going to suggest burying a cola bottle - just leave the open mouth above ground for easy refilling. Might want to do one on each side of the plant, since the roots will tend to grow toward the water source and you could end up with a lopsided foundation and toppled plants.
view Aimi's profile
I've never found this to work much better than conventional watering because you still have to fill the jug pretty often. But I'm into experimenting some more. My hanging baskets in particular get pretty toasty (I'm in TX too.)
Another option you have for self-watering is the diy bucket planter posted here earlier:
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/gardening/container-gardening-in-mother-earth-news-046254
If you don't like the aesthetics of the bucket, find a big decorative pot to replace the outer bucket and a smaller plastic pot (a reused nursery pot is good) that fits into it with about a gallon of room to spare (or as proportionally appropriate to the size of the plant). A tall narrow decorative pot is good, or you can trim the plastic pot shorter to make more room for your reservoir.
Cut out the bottom and fit the funnel into the plastic pot as the article shows. If the decorative pot has a drainage hole, bung it up with something (a wine cork is good). If the inner pot is small enough that it sits in the bottom of the outer pot, you can jack it up by putting a smaller plastic pot (with drainage holes) into the bottom and setting the planted pot on top. I hope this makes sense.
If you don't like the funnel thing, an alternative is to use wicks. Cut long pieces of yarn the length of the pot plus the distance to the bottom of your reservoir. (or a little longer.) Jam one up each drainage hole with a skewer so it goes all the way to the top of the soil (or almost). Put the inner pot in the outer pot and water thoroughly so the yarn gets wet enough for the water to wick. You want to use a somewhat coarse soil mix (or at least fluff the soil a bit) because it can get boggy being wet all the time, and the roots need air. Let it dry out once in a while.
view whytephoenix's profile
In regards to the previous comment, the drip system, if you think about it, truly does save water. Filling up the jug is inevitable, but notice when you water a plant with a hose, you lose half or more of what you are pouring into the plant because of how quickly you "feed" it. The drip system allows water to simply drip into the plant and give it an opportunity to soak in before it even has a chance to leak out. So, truly, this does save water- give it another try! Great blog- fabulous conservation effort!
view ALB220's profile
I have a lot more glass bottles but don't know how to drill holes in them. Usually, we have to gage it by eye on how large the hole is. It is a trial and error experiment. Plus if the hole is too large I have just wasted it. Great idea though. Save water. Texas gets really hot.
view roundabout12's profile