Prepare Your Plants For Your Vacation!

by Vandena Bal (Flat No. 11021, 99111 46882)

Christmas and New Year holidays are coming and many of you are travelling. Hamletians having balcony gardens are stressed out while going on vacations as they are clueless about how to water their plants. How to maintain the garden while they are gone. 

Well, here are some easy-peasy tips –

1. If you are going for a short vacation of 3-4 days, you can water your plants until the pot overflows.
2. Mulch -Put 2 to 3 layers of dried leaves on top of your wet soil, so that a minimum amount of evaporation takes place. Do not be tempted to add more as too much can block oxygen to the roots of the plants.
3. Water with plastic bottles – you can easily create your own self-watering system with recycled plastic bottles. Take plastic bottles, and poke tiny holes in the caps of the bottles.
4. In the meantime water your plants well. Then fill the plastic bottles with water. Put the caps and push the bottles upside down into the soil next to your plants. That’s all!
   One may need several bottles as per your pots in your garden. This is an easy way to make sure your plants get enough water at least for a week. The slow dripping water keeps the soil moist until the bottle gets empty. This is especially for residents staying in the 01 and 02 Flat Numbers since their balconies get direct sun!
   I have personally tried this method. It works well. You just have to keep collecting bottles and store them till you need them. That’s it.
   Roughly it takes 
   1 litre bottle for an 18-20 inch pot.
   2 litre bottle for a big pot.
   3-4 bottles a few inches apart for a long rectangular pot.
   You may need as many bottles as the number of pots you have.
   You may also buy funnel-shaped spikes to be put instead of the caps on the bottles. They serve the same purpose. The spikes are available online in plenty.
   I encourage people going on vacations and also people who feel lazy to pour water every day or even regularly to try this plastic bottle watering method once at least and see how easy it is to maintain your garden without taking any stress. Happy gardening and happy stress-free vacations !!