Five Free Automatic Plant Watering Devices

These free automatic plant watering devices save water and cut down on watering time. Sick of constant watering? Sky high water bill? Most of them hold a reserve of water each time you use them. All of them allow you to spot water (to avoid waste). These are the time tested tricks I use every year. You don't need fancy soaker hoses and rain barrels to keep plants watered economically. These free automatic plant watering devices serve just as well.

Buried milk jugs with holes punched at the bottom make watering a bi-weekly event for shrubs and trees. Simply sink a perforated jug or two next to each plant, leaving the spout above ground. Fill with water. The water will stay in the jug until dry soil pulls it out the holes. You can also use a soda pop bottle as a free automatic plant watering device.

Use a milk jug and rope. What about potted plants? They get dry even faster than those in the ground. Try this trick. Soak a clothesline rope in water. Bury one end in your potted plant. Fill a milk jug with water. Dip the other end of the rope in the jug. The rope acts as a wick to keep the plant watered, but not over-watered.

Place rain catchers all along each garden row. Rain barrels illegal in your town or city? Are milk jugs illegal? I didn't think so. Cut the tops off milk jugs or soda pop bottles. Line them up every couple feet along your vegetable garden rows. They'll fill with rain water. Rather than running the hose every time, use your reserve jug water to water plants.

Make a sock soaker hose. Who needs a fancy soaker hose? If you have some old socks, sew them together to form a tube. Attach the tube to the end of your garden hose with a rubber-band. Turn the water on at low pressure. Water will gradually seep out onto your plants from the socks. This free automatic plant watering device duplicates that expensive soaker hose with ease.

Build a moat. Want an ecofriendly free automatic watering device? Simply build a moat around all your veggies. When it rains, excess water will collect in the moats. Plants will be able to go without watering longer, by drawing on the reserve. This trick works especially well with mounded plants, such as corn, pumpkin and melons.

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Source:

Personal experience