How to Water Garden Plants During a Prolonged Absence

Summer vacations often take us away from home at a time when our outside plantings need us most. Beautiful summer flowers, plants and vegetables thrive in the warmth of the July and August sun, but to maintain healthy and sustained growth these plantings require constant attention including weeding, fertilizing, and frequent watering.

Of these requirements routine replenishment of water to the soil around the plant is the most important. Most summer plantings can survive a few weeks without weeding or fertilizing, but very few plants can survive a two-week absence of water in a 90 degree July or August environment.

This dilemma has often given me and my family pause as we made plans for a summer vacation in mid July. The tomato plants I had planted and tenderly nursed from early April to July were now loaded with tender, young, green tomatoes and my entire family looked eagerly forward to the first harvest of our own homegrown fruit.

My concern was how these plants might survive two weeks without water. I routinely water my tomato plants with a good soaking every third day during sun-filled summer days. Now that the plants were bearing fruit the water requirement was even more critical. The chances of these plants surviving for two weeks without water were not in my favor. Only an unpredictable rain source might save my plants.

How could I ensure that my row of fifteen healthy tomato plants be watered during my two week absence?

An idea occurred to me in time to experiment prior to actually leaving on vacation. I had seen television advertisements for the "Aqua-Globe". These were blown glass modules that when filled with water could be inserted upside down in the soil of a potted plant where they gradually release water over time as the soil became dry.

While I was not willing to go to the expense of purchasing fifteen Aqua Globes the concept employed by these unique watering devices seemed to be a practical albeit otherwise obtainable solution to my situation.

I decided to experiment with my own version of the Aqua-Globe.

From our household recycling bin I rescued six, one liter, plastic water bottles. Using an electric drill with a small (1/32 of an inch) bit I drilled twelve, evenly spaced holes in the bottom of each bottle. I then tested the concept by filling one bottle with water. To my surprise the water did not rapidly flow from the holes, but seeped out gradually.

To experiment additionally I used a small garden trowel to dig two holes, six inches in depth and three inches to side (on opposite sides) of three tomato plants. In these holes I buried two bottles and back-filled the holes with soil. I then filled each bottle with water and placed the cap back on the bottle.

On checking these bottles every day I was surprised to find that the water level of the bottle dropped only about one inch the first day and even less on successive days. Over the course of my test the bottles required ten to twelve days to completely release the one-liter of water. As a result of the time-released watering the soil surrounding the plant was better watered than when I dosed the plant with a periodic watering from a garden hose of watering can, and there was no run-off of surface water.

In short, my water bottle system was performing just like the Aqua-Globe system.

Based on the success of this trial I collected an additional twenty-eight bottles and prepared them for insertion around my additional fourteen plants. After installing them along my entire row of tomato plants I filled them with water and left on a two week vacation the week of July Forth.

Returning home after two very hot summer weeks I was pleased to find all of my tomato plants had not only survived, but were now more robust with leaves deep green in color and thick healthy stems on which reddening tomatoes now appeared.

If, like me, you face the dilemma of how to care for watering your plants during a prolonged absence, I hardily recommend this method. It not only addresses the problem, but also provides a use for the much-maligned plastic bottle.