I have read about terracotta pots dug into the ground next to the plants to release water slowly . Since the water is released next to the roots where it is needed and since the water doesn't evaporate from the surface it results in high efficiency in water use . I had this idea of taking plastic bottles , lop off the bottom , make tiny pinpricks , dig the bottle in next to growing plants , fill with water . The bottom can be used to close it up again . I imagine I would need to to fill the bottle less frequently . I made this tiny graphic to explain myself . The question is will it work ? I am going to try it anyway and will keep you posted.
It will be interesting to hear about your results. I tried something similar a few years ago but our black clay in summer dries out so quickly and deeply that the water seeped out in just a matter of minutes.
Wouldn't that be more of a function of the size of the holes ? I am a bit skeptical about very tiny holes getting blocked .
The holes weren't very large but I didn't have any guidelines to know exactly how large to make them. I tried it in early August and we hadn't had rain for about 3 months so I figured it was the dry soil wicking away the water around the bottle, causing the water to continue to drain......but it could have been the size of the holes
It seems like it should work. Isn't that how those little ones work you put in houseplants when you are going away? Wannabe
If I may offer a suggestion, instead of just having straight holes, you may want to put a piece of cotton yarn through the holes with a knot on the inside. This will act like a wick drawing the water slowly out of the bottle. You could even seal the yarn to the bottle using silicone sealant or something similar in order to prevent extra leakage. This would be similar to a "self-wattering garden container" that I saw on lifehacker recently... http://lifehacker.com/400036/diy-self+watering-garden
aliencam, a huuugee hug to you! The site you recommended was a great help. I have been battling water issues here in Kuwait and I have an IKEA near me (happy dance) so I am going to try making the self watering gardens and also the quick and easy self watering bottles from milk jugs on that site for when I go to Italy. I have been worrying about how my plants will survive in this heat while I was away for 11 days. Thank you! There are a lot of great ideas on that site.
Sounds like an excellent idea , my initial experiments were not to great , even the tiniest pin prick lets out water in a gush , ten minutes tops the bottle is empty . Thanks , will try it out
This technique most definately can work I use it every year with toms peppers, courgettes and others. There are many different ways of doing it with several different types of `pots`. I have even used bottles like what you drew and got hold of some especially made tips to screw into the bottle to make it all easier.
I am happy to report that I took aliencam's advice and put some cotton yarn with a know and it seems to work .The water comes out slowly the way I want it too . I still have to dig it into the ground and see the results . Thanks everyone .
