A friend went away for a week and asked me to water her newly planted trees and the Butterfly bush I gave her as a welcome to the neighborhood present. She’s also got some adorable planters on her porch filled with purple and white petunias and zinnias, and they’d bake to death in this 100+ degree heat. So John and I went to her house last night to water everything. Before she left she told me she’d left containers of water near her plants but I didn’t understand what she meant. After seeing them in action last night, I love this idea for a frugal watering system. I can’t believe I haven’t run across it yet but there you have it; old gardening gals can learn new tricks.
What she did was take milk and water jugs (about 1 gallon) and clean them thoroughly. She made tiny pinholes in the bottom of them, filled them with water, and placed them near the trees. Most were nearly empty when we got there, but when John picked one up we could see that the soil underneath was wet and moist. It was like a frugal drip irrigation system! We refilled all the containers and I checked them this morning. Sure enough, they’re slow watering the plants.
We are back to baking temperatures today with no rain in the forecast. I’ve asked the family to save containers for me. I’m going to put these near the shrubs Patty gave me so that I can keep the Rose of Sharon alive. The hose also doesn’t reach the rose garden; one of my Sophia roses is, alas, dead I fear, but the other struggles valiantly to survive. The Blaze roses are showing signs of heat distress and the minis aren’t looking happy either. This new frugal drip irrigation system might just work!
Anyone else use it? Tried it? Let us know!
I am so going to use this!
I have a couple rinsed out milk jugs in the recycle bin right now!
I have heard of this but haven’t used it specifically. I have aqua cones that you put a two liter bottle into (with it’s bottom cut off) and it does the same thing. For larger trees and shrubs, our horticulture agent says putting a 5 gallon bucket with a hole on the side near the bottom will work too. If you have wind, put a rock in the bucket so it doesn’t blow away when it’s drained. Happy watering.
Let us know how they work out for you. I’m waiting until we have some containers, then I will try it too. We planted some pines around the edge of the clearing and it’s too hard to water them with the hose, but this system might work…and my poor roses…and, well there are so many places to use this!
Well, this idea is about gathering water rather than getting it onto the plants, but I think you’ll like it! We’ve started collecting the water produced by our air conditioner (from the condensation line that runs to the outside of the house and then just drips uselessly to the ground), and you wouldn’t believe how much water we harvest!
It’s not potable water that you would drink, but we’re able to water all of our plants and even the lawn (we have a very small front lawn) without ever turning on the hose! And the best part is that our a/c produces the most water when we need it most – when it’s really hot.
i have never use this technic but i can tell you i heard about people that did and was very satisfied. good luck!