How to independently design an automatic watering for flowers

Indoor plants are not only a beautiful decor and purified air in the house, but also a great responsibility. Many owners do not particularly think about how to water the flowers during the holidays. At best, they ask someone they know about it, at worst they just let it go, hoping then to restore the damage done in a long absence. More responsible and advanced plant breeders prefer to use automatic watering systems. They can be professional or self-assembled.

Passive Autowatering: Pros, Cons, and Organization Rules

On average, for indoor plants, a period of two weeks without regular watering is not read critical. But to leave flower pots just like that is impossible, before leaving you will have to carry out several manipulations that increase the chances of plantings for a normal existence:

1. The soil needs to be watered abundantly. Even if the planting variety prohibits this, once every few months it is considered permissible.
2. Pots will have to be removed from window sills in places with good shading. This can adversely affect the growth and development of plants, but they will not die.
3. Flowers and buds are best cut, it is additionally recommended to thin out the leaves. This will significantly reduce the pet’s need for water, but will adversely affect its decorative effect.

Tip: If there is no experience in trimming plant elements, it is better to consult an experienced gardener first or not even do it yourself, but seek help in the greenhouse. Incorrectly performed manipulation can lead to the fact that the flower will then be restored for several months and even years.

4. All available plantings need to be arranged in one place, even on one massive pallet. We put expanded clay on the bottom and fill it with water, put pots on top. Such a system allows for an economical consumption of moisture, but there is also a negative point - pests will multiply more actively.
5. A good effect is given by the greenhouse for indoor plants, made by hand from a piece of ordinary polyethylene. True, this option is suitable only for the most persistent colors and you can leave them under the film only for a short period of time, no more than 2 weeks. Demanding environmental conditions in such a greenhouse can decay or slow down significantly in development.

This method of autowatering is quite aggressive; it is recommended to use it only after planting or propagating samples by cuttings. Saplings just have time to take root in the water, if necessary replacing a ruined flower.

Features of the installation and use of wick irrigation

It is much safer to use active autowatering techniques, one of which is the wick system. It can be assembled without problems with your own hands, you just need to perform the following manipulations:

• We take a container of impressive size, fill it with water, set it so that pots with green spaces can be arranged around.
• We cut a long cord of fabric fibers into pieces. We lower one end of each element into water, the second - we dig in the earth of the flower.
• If the manipulation is carried out at the stage of replanting indoor plants, it is better to draw the cord through the holes in the bottom of the pot.
• After the preparatory stage, you need to moisten the earthen lump and make sure that the wick is also soaking wet and provides moisture.

Contrary to popular belief, the system is positioned in such a way that it is fed from the bottom up, and not vice versa. Otherwise, moisturizing will be too active and may provoke rotting of the roots. The effectiveness of a do-it-yourself device and its duration depend on the needs and dimensions of the sample.

Convenient drip irrigation from a plastic bottle

Another convenient and safe method of automatic watering is the use of a drip design. At the same time, water will be supplied to the soil not constantly, but with a certain frequency. The most difficult moment is precisely the determination of the fluid flow rate and the debugging of the process.

• From a plastic bottle we make a deep funnel, cutting the bottom. We make several holes in the lid of the container. We put the neck of the bottle into the net and screw the cap.
• The drip autowatering system is installed above the pot, fixed and filled with water, providing fluid to the soil surface.

This device is best used to power large indoor plants, such as monstera or ficus. For more delicate samples, it is best to use the most common medical dropper. The liquid container is mounted on a tripod, and from the end of the discharge tube, water droplets fall onto the soil. It is only necessary to qualitatively fix all the elements and adjust the moisture supply rate.

In addition, drip autowatering can be represented by special flasks, produced in different sizes. You don’t even have to strain much. Just fill the flask with water and insert the discharge tube into the soil. As the earth dries up, air will penetrate the tank, releasing just as much moisture as necessary. With such a system, you can safely leave pots with plants even for a long time, the main thing is to correctly calculate the volume of the tank.

Purpose and advantages of capillary mats

For autowatering of not the most demanding plants, capillary mats are allowed. These can be ready-made fixtures or do-it-yourself designs. In the second case, it is enough to take a piece of tissue that conducts water well, but is not prone to decay. We lay the material on a pallet, put pots on it.

The free end of the product is lowered into a container of water located just below the soil level. This is the easiest and most affordable approach that can preserve the freshness of plants for two weeks. As a guide, the use of a terry towel or its equivalent is recommended.

If additional care will still be carried out for plants in the absence of owners, then you can simply put pots with water-loving flowers in the bathroom (most importantly, regularly bring them out into the light), and not so demanding ones in the shade. At the same time, it is advisable to place them above the water source, having previously taken care of high-quality drainage.

Read an article about why you can’t keep a monster at home