Simple solutions for watering while away?

[sleepytay]

Howdy y'all!
I'm headed out on vacation for a week and am fretting over what to do with my serissa bonsai. Temperatures have been above 100F every day here in Dallas, and if I don't give her a thorough watering at least once a day, she gets very wilted. I don't have the resources to set up anything elaborate, but I've wondered if anyone has had luck with simple watering stakes, or if there may be another solution for keeping it watered while I'm away?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[sleepytay]

I've come across these drip watering bags which I'm thinking may be my best option so far.

 

[Firstflush]

They also they make like perforated clay nipple tips for drip watering.

https://www.amazon.com/Watering-Devices-Terracotta-Vacation-Waterer/dp/B07F3YM1WD/ref=sr_1_20?crid=B8PK585MRYAA&keywords=Plant+watering+drip+tips&qid=1658859206&sprefix=plant+watering+drip+tips%2Caps%2C265&sr=8-20

All kinds of trincates and what nots on amason.

 

[sevan]

This probably falls into the overly elaborate category, but I thought it looked like a good idea for someone with only a few trees.

 

[Underdog]

I use a simple lawn sprinkler on a timer. Just left for 3 days and everything is fine. Maybe too wet as I had it on every 12 hrs as we've had a string of 90s.

 

[Colorado]

Simplest solution is probably to just set it in a tray of water in the shade, making sure to use large enough tray that it won’t all evaporate while you’re away.

Probably not the best solution, but perhaps the easiest.

 

[Paradox]

Hose + lawn sprinkler + battery operated timer + fresh batteries

 

[Corwyn13]

Looking for a pretty cheap but reliable watering AND if you need liquid fertilizer
here you go - I use it for my other money pit - AKA hobby - reef tanks

JEBAO Multi-Channel Aquarium Auto Dosing Pump, 2 Channel - Chewy.com

Buy Jebao Multi-Channel Aquarium Auto Dosing Pump, 2 Channel at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

nice thing about this pump
You can set qty of water being dosed and because it uses a small air hose it adds teh water slowly

You can set qty of water, how many times it waters per day,
Set water every day every other day, etc

you can control each pump separately so you can use 1 for water the other for micro dosing fertilizer.

$20 worth of air tubing. large bucket you can water dozens of trees for under a $100 and dial it in so you trees never dry out or drown

 

[Mikecheck123]

Howdy y'all!
I'm headed out on vacation for a week and am fretting over what to do with my serissa bonsai. Temperatures have been above 100F every day here in Dallas, and if I don't give her a thorough watering at least once a day, she gets very wilted. I don't have the resources to set up anything elaborate, but I've wondered if anyone has had luck with simple watering stakes, or if there may be another solution for keeping it watered while I'm away?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I'll let ya know if I have good ideas on Friday when I return home after 10 days away with temps in the upper 90s.

 

[LuZiKui]

I put together a little watering system for a recent 12 day trip. I used this kit from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/PETUOL-Irrig...660067271&sprefix=irrigation+,aps,141&sr=8-40) with a timer I purchased from Home Depot. I think the total was around $70-$80 for the whole setup.

The kit from Amazon was OK, there are a bunch of different sellers and it's basically all the same low cost chinese stuff thrown in a box. It had some leaks and I can't see it lasting for more than a year of regular use but for vacation it worked OK. The issue I had with it is that all of the nozzles were setup to point upwards and spray outward , which is great for watering a large area, but not great for a small pot. I took my little torch and bent a bunch of the stakes 90 degrees so they would spray down into the soil and get more water in the plant.

It worked OK but I still had a neighbor come by and check it periodically to make sure it was working. Only problem is now I have this whole irrigation setup that I'll likely only need for long vacations (which are rare) so it is very wasteful. If I did it again I probably would have just gotten a sprinkler to use with the timer because at least the sprinkler would take up less space and I could use it for my kids to play in.

 

[Catagonia]

I recently put together a drip system for my trees which is fed by a hose with timer. I say drip but actually it's a soaker - I used 1/4 soak tubing and no other emitters. Each tree has a little oval or rectangular soak hose section on it, attached to the main 1/2 line in the same way any drip emitter would be. The two larger trees I have got a rectangle with a cross bar to increase covarage. I got that idea from someone here who had theirs set up like an elongated "E" to cover the larger pots, but I haven't been able to find the post again. I've had to put wire across the top so they don't flip around, I'm still looking for a better solution for that. It is still pretty easy to move trees around because the soaker hose slips on and off more easily than standard hose, but it hasn't popped off on its own (yet).

I have it set to give them a brief soaking twice during the day since we're in the brutal part of the summer, but I still hand-water. I believe it would work pretty well for a short trip, it's been very reliable for the month or so it's been running.

The pictures are from before I finalized things. The attachment hoses (which are standard 1/4 spaghetti hose) no longer arch up, I shortened them. The set-up is on a slotted bench so the excess water runs through. I have cement mixing tubs below to catch the run-off, which I use to water other things.

PS please don't laugh at my trees! I'm still new to this hobby.

 

[Carol 83]

We'll see if I can recommend your children when we get home tomorrow. He did fine the last time we were gone for a week and this time we've only been gone 3 days.

 

[penumbra]

For just a few plants I would use a wick system. It works well, nothing wet and nothing dry, just evenly moist. As long as there is water in the reservoir it works great. Wicks come in various diameters and I am fairly certain I bought mine on Amazon. Not using it now because there is no way I can take a vacation for the foreseeable future.
This was discussed here before so you might want to check the archives. Seems like this is a very common posting.

 

[PowerTap]

Depending on what you call "simple" these are the base components of my watering system:
This kit (https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIG-Raised-Bed-Garden-Drip-Irrigation-Kit-ML50/202614215) and these misters (https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIG-2-GPH-Pot-and-Basket-Misters-2-Pack-7790BB/100158257).
I have this timer: Orbit 21004 B-hyve Smart Hose... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0758NR8DJ
And bought some non-drip 1/4 inch hose at the local hardware store.

I have it set up to water for 5 minutes every morning. And if it's going to be really hot I can turn on additional cycles while I'm away.

 

[Nivel]

Water pump idea

 

[Mikecheck123]

I think I've mastered the sprinkler on a timer technique EXCEPT for one thing that still frustrates me: cuttings.

All my cuttings have a humidity dome over them, so the sprinkler doesn't work. And every time I take off the dome, they dessicate pretty fast and everything is lost.

Any ideas??

 

[Mikecheck123]

Btw I use this sprinkler. Far better than rotary sprinklers because you can keep the coverage area nice and tight and increase the water flow without increasing the coverage area.

Melnor 65055-AMZ XT Metal Turbo Oscillator with 3-Way Adjustment and QuickConnect Product Adapter Set, Amazon Bundle

https://a.co/d/6DXeOLt

 

[berzerkules]

We'll see if I can recommend your children when we get home tomorrow. He did fine the last time we were gone for a week and this time we've only been gone 3 days.

Im banking on the kids too. I'm having my 17 year old son water for 3 weeks while I'm away working and I'm more than a little bit nervous.

 

[Carol 83]

Im banking on the kids too. I'm having my 17 year old son water for 3 weeks while I'm away working and I'm more than a little bit nervous.

A few years ago I had him water when we are on vacation and it did not work out well. I've been having my neighbor/friend dong it since then but I think she was getting tired of it. (even though I got her nice gifts). I gave my son another chance and $$ and he did good. I think I did lose a crape myrtle I've had for a couple of years and chopped this spring . It was on the bottom of a 4 shelf plant stand and I think it just got soaked repeatedly. I'm not going to tell him though.

 

[berzerkules]

A few years ago I had him water when we are on vacation and it did not work out well. I've been having my neighbor/friend dong it since then but I think she was getting tired of it. (even though I got her nice gifts). I gave my son another chance and $$ and he did good. I think I did lose a crape myrtle I've had for a couple of years and chopped this spring . It was on the bottom of a 4 shelf plant stand and I think it just got soaked repeatedly. I'm not going to tell him though.

I'm trying to motivate my kid with $$$ as well. He's been doing well helping me water for the last couple weeks. August is generally fairly wet here so that should help. If I lose anything it's not a huge loss since I've only been at it a couple years. There is a lot to water but nothing fancy. Either way I'm glad he offered to help.