How to water pot plants when on holiday ?

Apologies Monty,
GC starts to get a bit zany after the watershed. Re: Drowning plants in the pool. I'm sure you wouldn't be as irresponsible to put them in without arranging for them to have swimming lessons first.....

 

I suppose you could always put arm bands around them!

 

Does anyone know if I use a waterbutt drip irrigation system when I'm on holiday for three weeks if it is likely to drain the waterbutt ??

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...and+accessories+/+garden+watering+and+hoses+/

This is the hozelock version of what I mean !!

 

Not if we continue to get rainy days with the same monotonous regularity Monty,

 

Well yes, that is more than likely but I have to prepare for no rain because you never know.

My water butt won't be connected to downpipes as I rent and can't do that, therefore it won't really get refilled when I'm away.

Does anyone know how long it would take a drip system to drain a waterbutt. I suspect it won't last three weeks I need it too !!

 

Put a timer on the water system? that way, with a bit of experimentation, you will be able to control the water supply to last the whole period.

Make sure you use a water-timer suitable for a gravity fed system, most are not suitable as they need main-pressure to actually turn off (some law of Physics that must have eluded me during my school life!)

 

Would there be any point in rigging up some guttering to a bike shed this size to gather water for a butt.

I can't rig up to the house downpipe as I rent and am not allowed to drill into it !!

 

http://www.ilikesheds.com/images/Huge/3794.jpg

 

What's the footprint? 6' x 3' perhaps?

We get about 40 - 50mm of rain per month (Summer or Winter). But he variability is huge, and some months we get nothing, some months we get at least 3 times the average, and sometimes we get an inch, and less commonly 2", in a single brief thunderstorm. So guttering (and water-butt) needs to be sized to be capable of harvesting a downpour.

50mm x 6 feet x 3 feet in imperial gallons =

and stuffed into Google (so you can adjust the measurements) is 18 gallons or

50mm x 6 feet x 3 feet in litres =

gives you 83 litres. A decent sized watering can is 10 Litres.

But beware that you may get ZERO rain whilst you are away ...

I'd ask your landlord if you can adapt the downpipe for a water butt (assuming you are reasonably DIY skilled, and not likely to make a horlicks of it and thus suffer your landlord's wrath!

 

Er, yes, but be a bit careful.

Some of you may recall the disaster I had two years ago when I asked the neighbour to water the plants, and he didn't water the climbing plants by the fence, because he 'didn't realise they were part of the garden'....although I had specifically left him a note to explain that they were part of the garden. I came home to pots of dead brown sticks....
Subsequently I've had other neighbours who've been more helpful, and I can sometimes get the caretaker to help, but it's always a worry.....