Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi,

I'm off on holiday in a week or so and am a bit worried about the plants in my greenhouse. Obviously the ones outside will be fine, in fact, I'm a more concerned that my onions and shallots will rot in the ground...apparently we're not supposed to water them for the month before we pull them?

I've got tomatoes, cucumbers, chillis, bell peppers and aubergines in my greenhouse. I reckon I can drench most of them the night before I go, and they should be ok. I'm only off for a week and it doesn't exactly look like it will be baking when I'm away.

But what about my toms and cukes - am I going to come back and find them dead? I can't hook anything up to a tap on my allotment so was wondering if anyone had any hints?

thanks so much.

If you haven't done it already, try sinking an empty plastic bottle upside down with the bottom cut off near your plants. The deeper you can put it the better. You can then top that up with water. It will empty gradually but the water will be that far down that the plant can access it but it won't just evaporate. That should keep them going for a week.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

Hi,
If you have a water butt you can buy an irrigation drip system from any of the big DIY stores. It simply is a section of pipe that fits over the tap and ends with usually about 12 individual dripers. The only downside is that you need to raise the water butt above the level of the plants otherwise I have found it works well. Even if I forget and leave mine on it lasts for about 4 days and my water butt is only about 100Ltrs. Might be worth a look I bought mine for about a Tenner.
Trick

You could also look at the 'drippa' thingies - I think that is the name. A widgit that you screw onto a 2lt fizz bottle and then invert into a pot or growbag - it lets the water drip out slowly over three or four days.

You can get them at Woolworths and/or Willkinson around here.