Watering while on holiday

[Khalinda]

I'm a novice gardener but have managed to grow some bulbs and I have planted seeds. Now I'm going away for a week.

What can I do about watering them? We don't have near neighbours so I need to do something myself. Are there any simple watering systems I could run out and buy today/tomorrow.

thank you

Most of my pots/containers are on trays (because I'm not the most reliable waterer) that way they don't tend to dry out quite so quickly.

My seed trays are on my windowsill, If I were going away I'd move them to somewhere a little cooler.

Assuming your plants are in pots, I'd maybe just move them out of strong sunlight so they don't dry out as quick and give them a good water before you go. This time of year, it's unlikely that they would suffer too much due to heat.

I'm in the south of England Raptor so having to water sometimes twice a day (our patio is a suntrap).

Does anyone have any view on the Hozelock holiday watering system versus the Hozelock Aquapad? Please

Generally, though, this time of year it's not usually that huge a problem - you must have a lot of radiant heat on your patio, almost like a greenhouse! Maybe think about moving them somewhere slightly cooler or shadier if you're having to water twice a day not just while you're away but all the time.

I have a couple of big tomato trays that are designed to go underneath a grow bag. I stack them up with all my plants and then if it's going to be roasting I leave a bit of water in the bottom to help them out. My neighbours, who are lovely, come over and water the tray for me if I'm away for a long time. It's quite a bit cheaper than a Hozelock system, though I hear that those are good (got my Dad one for his birthday and he likes it for the greenhouse).

Obviously you don't want to kill them with neglect, but sometimes once they are in larger pots or in the ground I give my plants a bit of a hard time to encourage them to put down their own roots and find water. If they are constantly fussed and given lots to drink, they tend to produce quite shallow roots and then they struggle more in the heat. Whereas if you treat em just a little bit mean, they have to dig through the soil themselves to find water, which encourages a lovely strong rootball.

Oh thanks for that information Holly. Maybe I need to "toughen up" my bamboo too. I probably am spoiling them a bit (newbie gardener). Great info - thanks

As with most of my very limited knowledge about gardening, I have learnt by doing it wrong, and then finding out!!