So you’ll need to keep that in mind if you have a particular time of day that you want it to run. FREE Shipping. This helps to soften it up and makes it easier to work with. Place one end of the wick into your water container, making sure it reaches the bottom. You’ll end up with a hose that goes in two different directions. It should be installed between the water timer and your automatic watering system…not between the tap and the timer (many timers won’t turn on if the water pressure is too low.). If you will be away longer, then ask a trusted individual to come in and give any dry pots a drink. So this year I installed an automatic watering system for my containers, and I’ve never had such good looking pots! You may need some slack to attach the off-shoot hoses that go to the containers. Use a hose to water plants in your beds and borders, leaving the hose at the base of thirsty plants for several minutes, pressing your finger into the soil afterwards to check the water has soaked at least the first several inches of the soil before moving on to the next plant. Hi, and welcome! In my case, this was right below the hose connector. Collect all your houseplants from around the house and place them all together in the bath or shower, on top of your wet towels. This will allow you to add additional short pieces of hoses that you can add water emitters to. Wash out an old wine bottle and fill with water up to the neck. If you need more of the small hose than that, you’ll probably need to hook up more than one kit. Push a tee connector into the end of the hose so that the two free ends are pointing in the direction you want the hose to go. Moving potted plants into a shady spot for the period while you are away will help them to maintain hydration and slow the rate at which they dry out. But setting these times is a bit of trial and error. Not only will the plants be able to benefit from the moisture given off by each other, they will also be able to use moisture evaporating slowly from the towels. If you install the water emitter the other way around, they won’t work…ask me how I know . The next step to setting up your automatic watering system is to run the hose. This prevents the hose from being too obvious. To figure out how many water emitters you’re going to need, the instructions with the kit say to use the size of your container. This bed of seedlings is protected from intense summer sun with a covering of Garden … If too much water has drained away, tighten the cap. As most of you probably know, back in the spring, I did a big deck makeover. Make sure you offer to return the favour when they are going away! Continue the hose to the next planter by inserting the opposite end of the tee connector into the other end of the hose. Use a large plastic bottle and poke two holes in the bottom and three to five holes on one side of the bottle. Then run the hose so that it passes close to each of the containers you want to water. The barrel can contain a submersible pump with flexible tubing to carry the captured water to your plant pots and hanging baskets. What may seem obvious to you may not be for the novice gardener. The first thing to do, no matter which method you use, is to give all your plants a thorough watering before you begin. You can even place the pot over the container and poke the wick up through the drainage hole – this reduces evaporation and helps to keep the soil at the base of the plant moist. Be careful not to use shade cast by the eaves of your house – as this will prevent any natural rainwater from being able to reach them. Before you do anything, you’ll want to plan out how you’re going to set up the automatic watering system for your outdoor plants. But you can do this anywhere that you need to split the line. I chose 30 minutes for mine. The neck of the bottle should be wedged firmly a few inches into the soil and should be fairly secure. The water pressure may be too high. Double potting smaller containers also … What you may not know, is that the week after the deck makeover was finished, I went to the beach. Use scissors to cut off the hose where you want it to split into the two different directions. I use this on all my hanging baskets… and believe me, it works! Also check that all of the plants seem to be getting watered. 2. I found that placing the water emitters every 6 to 8 inches works best, but that will depend on how densely your window boxes are planted. To keep the hose in the right position, use a hammer to nail cable guides into the side of your deck, railing or posts. For window boxes, you’ll want to run a hose along the back of the box and then have hose off-shoots that stick into the box. $57.32 $ 57. It can be tricky to know when to water hanging baskets because they are often out of convenient reach for a touch test and their requirements are very different. This humid environment is the perfect stay-cation for your plants! Make sure to insert the barbed pointy end into the hose. Hopefully, it will help you keep your planters well watered, too! Use the Manual water dial on your water timer to start the water running right away. For smaller pots you may wish to use a smaller bottle such as a beer bottle. If this is the case, you’ll need to install a. I find that using 1 water emitter for 2 plants works well. For containers with multiple plants, you’ll need to add a tee connector at the end of the hose. The water isn’t getting through to your automatic watering system. Remember that any plants you grow depend on you to survive, just as a pet would. If not, there is either a problem with the timer or something further up the line. If not, there is either a problem with the timer or something further up the line. Test this by disconnecting the hose connector from the timer. The first thing to do, no matter which method you use, is to give all your plants a thorough watering before you begin.