One Hundred Dollar a Month reader, Kristin, recently sent in a question about keeping veggie starts watered if you need to leave town and can’t convince someone that seedlings are enough reason to pop over to your house each day. It’s actually something I’ve learned to deal with myself, as the HH cannot always be trusted to water in my absence.
Kristin writes,
“Hi Mavis – I enjoy seeing all of your progress and have learned so much from your blog. But, now I have a question! I live in NE Indiana, so I start my garden seed inside mid-Feb, and plant in late April. This year, however, I am required to go out of town for a week in March. Dosen’t the world know I have a garden to start? Anyway, I have grow lights on timers, but how can I keep my new little starts watered?! I have no access to a “plant-sitter”. Do you, or your readers, have any suggestions? Please help! Kristin”
{lettuce seedlings I started last week}
First, you want to start with the right supplies, plain and simple. You want to have a grow tray AND a plant tray underneath your seedlings, then you can fill the tray underneath with water and the seedlings will suck up the water as needed–just like they would in nature {I like these ones, because they don’t have holes in the bottom}. I like to cut out one square out of my growing trays, so that I can easily pour water into the tray without having to lift the grow tray up every time. Afterall, I don’t want to disturb my precious babies seedlings, and it doesn’t really hurt that it makes it waaaaay easier to water. It’s also nice to be able to see exactly how much water is in the plant tray, so that it doesn’t come sloshing out over the sides.
This method should buy you a week–unless the humidity is you house is impossibly dry.
I hope that helps! If any of you have any other suggestions, make sure to leave them in the comments below.
~Mavis
Sakura says
Love your picture! Glad I’m not the only one that goes thru this.
Mavis says
It was so exactly how I felt at that very moment! Grrr.
Maria Korchagin says
I do something similar. I keep my seedlings in individual peat pots/cups in a cookie tray, which I flood to the rim with water if I need to go out of town. Works better for herbs in clay pots (slower soak-in rate), but works ok for peat pots if you don’t do it too often.
Mavis says
I love this idea, too! Thanks for sharing!
Tisha says
It may be just because I woke up too early, but a picture of what you mean by cutting out a square in the tray would help to visualize what you are describing.
Brenda says
I also am not understanding about the square in the tray and am so curious!
Madam Chow says
Growing trays like the one Mavis is talking about (she means the top tray) are divided. Depending on the size tray you use, there could be 20, 30, 50 “cells” in the tray. She cuts the bottom out of one cell so that she can fill the bottom tray with water through that hole, instead of having to lift the entire tray out, dribble water everywhere, then put it back in.
Mavis says
Thanks for explaining for me! Exactly what she said, Brenda!
Tisha says
Thank you, I was looking at the picture with 2 trays that looked just like a flat with no cells so I could not picture it. Makes more sense now.
Jeffery says
Take the inside of a diaper apart and mix with your soil. Biodegradable, and safe. Holds like 500 times its weight in water. King of random has a tube video on it….
Mavis says
WHAT? Seriously? That’s awesome. And hilarious!
Tisha says
Have they stopped using the gel in the diapers? Some of the water holding capacity was based on those little things and I am not sure what they are made of. May not be a good idea to have with your food.