beth@umcp-cs.UUCP (11/29/83)
My plants survived Thanksgving, and when I returned I found a few suggestions about how to avoid asking friends to water them. One person commented that I either overheat my apartment or have my plants in containers too small for their needs if they cannot survive three days without water. That's true. University housing is warm and the pots are as big as will fit on the window- sill. I can't do anything about those two. The suggestions: 1-Use an indoor plastic greenhouse that looks like a big transparent umbrella with a bottom. It has a big zipper on one of the sides through which the plants go in. The planthouses come in different heights 60cm, 76cm, and 91cm. They are distributed in canada by dvm enterprises, 1912A avenue road, toronto, ontario, M5M 4A1, CANADA This person had good experiences with the greenhouse, but it sounds expensive. 2- Give the plants a little extra water and then enclose the entire plant and pot in a plastic bag (like a mini-greenhouse). This sounds inexpensive but not practical for the person with about 100 plants. I may use this one the next time I can't find a friend to help. 3- Set a container of water next to the plant. Take a plastic or rubber tube of, say, 1/2 inch or so ID and about a foot long. Stuff a rag into the entire length of the tube, extending past each end. Thoroughly wet the rag by submerging the tube. Be sure that all the air bubbles are gone. Now, stick one end of the tube underneath the soil, and the other submerged in the container of water. The resulting capillary action will draw water from the container to the soil. This one sounds like a little more trouble but easier than getting those tomato plants inside big plastic bags. Thank you to the people who sent me mail. I hope those of you who share my problem have happy plants after the holidays. Beth
tss@astrovax.UUCP (Thomas S. Statler) (12/02/83)
I've missed some of the discussion, so forgive me if this has already been suggested, but for plants that don't require too much water, first water them thoroughly so that the soil is wet all the way through, then set the pot in a bowl/sink/bathtub with water around the bottom-- NOT covering the top. Of course, this works best with clay pots, and not at all with a non-porous pot with no drainage holes.