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Water potted plants perfectly every time with a simple slow drip system made from a water bottle
DIY drip watering System made from a water bottle
If you have a lot of potted plants, no doubt some of them are harder to water properly than others.
This can be for lots of reasons. A pot full to the rim with soil, very dry or sandy soil that doesn’t absorb water quickly, foliage that spills over the side and channels water away, dense roots that prevent water from percolating down, or just a pot that’s hard or awkward to reach with your watering can.
Whatever the reason, the result is usually the same – water that spills out of the planter instead of going into the pot, leaving the plant itself dry.
There are, of course, ways around this. You can bottom soak, change the soil, replant in a larger pot, move it to somewhere easier to water, etc., but they’re all inconvenient to one degree or another (especially for a lazy plantsman like myself).
Fortunately, I figured out a little hack that will slow-drip water the plant perfectly every time with just about zero effort.
Best of all, it super-easy to make, and costs next to nothing. All you need is an old plastic water bottle. Here’s how to do it.
Supplies:
One empty half-liter plastic water bottle with a cap
A small nail such as a finish nail
Hammer
Wire coat hanger (optional)
Supplies for the drip watering system
Instructions:
Remove the cap from the water bottle. Flip the cap over and place it on a bench or piece of wood.
Use a hammer and small nail to make two holes in the bottle cap
Using your nail and hammer, punch two small holes on either side of the cap’s interior. Push the nail through and wiggle it a bit to make sure the holes are clear of any plastic bits, but don’t make the holes too big or the water will pour out too fast.
Fill your water bottle with water and screw the cap on to it. If you’re watering a smaller pot, you don’t need to fill the bottle all the way; just enough to give your plant a good drink without flooding it.
That’s it! You’re now ready to drip water (I told you it was easy).
To drip water plants:
Simply flip filled the water bottle upside down in your pot so the cap is touching the soil, but not covered by it (you don’t want the soil to block the holes).
If your plant is large enough to support the bottle or you have something nearby to lean the bottle against (a wall, another pot, etc.), just balance the bottle and leave it to drain into the pot.DIY drip system watering a planter up in a tree
If the plant is too small or there’s no support for the inverted bottle, make a support for it from a wire coat hanger.
Water bottle support made from a wire coat hanger
Clip your coat hanger and make a loop for the bottle at one end. Then bend the hanger at the end of the loop to make a straight piece several inches longer than the bottle itself. When you’re ready to drip water, push the long end of the hanger into the pot, flip the filled water bottle over, and slide it into the loop. Viola! A free standing drip system support.
DIY drip system using a wire hanger for support
If everything is working right, you will see air bubbles slowly rising in the bottle from one hole while the other releases water into the soil drip-by-drip. Don’t worry if the bottle draws a little soil into it. As long as it doesn’t block the hole, it’s just fine.
DIY drip watering system doing its thing
If you don’t see air bubbles rising in the bottle, it’s probably because the soil is fine or compacted and blocking the holes in the cap. ).
You can fix that by putting a little stick under the cap, or adjusting the coat hanger holder, to give it a small amount of airspace between the soil and the bottle cap.
A half-liter drip bottle will drain completely in 20-30 minutes, soaking the soil thoroughly without splashing or knocking out soil.
I use this method for watering succulents with really dry, sandy soil as well as house plants like spider plants that like crowed roots and make it difficult for water to soak in. I also use it on hanging pots that are hard to reach with a watering can or hose.
This drip water system also works great with seedlings and small plants in pots or in the ground where you want to target water delivery without washing away soil or mulch.
If you’re a visual learner, I put together this short video below on how to do make the drip water hack as well. Enjoy!
DIY Drip Watering System Video
sagesacre.com/2021/02/12/garden-hack-diy-water-bottle-dri...
Here’s an easy, no dig method for removing small trees from your garden
A rogue palm tree that needs removal
No matter where you live, you’ve undoubtedly run across a tree that “volunteered” itself to grow in an inconvenient location in your garden. While the species vary (here in the west it’s a combination of native oaks and willows and non-native eucalyptus, palms and pepper trees), the problem is the same — trees that easily seed just about anywhere.
A lot of times a new tree might be just fine (who doesn’t like a good, sturdy oak?), but other times they’re pests that lift sidewalks, invade sewer lines, crowd out other plants, and even create life threatening hazards (the eucalyptus is basically a roman candle in a wildfire).
If you catch a seedling early it’s easy enough to remove, but if you let it go a while that seedling becomes a sapling and it gets problematic. Chop it to the ground and it will regrow from side shoots that are even tougher than the original plant. Try and dig it out and you can end up trenching half your yard and still not get the whole root system — assuming digging is even an option. Volunteer trees have a tendency to grow along fences, cracks in hardscape, on steep slopes and other hard-to-reach places.
Fortunately, I’ve got a pretty cool garden hack that removes unwanted saplings completely and permanently without digging, chopping, using chemicals, hiring the kid next door, or any special equipment whatsoever — all features that make this solution a winner in this lazy (but inventive) yardsman’s book. Here’s how to do it:
What you need:
Basic supplies – an empty coffee can and some charcoal
Empty coffee can with both ends removed
Charcoal briquettes (enough to fill the coffee can)
A large clay pot, metal bucket/pan or similar fireproof container to transport hot coals
Garden shears, pruners, or small saw
Trowel or similar small shovel
A few rocks, pieces of broken pottery or similar fireproof material
Instructions
Remove all the branches and root suckers from the tree with your shears and /or saw. Then cut the trunk down to about 1 inch (2.5 CM) above the soil line.
Using your trowel, make a shallow trench in the soil the size of your coffee can all the way around the trunk stump.
Place a few rocks or pieces of broken pottery in the trench around the stump. You don’t need a whole lot, just enough to keep the coffee can about ½-inch (1.25 cm) off the ground. Then place an open end of the coffee can on the rocks/pottery and center the tree stump in the opening. Make sure the can is balanced so it doesn’t tip and there’s plenty of air gap between the soil and the bottom of the can.
Coffee can over the palm’s trunk
Use your barbeque, a charcoal starter or something similar to get about a half a dozen pieces of charcoal burning. Once the coals are hot, transfer them to your clay pot / bucket or pan and take them over to your can and stump setup.
Dump the burning charcoal into the coffee can making sure the coals are spread evenly all the way around the stump. Let them sit for a few minutes to make sure they’re burning nice and hot. The air gap at the bottom of the can should act like a chimney, pulling air from below to keep the coals burning. Once you’re sure the coals are burning well, fill the can to the top with the remainder of your (non-burning) charcoal.
The coffee can loaded with hot coals
Now wait. Over the next several hours the charcoal will burn from the bottom up basically turning the stump itself into charcoal. The ash will settle over the stump and it will continue to smolder until there’s nothing left to burn. I generally like to wait 24 hours just to make sure that everything is completely cool.
Once it’s all finished and the can is cool to the touch, you can remove it. You can remove the ash pile and what remains of the stump too, or simply bury it in place like I do.
What remains of the palm tree 24 hours later
Tada! No more tree!
It really doesn’t get any simpler or easier than this. Next time you’ve got a tree you need to remove, try it out.
Watch the tree removal video
sagesacre.com/2021/03/12/garden-hack-the-easy-way-to-get-...
constructing the framework that the fruit trees will grow against; forming a division between the vegetable patch and garden proper
With most of the posts in, panels up, we just have to level the panels correctly, then trim + cap the posts
Looks a bit scummy at the moment, but it'll dry, and we'll give it a wash.
Frame comes off in a day or two :)
constructing the framework that the fruit trees will grow against; forming a division between the vegetable patch and garden proper
The finished frame for the climbing plants, creating a natural shield between people on the bench, and those cheeky passers by.
It’s filling nicely…
Todo: fill completely, trim underlay and liner to correct positions, recover front edge with turf, and prepare the back edge for stones
Ah. A snag, thats the sewage pipe from my house, running smack–bang through the pond. Luckily its below the level I wanted, so it’s all good.