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I have many 5 gallon containers with tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, herbs, etc. in my garden. I am leaving for 10 days in the middle of August, and nobody will be able to water the plants (also the neighbours will be away). What is the best way to avoid a catastrophe?

The only idea I could come up with is upside-down bottles with dripping holes, but I am very skeptical they would work in the first place, and then make it for such a long period.

Please help me folks, it could save the most of my summer harvest! Thanks :)

usumdelphini
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  • sounds to me like its probably worth investing in an irrigation system... an inline one shouldn't be too expensive. – Bamboo Jul 19 '15 at 13:52
  • The fact is I don't have water supply in the garden. I usually carry the water from the kitchen tap. A gravity irrigation system would be needed and have heard terrible things about the Big Drippa... – usumdelphini Jul 19 '15 at 19:55

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You can go to a big box store and buy an automatic waterer for somewhere in the range of $20. I think I paid $30-something and got one that does two different settings for two different outs. They run on AA batteries. Then buy a drip irrigation line or a soaker hose (saw those for $5-10). Set it to come out and stay on, whatever schedule you want. Test it out ahead of time to make sure it works correctly and is watering them as thoroughly as desired. You should be able to not worry about your plants while you're gone and even for the rest of the summer. It's much easier, since they say it's better to water plants early, than trying to get up early on a work day.

Additional Way: Okay, I didn't see your comment about not having water near by. I think you can still do the same thing, but in a different way. You can go on craigslist or I've been told some restaurants have them, and get a plastic barrel that didn't have chemicals in it. You can get anywhere from a small drum to a 275lb IBC tote. You simply put it one a platform, the higher the better, though the 275lb tote would weigh roughly 2200lbs, and then put a bushing on it. The IBC tote already has a drain installed, you just need the garden hose adapter. Once you have this installed, you can use the same automatic timer and hose setup of your choice. The pressure will drop as the water does, so you won't get as much water for the same amount of watering time, once you get toward the bottom of the barrel.

Dalton
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