Eco-friendly drip systems to save water and keep your plants thriving all summer!
Global warming has brought long hot summers to many areas of the planet where regular rain showers were the norm during the summer months and where checks on water consumption and the threat of drought were previously unheard of...
There are, however, a few solutions to the problem of watering plants responsibly and this lens is designed to introduce a few of them.
I've tried and tested the ideas discussed here and can guarantee that the terracotta watering spikes and auto-drip bottle top watering spikes even work during a hot summer in Rome, Italy!
Terracotta Watering Spikes or Carrots
Smaller plants can be watered successfully even in high summer using watering carrots. These carrots are in fact hollow terracotta cones attached to narrow plastic tubes. The carrots are filled with water and pushed into the soil near the roots of the plant, whilst the weighted end of the tube is placed in a reservoir of water. As the soil dries and the roots need water, the carrot becomes the water resource; water is drawn by capillary action through the tube, then into the carrot, which being made of porous terracotta, is then drawn into the surrounding soil.
They work brilliantly with spider plants and can be used with any plants that require constant watering or damp soil such as hydrangeas or azaleas.
Spotlight on Self-Watering Probes
Self-Watering Probes - Vacation Plant Waterers - 5 Pack
Amazon Price: $23.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
Terracotta watering carrot and hydrangea
Watering My Garden!
Now online... UK & US Stores
Please visit Watering My Garden for all your garden watering needs!Shop for all the eco-friendly drip watering spikes featured in this lens for watering plants, flowers and vegetables in your garden, vegetable patch or on you balcony in containers, as well as other more traditional irrigation and sprinkler systems to keep your lawn looking lovely all year round!
Terracotta watering carrot and spider plant
Watering Spikes and Garden Irrigation Systems on eBay.com
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Watering Spikes and Auto Drip Waterers
Recycle plastic bottles!
Watering spikes with reserves of up to 2 litres of water are also the perfect solution when one is going away for a period of several weeks at a time. Whereas costly drip irrigation systems connected to the mains are not always suitable for a smaller balcony or back yard, the watering spike is an inexpensive system that utilizes recycled soft drinks bottles attached to a drip nozzle.
The water drips faster or slower according to the ambient temperature and can be regulated for shade or full sun; the drip attachment fits most screw top bottles but tough well formed plastic bottles such as 2 litre Coca-Cola bottles work best - NOT flimsy 1 ½ litre water bottles which tend to buckle. Even water guzzling papyrus thrives on this system in summer in Rome!
Drip watering spike and papyrus
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Eco-Gardening Links
- Watering My Garden!
- Garden watering equipment store
- Sustainable Gardening: Time to Make Your Rain Garden
- Healing soggy backyards with rain gardens. This is a great time to do it.
- Gardening skills in a dry year
- Country News
- St. Helena Star
- Creating a garden? Pay attention to your microclimate
- American Chronicle: NATURES MIRACLE
- Gardening green by not using polluting toxic chemicals
- The Carrboro Citizen
- Extreme gardening in times of extremes
- Xeriscape gardening
- Uses plants and practices that require little watering.
- Prince Charles Provides Organic Gardening Tips in New Book
- Ecorazzi is dedicated to rounding up all the best 'green' news on celebrities and notables making waves in support of the environment and humanitarian causes.
- Howstuffworks "Organic Gardening Tips"
- The organic gardening tips featured in this article will offer exciting ways to grow a healthy garden while keeping the environment safe. Learn more here.
- Garden Designer
- Green garden designs in Italy
- A Green Christmas
- Daily News from The Daily Telegraph contains UK and world daily news, sports, weather, business, money, and stock market news, classified adverts and jobs in the UK.
- The Guerrilla Gardening Homepage
- Illicit gardening projects!
- RogersPlants
- Roger's Plants Limited has been established to publish electronically a series of illustrated
natural history and garden plant information sites covering all the major plant groups, thus creating the largest existing
reference work on plants. - Sustainable Gardening Blog
- Sustainable Gardening Blog with Susan Harris
- Organic Gardening in Italian Gardens
- Gardening in Italy - Organic Italian Gardens
- Modern Eco Homes
- The warnings about the effects of global warming have become one of today's hottest topics.
- Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden
- Michelle Obama is planning the first such garden since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden in World War II.
Water Saving Tips
Other ways to help save water...away from the garden too!
- Rain Barrel to Toilet Installation - A Practical Guide | EcoSpace.cc
- A fellow named Paul from Seattle, Washington has an awesome online guide about hooking up a rainwater barrel to his downstairs toilet. He likes share
- Water Conservation Tips, Facts and Resources | Water - Use It Wisely
- Water-saving tips and resources that educate consumers. Water - Use It Wisely national water conservation campaign communicates simple ways to save water.
Reader Feedback
AndrewGreen wrote...
You should have stayed here wth us in the UK. Great lens. Will be putting some of your tips and ideas to use in my garden.
Posted May 01, 2009
MiaBellezza wrote...
These water spikes look like a great idea - 5* and thanks for dropping by!
Posted April 29, 2009
by Debs
Born in Taunton, UK in 1968. Studied Fine Art at Reading University, then moved from England to Italy in 1994.
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