Plant care while on vacation

[Yoheadden]

Hello all,

The DW and I are planning a trip to ME for a few days soon and are trying to figure out what to do with our tomato plant. We have it in our 4 season room and water it twice a day.
Does any of the travelers here have any tried and true methods for keeping their plants alive while away?
We have watched all of the YouTube videos on bottles and drip setups, but they don’t seem to work as well as the videos show.

 

[skyking1]

In a room, yes you need to be careful with what you do in case of a failure. All our plants are outside and i have a drip timer and system that I get all tuned up so it goes for days and takes care of things.

 

[tulak]

I ordered a drip kit with a manual timer on Amazon for my tomato plants. I’ll be gone for a couple weeks end of June and I hope it’ll keep them alive.

I figure I have a few weeks to work out any kinks. It’ll also save me from watering, which will be nice.

No idea how well it’ll work, but it was the best/easiest solution I could find.

 

[audreyh1]

My vacation care is having no indoor plants ha ha.

If you are just gone for a few days just give it a good soak before leaving and assess on return. Generally plants don’t need to be watered twice a day. More like twice a week or less.

 

[tulak]

Tomato plants need more watering, especially if they are outdoors and it’s hot.

I’ve struggled with indoors plants and extended travel. Recently I bought some plants from easyplant which require watering once a month. They weren’t cheap, but I love indoor plants and hope that’ll be a solution.

I would be hesitant to use any drip systems indoors in case it leaks while I’m away. Plus, they don’t look pretty.

 

[Sunset]

My vacation care is having no indoor plants ha ha.

...

+1

Can't be worried about them, so gave them away and took a month long trip...

 

[Sunset]

Hello all,

The DW and I are planning a trip to ME for a few days soon and are trying to figure out what to do with our tomato plant. We have it in our 4 season room and water it twice a day.
Does any of the travelers here have any tried and true methods for keeping their plants alive while away?
We have watched all of the YouTube videos on bottles and drip setups, but they don’t seem to work as well as the videos show.

Why can't you put it outside now, and then hook up some drip system ?

I admit, I didn't plant anything this year as covid is "gone" so we will travel, and I'd rather travel than water my garden

 

[Yoheadden]

This is the beast in question. We currently have 18 tomatos

 

[Montecfo]

My wife set up a system called Blumat Classic Plant Watering Stakes. It is clay spikes and self waters as stakes dry. No timer. Passive system that self regulates.

She moves her downstairs plants to one location (kitchen) and connects them to a single water source there.

Same thing upstairs in master bath with some huge lilies.

She said there are some YouTube videos.

This setup has kept plants looking good for 3-4 weeks at a time. She uses it for the lilies all the time as it is convenient.

 

[Gumby]

Neighbors. They water for us when we're away and we water for them when they're away.

 

[youbet]

Does any of the travelers here have any tried and true methods for keeping their plants alive while away?

Hmmmmm........ Of all the pluses and minuses of having kids, I think having them to water the plants and feed the cat while we're gone was pretty high on the list.

 

[ERD50]

This is the beast in question. We currently have 18 tomatos

That's a very large plant in a very small pot. Now I understand why you water it 2x/day.

Transplant it to a much, much larger pot. If you get the soil damp (not soggy), a few days should be no problem at all, in fact, that should be normal. It's abnormal to need to water 2x a day.

That plant really needs a larger pot anyhow.

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

That plant needs a bigger pot...

Couldn't you put the plant on the back porch and pay a neighbor's kid to water it, if you don't want anyone inside your home ?

 

[MichaelB]

Neighbors. They water for us when we're away and we water for them when they're away.

Definitely. That’s what my brother does with his tomato plants.

That's a very large plant in a very small pot. Now I understand why you water it 2x/day.

Transplant it to a much, much larger pot. If you get the soil damp (not soggy), a few days should be no problem at all, in fact, that should be normal. It's abnormal to need to water 2x a day.

That plant really needs a larger pot anyhow.

I had the same thought.

 

[COcheesehead]

Google water bottle spikes. I have used them with success.
Also plants need a time for soil to dry otherwise you invite other issues.
Definitely repot that plant.

 

[mystang52]

That plant needs a bigger pot...

Couldn't you put the plant on the back porch and pay a neighbor's kid to water it, if you don't want anyone inside your home ?

I pay my nearby, young, grandkids to water my outdoor flowers when I'm away. They won't be around for our next vacation, so we're paying our neighbor's kid. If you're uncomfortable having neighbor go into your house, maybe you can take the plant to their house while your away?

 

[ERD50]

Looking again at the size of the pot, using other items for some sense of scale (chairs, watering can, 12" floor tiles?), and the follow up comments that were made after I pointed it out, I sense that what you really have (inadvertently, I think), is a hydroponic set up.

That pot might be 2 quarts, maybe a gallon max? For reference, we just planted a patio-sized plant (Hardy Red indeterminate, but said to be on the compact side?), and we used a pot that held 2 cubic feet of potting soil, which is ~ 15 gallons. I think that's about right.

With a tomato plant that size, I imagine that pot is completely full of roots, completely 'pot bound'. You can't expect to keep a hydroponic plant alive without a system to keep fresh water through it.

So either go with a full hydroponic set up (pumps if you will be away), or get that thing in a bigger pot. I'm feeling kinda sorry for that poor thing!

-ERD50

 

[dmpi]

Definitely, re-pot that plant. I think you need a pot 30 or 40% bigger. We grow tomatoes outdoors in pots where we have insects to pollinate. I'm not sure how you get your plants pollinated. We have a gravity fed watering system on a timer fed from a rain barrel.

 

[pacergal]

When I used to have houseplants, I would fill the bathtub a few inches (or above the drain holes in the pot) and place the plants there while gone. I would have the dirt be a little dry so the plants would soak up what water they needed and usually left a grow light on a timer.
So survived, some didn't.
Later, when we had a dog, we had a house/pet sitter stay and she took care of everything.

Not sure the size of your tomato plant would fit or be easy to move.

I have also seen the water bottle spikes. My brother uses them outside also.

 

[Yoheadden]

Thank you so much for all of the replies and suggestions.

We have considered bringing it to the neighbors, but we are trying to see if we could come up with something so as not to bother anyone.

as ERD50 mentioned, I believe the pot is full of roots. It was difficult to dig a small hole to insert a bottle top. The plant was a gift to my DFIL who passed 2 years ago. A friend of ours gave him the pot, plant and soil. The DW and I are keeping it going in his memory and she takes great pleasure in its success.
We have talked about transplanting it into a bigger pot, but honestly, we were concerned about it getting even bigger. It sounds like for the plants sake, this should be our next project once we return home.

I have heard good things about the spikes. I’m currently testing a 2 bottle drip system that seems to have some promise.

 

[CincyDave]

Nice tomato plant!! I can't even grow them that big outside. Of course it does get to live year after year instead of starting over each year, but still, nice job!

 

[Gumby]

This is what you can do if you have the right environment to make a tomato plant perennial. It's at Epcot. https://blog.aghires.com/tomato-tree-yields-32000-tomatoes/

 

[cyber888]

Hello all,

The DW and I are planning a trip to ME for a few days soon and are trying to figure out what to do with our tomato plant. We have it in our 4 season room and water it twice a day.
Does any of the travelers here have any tried and true methods for keeping their plants alive while away?
We have watched all of the YouTube videos on bottles and drip setups, but they don’t seem to work as well as the videos show.

These Aqua globes worked for us, while away for 2 Weeks. Just fill with water and stick it in the plant soil.

https://www.dutchgrown.com/blogs/the-dutchgrown-blog/how-to-use-self-watering-bulbs

 

[MissMolly]

Take it to the bathroom and put under grow lights. Fill the tub with water. Run a couple of 100% cotton ropes from the tub to the pot and it will suck up what it needs.

 

[Jerry1]

I have a pump that draws water from a bucket instead of being hooked up to a faucet. That way, the worst that can happen is that the water in the bucket can end up on the floor, but it’s not going to flood the house. One tube goes into the bucket and another tube goes to a drip irrigation system made however needed. I have mine to water my bonsai when I go away if I can’t find someone to do it for me (the best method). The bonsai are outside, but I still don’t want to rely on a timer that’s hooked to an open faucet.

https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Ir...&qid=1684804264&sprefix=Ml-dp1,aps,104&sr=8-4