Now your sneakers and flip flops making their appearance once again for the summer. If you are like every other Joe, I would bet that you are also getting ready to travel to an amazing destination with a cool breeze and a beautiful view. Wait a second, before you go all willy-nilly about your vacation. What happens to your potted plants whilst you won’t be home?
What would you say to a device that would actually and reliably water your plants whilst you aren’t home? And no I don’t mean leaving your plants under the kitchen tap and setting it to the lowest possible setting whereby it flows at a rate of one drop every couple minutes. An actually automatic watering system to do your plant watering for you as you get your tan and sip on a chilly beverage.
Our Top picks
| Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
1. The water globes mini | Best aqua globes for Aesthetics | Check Price |
2. Automatic drip irrigation kit | Best for long stays away from your plant | Check Price |
3. 10-Plant Self Watering System  | Best for small plants | Check Price |
4. Rain drip automatic watering kit | Best outdoor product | Check Price |
5. Plant self-watering spikes | Best for dripping speed control | Check Price |
6. Self-watering Planter Pot | Best for prevent rot, mold and fungus | Check Price |
1. The water globes mini – Best for Aesthetics
The first self watering plant system is garden solution water globes are purely a glass product. This aqua globes is a handmade product, giving each particular product their characteristic shape but each product is kind of unique. The watering globes are made of a transparent glass that is dyed to give it a beautiful set of colors.
The watering globe works by a rather basic mechanism. First things first you have to ensure that the soil of the potted plant is wet. After having your soil dampened you could then make a whole into which the water globe will be placed into, you could use a stick with similar dimensions to the mouth of the hydro globe.
Fill the globe with fresh running water. Stick it into the soil and leave it there for your plants to be hydrated in your absence
The hydro globe is small and can only be used for small plants because of its small size.
The small size allows you to use it in an office or an enclosed space
Due to its water delivery mechanism water does not evaporate in large amounts because the water is delivered to the middle layers of the soil.
Verdict
This is a good product that we recommend for watering small potted plants. We recommend it if you will be travelling or will be away from your potted plants for not more than 10 days.
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- It has a unique colorful design
- Waters the plant for 2-10 days
- It isn’t prone to faulting.
- Being made of glass it is fragile and easily breaks
- It may not be used for long periods away from your plants
2. Automatic drip irrigation kit – Best plant watering system for long stays away from your plant
Previously drip irrigation systems were used on large scale plantations for delicate crops in areas where water was a scarce commodity. Being so efficient and effective a number of smaller scaled companies decided to adopt the idea and turn it into for smaller scales.
And alas this automatic watering system was born. Running on battery and a USB cable it certainly was well thought out. It comes along with a large LCD display that acts as the user interface. The efficiency of it is pretty amazing. An article from Wikipedia stated automated waterers (drip systems) reduce the amount of water and nutrients lost by the plant. It went further to state that soil erosion and weed growth is substantially lessened by this method of watering.
The self-watering system works by a pump that runs water from a reservoir (it could be a bowl of water or a bucket). The pump has a basic user interface that you could set the amount of time you would like the pump to run and the interval of each time. You could have the pump run for 80 seconds every hour or every day. With this the automated watering system could be used to water anything from a cactus to a bed of roses whilst you aren’t home to take care of you precious plants.
The plant self watering system comes with the following items:
- A pump
- 33 inch long hose
- An instruction booklet
- 10 drippers
- 1 USB cable
- 1 four way connector
- 1 support bracket
- 1 filter
- 10 T connectors
- 3 end closures
The automatic waterer comes with a 1 inch 33 feet long hosing that is plenty enough to supply your plants. This allows you to have multiple plants being watered at the same time in your absence.
A major advantage that the automatic plant watering system has is that it is equipped with both a USB, and a battery supply. You don’t have to worry that the charger was knocked out of the socket whilst you aren’t home and that your plants may be dehydrated. The pump runs by a micro USB and 4 AA batteries as a contingency. So you back up plan have a backup plan.
Verdict
We recommend this product for people who will be away from home for a relatively long time. We strongly recommend this product for people growing plants indoors or in a greenhouse as it would minimize the time required to manipulate the plants and water them. It is all around the best automatic watering system.
- The pump could be set to run as frequent as you wish.
- Having a USB charging port and AA batteries as a contingency makes it full proof.
- It is easy to set up.
- The pump LCD has no feedback system.
3. 10-Plant Self Watering System – Best for small plants
Its seems most of these other products require a lot more commitment or are for much more serious people or people who generally don’t want to invest too much into things that they will only use whilst they are away on a vacation. And here comes this saving grace, a drip self-watering product that dedicates itself to watering your plants in your absence.
The vacation plant watering uses the same mechanism that people use when siphoning gas from you a car tank into a container when trying to empty it (hopefully no one here has had their gas syphoned).
The automatic waterer comes with:
- A nozzle
- A length of tubed piping
How to set it up?
- Open the packet and check that the product is intact and does not have any scratches or abrasions.
- Immerse the watering nozzle into a jar of water to remove any air bubbles or dirty that may have been inside, this helps to ensure that you always have a smooth flow of water.
- Fill up the nozzle with running water till it is fill to the brim. Ensure that you use a finger to plug the lower part of it to avoid it from pour out water prematurely.
- Tightly close up the nozzle using the lid.
- Drive the nozzle into the soil and ensure that it won’t easily fall out and it has a good and secure fit.
- Place the extra pipping into a cup of water or a reservoir of water that will supply your plant with water.
☝The self watering plants system comes in with shortcomings that you cannot monitor how much water is going into the plant. You could look at the rate at which the water in the reservoir is moving but this isn’t exactly an ideal method.
Verdict
This self-watering system is intended for a person traveling for a couple days (not more than a week). That watering system would work perfectly in this case. We recommend it for medium sized plants.
We highly suggest that you try to test it to figure out which flow of water would be perfect and which water reservoir works best for your plants. This automated waterer is also good for the office set up.
- It is a ready to use, no set up is needed.
- It is strong and relatively resistant to clogging.
- May be used in an indoor and outdoor set up.
- The water only stops flowing when the water reservoir has been emptied.
- The rate of water flow can’t be regulated
4.Rain drip automatic watering kit – Best outdoor product
Almost all the products talked of earlier are meant for indoor or an office set, which if you really come to think of it is pretty ironic. Aren’t plants meant to be kept outdoors That beats me.
The entire process of setting up the entire drip irrigation system has been made as simple as can be. All you would need is a pair of tools to help cut the hose piping and you should be good to go. The entire process of setting up the automatic waterer should take 20 minutes give or take from the beginning to the end.
When installing the universal faucet watering timer ensure that it has a tight fit. It shouldn’t be leaking for the point of installation. We highly insist that you do not connect it to the water supply at ground level. This would make the timer a little ineffective, and you could experience a couple issues with it this way. It is imperative that your water supply has a water pressure of not less than 25 PSI. Lower that this you shall probably not notice water flowing through the drippers. And be cautious to not have a really high water pressure as this would also elicit your timer to throw of the flow of water. It is kind of ironic isn’t it, too low of water pressure and you wouldn’t be able to get a flow, that pretty much makes sense but too high too. This must be a special product.
Verdict
We deem this product as very essential to the outdoor plant grower. It is especially important if you spend minimal time home to water and take care of your plants, but you passion for plants runs deep. It really is a good purchase.
☝Despite all its amazingness and glory our self-watering system definitely has its flaws. It is rather disappointing to note that it battery operated. It would be a little more robust if it has either an electrical ac current supply of merely an entirely mechanical set up. A high probability that is old school, but it undeniably works.
The pipping might be a little difficult to manipulate during installation, we advise that you place the hose in the sun to let it soften up then it should be easier to work.
Past the few shortcomings that it comes with it has been more strong points than weak points. This self-watering comes in unmatched by having a water delivery of about 10 gallons per hour. That is about half a tub of water per hour. That is a pretty neat plus that it comes with.
This automated waterer doesn’t use a spraying mechanism, but rather a drip type of mechanism means that approximately 70% of water is saved. This makes it ideal for use in that countries where water costs are significantly higher.
- The product is good to be used outdoors
- The watering system comes with all the components required
- It has a timer for water flow
- After a while the batteries need to be replaced
- It may not be used indoors
5. Plant self-watering spikes – Best for control dripping speed control
The easiest way to explain this is not risk here. This is especially intriguing if you are a big fan of DIY. This dripper works by using some form of recycling. On top of being a DIY it is also eco-friendly. It works by having a bottle placed over the pin. The bottle acts as the reservoir for water.
How to set up the water dripper?
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- Search for a potted plant into which you would place your automated water dripper.
- Shove the valve into the spikes and ensure that it is tightly secured.
- Search for an empty plastic water bottle that would act as your water reservoir, if you have a larger plant or will be away from your plant for a longer period a 1.5l coca cola bottle should do the trick. Fill up your bottle of water with water.
- Drill in holes into the base of the bottle, be careful not to hurt yourself or make a major mess.
- Flip the bottle with the mouth facing down and use the spike to drive the entire apparatus into the soil so that it is well secured and standing.
- You are done, and you can now watch your plants thrive whilst you kick back and relax.
Verdict
The plant watering spikes are good for people who will be away from home or their plants for not more than 7-9 days. It is a good product thought the fact that its beauty solely relies on the bottle used as the water reservoir is rather disappointing.
It because of its appearance we do not recommend this for the office but if you don’t care about the aesthetics of it you could knock yourself out because it is such a reliable product.
This could easily be a 10/10 product but it is really disappointing that you have to find your bottle to use as a water reservoir is relatively disappointing. A couple of users noted that the paint job on the spike could be a little better.
It is interesting to have a machine that only has a basic, easy and non-labor intensive 6 step process to set it up a major plus. Another major win is that this machine is capable of handling any sized bottle attached to it. We aren’t saying you can place the plastic bottle for your dispenser on top. Till around 2 liters you should be good to go.
- The automated watering machine has a valve making it able to be regulated.
- It has a vibrant colors.
- A few users complained that the valve fails after a while.
6. Self-watering Planter Pot – Best for prevent rot, mold and fungus
This planter pot has a pretty and simple design and set up. It isn’t complicated and doesn’t need an instruction manual to be honest.
The pot does not exactly water itself like most of the other devices here but this works but having a pot to water the plant, and a small tray for the excess water to run off that the plant could use later on.
Verdict
This potted plant goes about two weeks at a minimum after the plant has been watered and the basin has been filled with water. It is a good incentive for a holiday that runs till 3 and half weeks. We really recommend this.
Its shiny colors and smooth surfaces make it good looking which is definitely a plus. It is pretty large and thus can run long periods of time without re-watering it. One of the users stated that they water it once in four weeks. It is that efficient in reducing the amount of water lost by the plant. It’s truly is effective.
- Its ergonomic design allows it to be easily styled in and around the house.
- Its large size allows it to soak up water and retain water for longer.
- Not for all plants thrive
The Best Automatic Plant Waterer – Bottom line
This would come down to the one that would work in almost all scenarios with ease and little room for error. It would have to prove as easy to use and relatively faultless.
This would most definitely be the automated drip irrigation system. This system beats most out there on the market and it isn’t hard to see why it has such great reviews, from a week to 2 months of a vacation this system is capable of keeping your plants safe and sound.
