by Texas Homesteader ~
Summer is hot & humid in our part of NE Texas & I’m doing all I can to keep my plants watered. A cistern mishap involving a split hose drained all the rainwater from my 18′ deep cistern. WOW! So I’m trying to conserve water as much as possible.
I came across a large-mouth bottle with a built-in grip on the handle and a metal-center lid. Then the thought occurred to me – maybe I can use this to keep my container garden of spinach watered.
You remember my battle cry, “Use WhatCha Got!”. Check out this homestead hack.
Repurposing A Wide-Mouth Jar
I emptied out a plastic picante jar and washed it well. Then I took it to RancherMan and asked him to drill tiny holes in the lid. Large enough for water to drip out but small enough that it didn’t drip out too fast.
I figured I could use it to add fertilizer and hand water smaller potted plants. But today I’ll use it to slowly soak in my rainwater into my large container of Malabar Spinach.
A side note: a sweet friend shared this Malabar Spinach with me. Unlike traditional spinach that bolts at the first whiff of warmer weather, this spinach grows vigorously in the heat. And it vines – so pretty!
I’ve been harvesting leaves, slicing them up & stirring them into my sauteed garden veggies. Delicious! But still, keeping them going in the Texas summer heat is gonna take some water…
Keeping Potted Plants Watered
Aaaanyhoo – I unscrewed the lid of this repurposed jar and filled it with rainwater from my rain barrel and screwed the lid back on.
And now for the complicated part… I turned it upside down between the two plants and sat it directly onto the mulched dirt. It s-l-o-w-l-y drained water from those small holes in the lid and watered the plants.
This allowed that precious water to soak in thoroughly and water both plants instead of draining off before the soil absorbed it.
I’d say it was a screaming success in keeping my Malabar spinach growing this summer. I had to rig up a trellis for that vining spinach – it grew vigorously!
So if you have a wide-mouth jar with a metal or plastic lid, give it a try. It worked well for me.
~TxH~
This post categorized in 
My Favorite Garden Hacks
- Easy Garden Planning Spreadsheet
- Getting A Jump: Planting An Indoor Greenhouse
- Repurposed Cardboard Seed-Starting Pots
- 3-Sister’s Garden – The Original Companion Planting
- Low-Cost Vegetable Gardening
- Planting A Large Galvanized Trough
- Using Cheap Biodegradable Weed Block
- Tricking Birds AWAY From Your Strawberry Plants
- Easy Compost For A Healthy Garden
- Propping Tender Seedlings
- Cheap (or FREE) Wood Mulch For The Garden
- Homestead Hack: Remember Where You Planted Seeds
- How Vegetable Gardening Can Change Your Life!
- Easy Deep-Soak Watering
- Planting Potatoes In Galvanized Trough
- Planting A Blueberry Bush In Galvanized Tub
- Stevia – Growing Your Own Sweetener!
- How I Use EcoBricks In The Garden
- Making An Inexpensive Temporary Cold Frame
- Compost Old Confidential Documents
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Awesome Idea! Thanks so much for sharing with us at the Homesteader hop!
I really need to do that trick for my containers… I have such a hard time remembering to water them! Thanks for linking up at #SustainableSundays!
What a great tip! I’m excited to read that Malabar spinach works well in hot humid weather…I may have to try it here in the panhandle of Florida! Thanks for posting on the #sustainablesunday!
I have water bottles upside down in my container gardens as well but I cut the bottom off so I can give them an extra drink while watering the plants in raised beds. I guess with the entire jar entact it wouldn’t evaporate a quick. Malabar produces a lot of seed so it will be good for sending some off as Christmas presents this year. I love adding a few leaves to a sandwich or to a regular salad. Glad it came back for you. It”s very hardy and even likes a little shade. Time to go clip some before it gets too hot!
I can sure use these kind of tips with growing plants and I wish I could grow spinach, we love it, but so would my bunnies, lol! What a clever trick of keeping it watered in the heat! Awesome!
Great idea to keep the water from running out the bottom of the pot. I also like your spinach. I will write the name down and see if I can find it next year to try. Do you save the seeds?
What a great tip! I’m going to have to try this. Our heat has been in the high 90’s and we have had a few days of 100+ weather here. My poor plants are suffering in this heat. We had to partially cover the arctic kiwi plant because it was being burned to a crisp even though we moved it to an area where it does not get as much direct sun.
Have done and used the same idea only I had my container reversed. Holes in bottom of milk carton to where the lid was on top. When the carton was empty all I had to do was take the cap off and refill and cap it again. Saved from having to tip the carton upside down. Like you fancy trellis you’re using as well. Boy, you and I sure do think alike. I’d say your spinach plant is very happy doing what you’re doing. :}
To let the drips last longer, fill container with ice cubes