by Texas Homesteader
A sweet friend recently shared with me a pot of chocolate mint. Oh how I love mint and although most people say it can be an invasive plant I’ve planted various kinds & have never had it survive over a year. It’s not really a brown-thumb issue, it’s a “planted the house in the hole of plant-life death” issue. LOL I have trouble getting any plants, trees or shrubs to survive in our front or back yards. Must be something in the soil…
So I may plant this mint in a decorative pot on my porch instead, but the blasted heat of summer is here and RancherMan & I are about to leave town for a few days so I dare not plant it outside now. I can keep it in the house short term, but how will I keep it watered while we’re away? Check out this Homestead Hack for keeping plants watered.
My mother taught me this trick several years ago: Fill a dish tub with about 1-2 inches of water (depending upon the size of the pot your plant is in) and set your potted plant(s) in the water. The water will enter through the holes in the bottom of the pot and wick upward toward the roots.
I sat this dish-washing tub in my sink next to my kitchen window, put a little water in it and sat my little pot of chocolate mint in it. It worked beautifully to keep this plant watered during our short yet several-day stint away from the homestead.
~TxH~
This post categorized in 
My Favorite Garden Hacks
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- Propping Tender Seedlings
- Cheap (or FREE) Wood Mulch For The Garden
- Homestead Hack: Remember Where You Planted Seeds
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- Easy Deep-Soak Watering
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The gravity method might be helpful too. (well it can be applicable to your outdoor plants) Have a big basin of water raised above your 9 plants, wet 9 strings and stick one end into the soil of each of the pots and the other end into the basin of water. Gravity will pull water from the big raised basin into the soil when the soil dries. I’ll try to find a link to what I’m trying to describe!
I’ve seen the gravity method but never tried it and wondered if it worked the way it says it does. Thanks for the tip. ~ TxH ~
Your mom was a genius. I’m always looking for ways to keep things watered around our farm.
Thanks for sharing on Simple Saturdays.
Mom really IS a genius Valerie! How did our previous generations get so dang smart without the benefit of the internet? ~TxH~
Great ideas. I just started keeping plants in my house so I am trying hard to not kill them. Thanks for linking up to Simply Natural Saturdays.
I’ve never been overly successful with houseplants Jessica. But for the few that I do have, this hack has come in handy for keeping them watered while we are away. And I need all the help I can get. HA ~TxH~
Great idea! I tend to forget about watering my indoor plants while we are away.
Me too Jamie. I don’t have many indoor plants but this method has certainly saved the ones I do have. ~TxH~
Great idea! I love your Homestead hacks series! You have so many great ideas!
I just wanted to stop by and thank you for linking up with Green Thumb Thursday last week….sorry I’m late though, I’ve been working 11 hour days! Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Lisa
Love the post you shared on Dream Create and Inspire, I love reading your posts, of the 300 linkersI can find your posts so easily because it has such a unique style that I love.
Maria
Good reminder. We will be leaving for a week and my plants might need a drink like this while I’m gone. Fortunately my good friend John comes by to take care of the outdoor pots and garden every three days or so unless we get a good rain. – Margy
This trick is so simple but still totally genius! I never would have thought of it, but then again I sooooo don’t have a green thumb and we rarely have plants at home that actually stay alive (aside from succulents). This tip might help for that though too! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Merry Monday! 🙂
I lost a couple plants this year when we went on vacation. I will remember to set them in a tub like you did next time. Thanks for the tip!
I don’t have many inside potted plants but my mom always did growing up. She always used this method, using the bathtub when necessary and she never lost any of her plants. Now that I have a few here & there I’m able to draw from that experience – thanks mom! ~TxH~
Another way is to set your plant; if have more than a few, is to use a small kiddy pool. Put nice layer of pebbles in the bottom and add water and set your plants right on the pebbles.
Aren’t you clever Colleen! A great idea for those with more plants. ~TxH~
if you have a lot of plants that you need to keep watered while away, the bathtub is a great spot to do it.
Oooh, good point Diana – mom many times used the bathtub(s) – we had lots of household plants growing up. LOL ~TxH~