Content
- Automatic irrigation for balcony plants - The best systems
- If only a few days have to be bridged: PET bottles
- DIY system with high tank and watering cone
- Systems with pump and timer
- Tips
PET bottles can be used to build a simple irrigation system
Automatic irrigation for balcony plants - The best systems
Potted plants in particular depend on the regular supply of sufficient water, after all, they can not take care of themselves. An automatic irrigation system ensures that your plants do not have to remain thirsty even during your absence.
If only a few days have to be bridged: PET bottles
If no permanent irrigation system needs to be installed but only a few days' absence has to be bridged, simple PET or glass bottles have proven their worth. These can be filled with water and stuck head-first into the pre-cast substrate without or with a perforated lid, but should always be secure. If necessary, you can attach the bottles with a bracket or hang them on the balcony railing. Use only bottles with solid walls.
DIY system with high tank and watering cone
A proven, permanently installable system works with the help of a high tank - d. H. a water reservoir set at a higher level than the planters - simple garden hoses and commercially available irrigation cones that connect to the hoses. For this you need neither a power nor a water connection, because the system runs independently without power and instead uses physical laws. Thanks to gravity, the water runs out of the water tank, is led to the cones via the hoses and drips directly into the root system as needed. However, the tank must be at least at a level of 50 to 100 centimeters above the balcony plants and must not be too small - a minimum capacity of 300 to 600 liters must be, so that the pressure for automatic irrigation sufficient. Rain barrels are well suited with a hose connection in the lower area.
Systems with pump and timer
Do you have an external socket on your balcony and maybe even an external water connection? Then a power-driven irrigation system might be for you. This works in a similar way to the high tank system except that the water is pumped to the plants by a pump. As a result, irrigation is no less susceptible to disruption, as Stiftung Warentest discovered in testing various irrigation systems in 2019. In fact, it is not a good idea to run electricity and water unattended for so long, especially during a vacation trip and a prolonged absence that is associated with it - the risk of water damage or a broken power line is too great. However, you can optimize such a system by using a tank instead of a water pipe, which however needs to be topped up from time to time, especially during a several-week absence. The pump in turn can not only be powered by electricity, as there are also solar and battery powered models to choose from.
Tips
The most reliable system of all is still called "friendly neighbor": Ask your neighbor or nearby friends to take care of your balcony plants. Invite them as a thank you for a barbecue or bring them a nice little something from the holiday.