How do you water outdoor pot plants when you go on holiday?

Hi Alison, This is a very topical question for this time of year. It does depend how long you are going to be away as to how your plants will survive. Here are a few suggestions.

• I start giving my pots a good soaking a couple of weeks before I go away so that I know they have been well watered. Sit the pots in saucers or a shallow bucket and fill them before you leave. If it rains the saucer will collect water as well.
• Sprinkle Saturaid wetting agent https://tuigarden.co.nz/product/debco-saturaid/ around the surface of the potting mix and water-in. Saturaid helps channel water to the roots and breaks up soil surface tension preventing water run-off. It reduces watering by 50%, you still have to water, but Saturaid helps provide a buffer.
• Apply Tui Mulch & Feed https://tuigarden.co.nz/product/tui-mulch-feed/ around the top of your pots, this helps conserve soil moisture with the added bonus of feeding plants and is a good way to top up pots.
• Purchase water storage crystals from a garden which swell when water is added. Mix the water crystals up in water, then drill holes down into the potting mix and fill with water crystals and top with potting mix – do this with the crystals that have been hydrated not dry as you may end up with a waterfall if you put too many crystals into the pot. Water crystals hold water and as the water is used they shrink, then they swell again once the plant is watered.
• Put in an automated watering system, you can buy automatic timers and programme them to come on at a specific time of day, but your plants would need to be in one area and this takes a bit of planning and depending upon the system you use can be costly. Lianne.