Watering is one of the great saboteurs of gardening. Watering either too much or too little could prove fatal for your plants. In my years of growing, I can tell you that watering is one of the hardest urban farming skills to master.
Here in the city to have the luxury of watching grass grow and see Cirque du Soleil in the same day. However, making it home from work in time to water your plants, or rushing to tend to them just before going out, can remove much of the enjoyment from growing food. This post is outlines many ways to maintain this balance between work, life, and a wholesome hobby. I must warn that some options are pricey, so it is important to gauge your long term needs before purchasing.
Key considerations with automatic watering
- Low water setting. When growing with a timed watering system, it is important to only have the minimal amount of water, unless the conditions are controlled. This is because if you automatically water your plants and it rains, then there is a chance you may drown your plants. Overwatering can also turn your soil into mud and suffocate the roots.
- Keeping the water fresh. Aeration is key in making sure the dissolved oxygen levels of the water is high enough. Keeping the water covered is important too, so things don’t fall into the water supply.
- Reliable access to water. This can be achieved in many ways. There are facet attachments that you can get, for example, and there are several timer-based attachments that can connect to an exterior tap as well. This, however, might be an issue in condos and apartments as you may only have access to your kitchen sink.
- Aeration. It is so important to have aeration in your reservoir and keep the dissolved oxygen levels up.
- Grounding. This is a newer concept and I do say to have it whenever you can. The product is affordable and there are many life hacks around grounding your plants.
- Picking the right pot. This go hand-in-hand with growing. Some planters already have water reservoirs, so this will keep them topped up.
Hydroponic watering system
👍🏻 Pros
- You can see the water left in your reservoir.
- It refills as water drains.
- Universal water jug, so you can use it in almost any place you grow.
Timed water pump
This method works wonders: if you have a water container, all you need are a water pump and hose. With a wall timer, you can turn the water pump on and off as you see fit. An issue with this is that you will need a digital timer, and with analogue timers, they only work on 15-minute increments. When watering, 15 minutes can be way too much, so pay attention to the water output.
👍🏻 Pros
- The price is great for what you get.
- These are easy to use and set up.
- They are a great option if you have plants that are not close together, and each will require a water reservoir
👎🏻 Cons
- Hard to control the amount of the water.
- Can risk overwatering.
Automated watering with app control
This is such a great addition to your urban farm, and it isn’t that much money for the type of freedom that it will grant you. I would personally recommend using a self-watering device like the Dripping Pro, which can be controlled with a mobile app. When you at a patio having a drink and enjoying the sun, suddenly realize that your plants might want to have a drink as well, you can just pull out your phone and give them water.
This gives you the ability to relax and know that you have the freedom to move around and not be tied to watering your plants. What I also like about this sort of device is the ability to control how much you water your plants. With many self watering-systems, I recommend keeping the minimal watering amount.
Watering bulbs
This product is are good not only because they are affordable but also easy to use. They don’t give you the control of some of these others, but they are an inexpensive and low-maintenance way to slowly add water to your plants. If you are going away for a few days these will water over time.