Water Wick Method (DIY Self-Watering Hack)

 What is the Water Wick Method?

The least expensive of all the methods is the humble water-wicking system. It’s effortless to set up, super quick (depending on how many plants you’d like to set up with the system, of course) and keeps your houseplants on point with their watering needs in your absence. This method keeps the root ball of your plant moist, but not overwatered or soggy, but just giving them the right amount of hydration to draw up to keep them from being sad. 

How does it work?

There's quite a bit of science that grounds this watering method: the capillary action where the action itself draws water from the wick connected to the water reservoir and waters the plants. When a plant has had enough to drink, the capillary action stops until water is needed again. Neat, eh?

DIY

To make your very own water wick system, you’ll need cotton (or any other absorbent form of rope), a large container of water that acts as the reservoir from which the houseplants will drink up from while you're away. The setup is simple but efficient. The idea is to fill a container that is larger than the plant’s pot and a bit higher than your plant, make sure that one end of the rope is in the reservoir and the other end in the plant’s container. Try not to disturb the roots in the process. It’s a good idea to spritz the rope with some water to encourage the action and try the system out a few days before your departure to ensure that your plants will be a-ok through this method. The bonus? Multiple plants can be attached via the same rope method to the reservoir. Just make sure that your plants aren’t harbouring any unwanted hitchhikers. 

Photo courtesy of https://scissorsandsage.com/