On 10/30/2009 2:22 AM, Greenerdigits wrote:
Hi Guys

This is my first time on this forum.

I go away on business about once a month and i am looking for a way of
keeping my house plants hydrated while i am away.

I have found a product online and wondered if anyone had used it before
and if it worked. It's called Holiday Mat and Rainmat supplied by
http://www.plant-watering.com/
They claim it holds 8 pints of water. You lay it on a draining board,
add water to it and place your plants on top.

If you have any thoughts on this or better products, i would be very
grateful

Cheers
Mark

I either ask my son or a neighbor to water my house plants once a week
when we are on an extended trip. The potting mix that I use retains
much moisture without getting soggy. Thus, the plants only need
watering once a week.

See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html for a
do-it-yourself recipe for my potting mix.

I also have potted plants in my back yard. I arrange them in a spot
where the automatic sprinklers will water them. (The sprinklers are
controlled by a clock to run just before sunrise.) This is on a walkway
between my lawn and rose bed, in an area shaded by a very large ash
tree. I surround the area containing the pots with several strands of
copper wire to keep snails away from the plants.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary