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Wasted $80 on a fancy self watering kit for my balcony pots
Honestly, I thought those self watering bulbs and wick systems would save me on hot days when I'm at work all day. I bought a set from a garden store in Austin for about $80 and set them up on my tomato and pepper pots. Within two weeks, the soil on top stayed wet and started molding, while the bottom roots barely got any water. The water just sat in the reservoir and didn't pull up like the package promised. I ended up pulling the whole thing out and going back to my cheap saucer trays and a simple watering schedule every morning. Tbh, the only thing that worked was my own routine and checking the soil with my finger. Has anyone else found a reliable way to keep balcony veggies hydrated during a 10 hour shift without overspending on gadgets?
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ruby_grant5d ago
The saucer tray thing is smart because it lets the plant drink from the bottom when it needs to, and that's really the whole trick with these balcony setups. What worked for me was mulching the top of the pots with like an inch of straw or shredded leaves, which cut down how fast the soil dried out during the day. Then I set the pots in those cheap plastic trays and just fill the trays before work, the roots pull up what they need and the top stays dry so no mold. You can also group your pots close together so they shade each other a bit, sounds dumb but it helps. Bottom watering plus a thick mulch layer honestly beats any $80 gadget I've tried.
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