Thursday, November 1, 2012

How can I keep veggies growing in pots hydrated during Canberra's hot summer?

I am living in a flat on the 6th floor of an apartment in Canberra. Luckily we have a really decent balcony, so I should be able to grow some veggies in pots this summer. Apparently the summers in Canberra get quite hot so I thought I'd have a go at growing chillis, capsicums and cucumbers - all plants that were not so easy to grow when I was living in Dunedin.

The only snag is that I will be away for periods of time during the summer and am concerned about how I can keep the plants hydrated, so they do not die while I am away.

Any suggestions about how I can manage this problem?


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can use water trays under pot and tubs topping them right up before you go, you can also use water crystal mixed into the soil. A nice cheep way is to cut the bottom off of a large plastic bottle and poke a small drip hole in the cap an push it in next to the roots and fill it up and this should drop feed the plant, although it might need some support! Another way is to watch where the hottest of the days sun hits the garden and move any pots out of it! We hope this helps! Please follow us @floweringboxltd on twitter for more gardening advise!

Hervé said...

13Use pots with built-in water reserve?
Grow Cacti?
Placing the pot in partial shade?
;-)

peterb said...

Agree with comments so far. You can also use capillary action mats that I'm sure our Australian friends have.
Another method I use is to water well and put a plastic shopping bag over the plant that keeps in the moisture. I've also sprinkled vermiculite (?) after watering in conjunction with the water crystals mentioned above. Mulch, barky bits, is always good too. Think damp thoughts too.

Sarah Stewart said...

Hello everyone, thank you all very much for your suggestions, which I will do my best to follow through. Will let you know how I get on.