I was recently introduced to a product called the "Plant Nanny".
Their website is HERE. They sent me a set to try out. As we aren't at the farm during the week, we do have the need for something to water in our absence.
Upon opening the package, I was struck by their simple beauty. There is something elegant about them, and the design is functional. They are made of terra-cotta, like clay pots, which helps their function. Also, you're not sticking plastic into the soil so that's always a good thing. And, short of dropping on a hard surface, they are definitely durable for long term use over several seasons.
FROM THEIR WEBSITE:
Recycling wine bottles to water your plants is easy with our Recycle a Wine Bottle Stake. It’s a great way to water plants day-to-day, and the perfect solution to keep plants watered while on vacation. As the soil dries, our terracotta stake slowly releases water from the reservoir deep into the soil and directly to the root system. Plants grow healthier by getting consistent moisture where it’s most needed.
Pre-moisten the soil and gently insert the terracotta stake near the center of the plant. The carefully-designed shape of the stake allows it to be inserted into the soil without damaging the plant’s root system. Fill a wine bottle with water and set it neck-first into the stake and the watering process will begin. Know at a glance when to refill the wine bottle by observing the amount of water remaining in the glass bottle reservoir.
• Uses a recycled wine bottle as a water reservoir (not included)
• Stake is approximately 7” high
• Use for medium to large sized plants, indoors and out
• Uses a recycled wine bottle as a water reservoir (not included)
• 750ml standard wine bottle will water for approximately 7-10 days depending on growing environment (humidity level, temperature etc)
They arrived very well packaged...a box inside of a box, some bubble wrap, and well contained next to each other. This was the set of four.
Next I had to gather up some wine bottles.
Since we don't drink more than one bottle a week (if that), I was lucky to be able to go downstairs to the trash area and find all the wine bottles I needed in the recycle bin. Score!
The above graphic shows how they work...
For step by step picture purposes, I used this rosemary plant in a container on our porch. I put the terracotta spike into the soil as described...
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| Plant Nanny Wine Bottle Waterer |
...and filled the bottle up with water and then tipped it into the spike. I left it alone and hoped for the best.
Here it is one week later. Only about half the water used, the plant was still looking good with one week and no water by any method other than this.
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| Plant Nanny |
I put the others in three different potted plants, like this bay laurel tree on the porch and they all went a week with no water and look just fine. I think we may have finally found a great solution, certainly for the plants on the porch. I will keep everyone updated throughout the Summer but so far, we are VERY impressed with this product.
They also make this (might have to try this in a test clay pot by the barn):
A great company looking to make some great solutions for watering which is most often the hardest part of keeping plants healthy...and they are letting us recycle bottles at the same time. Check them out, we think they are definitely worthy of using. Below is their website:
They don't sell them directly from the website but they are sold at many places, including of course, HERE AT AMAZON as singles. But if you click on the singles and look at the "customers also buy" feature, you'll see the set of four.
Also, stayed tuned Friday, for a special announcement connected to this review.
So far, so good...we are giving them 5 stars because they are working exactly how they are advertised!
