Plant watering spikes? What are those? I have to admit, I had no idea these things existed up until a year ago. It wasn’t until I watched a Youtube video by Summer Rayne Oakes that I realized how amazing and helpful they were!
So how do these plant watering spikes work? Essentially, they function like a wick. The “spike” gets partially buried in soil and the end of the tube goes into a reservoir of water.
I’m going to refrain from delving into the physics of it, because physics is not my thing, and this is most certainly NOT a blog about physics…thank goodness. Anyway, as a plant pulls moisture from the soil via the roots (a process called transpiration), the soil eventually dries out. As the soil gets dryer and dryer, water is drawn up the long tube of the watering spike from a reservoir via capillary action, re-moistening the soil. This passive wicking process is also something I use in a growing technique called semi-hydroponics (or semi-hydro).
Below are the steps I use for prepping a watering spike.
- Remove the round black plastic cap. You’ll see that the red tube goes into another clear cap just underneath. The clear cap is what actually seals the water inside the spike.
2. Pop off the clear cap to which the tube is connected. Now you will see that the inside of the watering spike is essentially a hollow plastic cylinder.
3. Fill the inside of the watering spike with water. It’s a bit hard to see in the photo below, but I’ve filled it to the brim.
4. Reassemble the watering spike. Put the clear cap on first, and then the black cap over it.
5. Thoroughly water the soil of the plant that you will use the watering spike on. When the soil is ready, push the porous ceramic tip of the watering spike into the soil.
6. Leave the end of the tube in some sort of water reservoir. I’m using a cleaned-out yogurt container. Et voilà, you are done! How simple was that?
If you are going to use watering spikes while you go on vacation, any large container will function as a reservoir. And the longer that you are gone, the bigger your containers should be. It would be very sad and unpleasant to come back from a lovely vacation just to find that all of your reservoirs had been completely used up, and your prized plants dried to a crisp. If anything, err on the side of a large reservoir over a small one.
However, if you plan on using these spikes as a permanent addition to your watering regime, you may have to devise ways to conceal the spikes or use smaller water reservoirs that can easily be hidden from view. While these watering spikes are incredibly handy, I, personally, would not like to have large reused yogurt containers scattered all over my residence. But if you don’t mind, then go for it!
So what do you think about these watering spikes? What are your experiences with using them? Let me know what you think in the comments! Until next time…
Always Keep Growing,
Heather (a.k.a. The Botanical Chick)
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