Drip Irrigation

cheap, easy, mobile drip irrigation.
Drip irrigation is much more efficient than sprinklers
You need an empty jug and a pointy thing

Step 1: Poke a Small Hole in the Bottom of the Jug

I found that the corner opposite of the handle works best. Start with a small hole; you can always make it larger later.

Step 2: Fill With Water and Set It Next to a Plant

Set the jug on the uphill side of the plant. Loosen the cap.
Pay attention to what time it is (not really necessary)

Step 3: Come Back in a While and See How Much Water Is Left

Make the hole bigger if it's too slow.
I got about a gallon per hour and a half.

Comments

[CatTrampoline]

I did exactly the same thing to water some potted shrubs this summer. I do leave the cap off, though. It makes the jug easy to refill and avoids the whole vacuum problem.

I was going to write an instructable, but you beat me to it. I tip my hat to you. You make a good point about starting small with the hole - on my first try the hole was too big.

[yshinde1]

make it to to comanperson

[jimbotheconflictor]

I tried this earlier in the year. When I left the cap on the jug ended up collapsing and shriveling up as water dripped out. With the cap off it only lasted about 1hr. Did you have the same experience?

[lethalflatulence]

Yeah that happens.
maybe try a pinhole in the cap to let air in? Or try to just barely loosen the cap without opening it up all the way?
On the ones that drain too quickly, I leave the cap on for a while, then loosen it to let air in.

[lethalflatulence]

Also I've noticed that they slow down as they empty out. Usually I just dump the water out and fill them back up.