People with garden and house plants may struggle to keep them watered while they’re away on holiday, but a gardening expert has revealed a simple but ‘brilliant’ solution
05:00 ET, 26 May 2025Updated 05:15 ET, 26 May 2025
A gardening expert has shared his ‘fantastic’ method to keep your plants watered while you’re on holiday (stock photo)(Image: Getty Images)
A gardening guru has shared some handy advice for those planning a vacation but still need to keep their plants hydrated. For many, tending to the garden is a regular part of their routine, and seeing it thrive can be incredibly satisfying.
There’s a wide variety of plants and trees to grow, but they all require care. If you’ve got a vacation coming up and are unsure about how to manage your plants, Joseph Clark, also known as Joe’s Garden on social media, has some suggestions. Over the past two years, he’s been providing a monthly sustainable gardening kit and wrote the book Garden To Save The World. With over a million followers on TikTok, he frequently shares his gardening wisdom and tips online.
He recently posted a video on TikTok detailing his method for keeping his plants watered while he’s away. Clark advised: “This time of the year loads of us are going away on holiday but it’s important we still keep our garden and house plants watered so simply gather up a few different size bottles and start to heat up an old metal fork.
“Poke a small hole in the bottom of each bottle and another small hole in the cap.” His next step involves collecting some Q-tips or cotton buds, cutting them in half, and placing one half in the bottle cap and the other in the bottom of the bottle. Then, he instructs to fill each bottle with water.
Clark added: “After a few minutes you’ll notice some small droplets from the bottom Q-tip and if you remove the swab or the cap from the top it will release the pressure and speed up the flow of water.
“Place these bottles around all of your plants then let drip irrigation work its magic and keep them well watered for a good few days while you’re away.”
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In his TikTok video’s caption, the plant enthusiast advised that ideally, you should get family and friends to tend to your plants while you’re away but as that isn’t always possible, this technique is his “next best solution to help give your plants a slow release drink.”
He pointed out that this method can “buy you some time until you get back home” but it’s crucial to note that it’s effective for “around two to five days depending on a few factors, such as the flow, weather and the size of your bottle.”
Clark elaborated: “This method of watering, which is commonly known as drip irrigation, is used around the world in most farms, plant nurseries and garden centres as it is a super targeted way of getting water exactly where you need it, helping not only to water each specific plant, but also to reduce water waste.”
He divulged his secret for keeping plants hydrated while away, noting that he sets the flow to its “slowest possible setting to prevent water running out too fast.”
However, he cautioned that if this tactic is used for containers, it’s critical to ensure they have drainage holes to prevent waterlogging, which can be just as lethal as dehydration.
Clark’s TikTok tutorial has attracted plenty of admirers. One viewer acclaimed: “This is a fantastic tip! Works better than praying for rain.”
Someone else remarked: “This is a really great solution! Thank you for sharing.” Praise continued with comments like “what a great idea, thank you”, “brilliant”, and “very clever.”