It’s nearly that most wonderful time of the year again when you merrily leave home to spend an intense period of time with your family to watch nostalgic movies, wear novelty jumpers and stuff your face with Turkey. You get through Christmas unscathed and you think what a jolly, jolly time of year. Then you return home, walk through the front door and find that some of your plants have withered. And some of them, unfortunately, are dead. Whoops! You forgot to water them!
Thankfully, we have a simple hack to keep your plants happy while you’re away.
![String Irrigation 3](https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=a20e82dce291be57b9f0c8e8b9907dde 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=41ec830774e7b97a57c25afbb504eec3 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=7dc8fb142e93a74e0c2db7813fb96734 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-3.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=5f56e2118d1286f20c9edd494114cc80 400w)
1. Fill a jug or saucepan with water.
2. Take some cotton string. Place one end inside the jug, making sure it reaches the bottom of the container. If the string keeps rising to the surface, tie a small weight to it to keep it down.
![String Irrigation 2 2 1](https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-2-2-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=0d83abdf57918c2c60240d3d5626d4a5 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-2-2-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=f94d4e50f9178a66312e68ac22dde1e5 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-2-2-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=edd678949d15ada294be7c188d88b2db 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-2-2-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=18a552df6dfc4a575cae26624d1b32b7 400w)
3. Between the plant and the edge of its pot, make a small hole around 2 or 3 inches deep. Take care not to disturb the plant’s roots.
4. Feed the other end of the string into the hole you’ve made, and gently compact the soil around it to keep it in place.
5. As the soil dries out, water will travel up the string to replenish the moisture, so long as the string remains straight.
![String Irrigation 6 1](https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-6-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=9409fbf9910e16d8cb427cf2e62b0fdb 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-6-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=edbeef73762793bc3851d46553ea3a77 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-6-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=f307078f109bc40beac979ecf3f46368 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-6-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=0d9dff13a38f18216cd0fc33d672729a 400w)
Just a note: only use this hack for plants that need daily watering. Your succulents would rather you just let them be while you’re away from home, so long as it’s for no longer than a week or so.
And that’s it! So simple! Happy holidays to you and your plant babies.
![String Irrigation 4 1](https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-4-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=6d957b43067de108631189cc7af961e0 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-4-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=91002aab6812cf9bbed7a13e9f582e96 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-4-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=632c0d292e5793266575ae9face82c17 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/string-irrigation-4-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=a38cfddd57df4bb8af5e8ec8b6faf28e 400w)