With irrigation cones made of clay, you can confidently do without watering your plants for a few days. Equipped with standard plastic bottles, the clay cones become water dispensers for your plants.
Due to its porosity, clay is an excellent starting material for irrigation aids. In this article you will find out how you can use clay cones for watering plants, what advantages they offer, whether you can build clay cones yourself and much more.
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- How does irrigation with clay cones work?
- Water properly with clay cones
- Make clay cone watering yourself: Instructions
How does irrigation with clay cones work?
Clay cones are a smart way to keep potted plants hydrated for long periods of time, for example when you are on vacation. But how do the clay cones actually work? The clay cones, about the size of a finger, are placed on a standard plastic bottle filled with water instead of a lid. Then the clay cone is pressed into the earth with the water bottle. The water from the bottle runs into the clay cone and due to the porosity of the clay and the water pressure from above, the water slowly seeps into the earth. The way clay cones work is also related to the soil water tension, also known as suction tension. The suction tension in the soil is greater, the drier it is - that is, the drier the substrate, the more "absorbent" it is. If the suction tension of the potting soil is much greater than that of the clay, a lot of water seeps out of the clay cone. This means that irrigation with clay cones is more needs-based than irrigation using watering. However, this connection is only fully used by irrigation systems with drip hoses and water reservoirs, while Water bottles with a clay cone attachment press water into the ground due to their sheer weight and thus a little less according to needs water.
What are the benefits of clay cone irrigation?
- Less pouring: The water reservoir in the bottle lasts until after your vacation, depending on the thirst for plants and the size of the bottle.
- Demand-based water supply: As soon as the earth becomes too dry, new water seeps from the clay cone. This ensures an even water supply.
- Save water: As the water below the ground leaves the irrigation cones, the surface of the earth remains drier. This means that less water evaporates.
- Sciarid mosquito prevention: Another advantage of the drier soil surface: pests such as the annoying fungus gnats lay their eggs directly on the soil surface. If this is too dry when the larvae hatch, they die immediately, which is why sciarid gnats avoid dry substrate. Read more tips on how to do this in the next article Fighting fungus gnats.
Tip: One irrigation method for your vegetable patches that works on the same principle are so-called ollas. The large, bulbous clay pots are dug into the ground and then filled with water. Learn how to do this in another article Watering with ollas is working.
Water properly with clay cones
The application of the irrigation cones made of clay is very easy. As already described above, you only have to attach the clay cone to a plastic bottle with water.
You can buy clay cones for irrigation in a gardening specialist, in the garden department of a hardware store or on the Internet. Most clay cones are designed for use with commercially available plastic bottles. However, pay attention to the manufacturer's descriptions.
How long does the water reserve last in the bottle? That depends a lot on the needs of the plant, but also on the size of the bottle. A general statement cannot be made. If you go on vacation, it is best to test beforehand how long the water in the plastic bottle will last. If necessary, you can then choose a larger bottle.
Tip: Clay cones for irrigation are also offered in a variety of sizes, with larger cones giving off more water than smaller ones.
Clay cones can also be used in the bed. For example, equip your raised bed with clay cones, depending on the density of plants. Here, too, you should definitely test for how many days your plants have been supplied with water before going on holiday. If necessary, add more clay cones.
tip: If you don't like the look of the plastic bottles in the pots or if you want to do without plastic, you can use glass bottles instead. Green wine bottles in particular are less noticeable in the flower pots. When buying the clay cones, make sure that they are also designed for wine bottles.
At a glance: Use clay cones correctly
- Select the appropriate bottle: plastic or glass
- For plastic bottles:
- Drill a hole in the bottom of the bottle to avoid negative pressure
- Place the clay cone on the bottle opening and sink it into the ground
- Fill the bottle with water through the hole
- For glass bottles:
- Fill the bottle with water
- Place the clay cone on the bottle opening and sink it into the ground
Clay cone and drip irrigation combined:
Some manufacturers also offer entire irrigation systems with clay cones. Several clay cones are connected to one another via a hose. The water reservoir is a large canister that supplies all clay cones with water. Due to the suction tension, the system works without a pump or electronic control and can distribute more water both overall and selectively.
Make clay cone watering yourself: Instructions
Clay cones for irrigation are not easy to make yourself. To do this, you need to get clay, shape it accordingly, and then take it to a pottery to let the clay cone burn. There are also pottery workshops in some places that offer DIY days. It might be worth asking.
In our article on the Plant watering on vacation find more tips to keep your plants alive during your absence.