No matter how carefully you try to look after your greenhouse, sometimes you just won’t be able to be there. If you don’t have a family member, friend or neighbor who can look after your plants in your absence, you’ll need to consider technological ways of making sure they get what they need. During short absences it’s usually sufficient simply to make sure that your plants watered, and there are several ways of doing this.

The simplest way to ensure that your greenhouse plants have access to sufficient moisture is to use a humidifier or mist system on a timer to create a misty atmosphere in the greenhouse. However, this blanket approach takes no account of the preferences of individual plants and may be overwhelming to young or delicate specimens. It also creates a more favorable habitat for disease organisms which can progress unchecked while you’re not there to deal with them.

A subtler approach involves setting up localized water sprays to target individual plants or rows of plants with a drip water system. These simple greenhouse accessories can be connected to a single water supply and timer, or can be provided with separate timers. You can also add nutrients to the water.

Capillary mats are the latest thing in greenhouse irrigation technology, and represent a good solution for seedlings and small potted plants. You simply place one end of the mat in a tray of water, extend the rest of it over a polythene mat, and place your plants on top where they can wick water through the mat according to their needs.

With all these different irrigation solutions available, it’s down to you to decide what’s most appropriate for your greenhouse. With careful planning and at only minor cost, you can avoid over watering and make sure that your plants never dry out, even when you can’t be there.