Helpful Hack Can Keep Plants Watered While We Take A Vacation

Lex Gabrielle
house plants in pots on shelf
Unsplash | Prudence Earl

Planning a vacation is a lot of fun when it comes to planning what you are going to do on your trip and where you are going to go.

However, before you leave, there are many responsibilities you have to plan and take care of. If you have pets or plants, finding someone to help care for them while you're gone is imperative to their survival.

Having plants is almost like having kids.

plants in living room space with chair
Unsplash | Spacejoy

Having plants is a full-time responsibility because they need TLC, almost like human children. They need sunlight, water, and tons of love. But, when you're going away, it's not easy to care for plants—especially on a longer trip.

Many rely on family and friends to water their plants.

kid watering plants outside in garden
Unsplash | Filip Urban

Many people will ask friends and family to stop by the house to water their plants—however, it can be inconvenient for individuals to come by and do it every day for an extended period of time.

Fortunately, TikTok is here to save the day.

TikTok about watering plants with pot of water
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

User Justine Shannon, whose TikTok account is @selfcareplants, shared a new hack that every plant mama is going to want to use when they are going away on vacation. It's even useful for when you're leaving the house all day long.

First, you need a cotton macrame cord.

Cotton macrame cord amazon tiktok video
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

Justine said that you have to grab yourself a long cotton cord, she got hers on Amazon and it's a macrame cord. Make sure that it's long enough that you can get it from a distance.

Next, get a large pot to fill with water.

Pot of water on a wooden plate TikTok video
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

Make sure that the water is higher than the plants though, so you need to maybe use a book, or even a plate to position the pot higher than the actual plants would be on your table or shelf.

Make sure the cord touches the bottom.

strong in the pot of water touching bottom tiktok video
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

The pot should be rather full of water and the cord has to be on the bottom of the pot. The point is for all of the water to get into the cord to transfer.

Put the other end of the string deep into the soil.

Cord in plant for watering purposes
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

Put the cord into the soil as deep as you can go, so that you are able to make sure the soil gets the water. The other end should be in the pot.

In a later video, the TikTok user reported her plants were "thriving."

plants growing and thriving tiktok video
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

The TikTok user came back from vacation and gave people an update. The hack totally worked and her plants are 100% healthy and thriving—they even all grew while she was gone!

You can even see how much water was gone.

Empty water with plant watering hack tiktok video
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

Justine shared that the water even dropped immensely from how much water the plants needed while she was gone. And, there was even some left in the pot, so if she was delayed by a day or two, it probably would have been okay.

Even her most sensitive plants grew.

Plants growing tiktok video
TikTok | TikTok l selfcareplants

The TikTok user said even the plants that she was worried about "had growth" due to the watering system hack. It seems to be a surefire way to keep your plants alive and growing even when you're not home.

Next time you're going away, try it out for yourself!

plant gif
Giphy | LookHUMAN

Instead of asking your friends to come over and having to worry about leaving a spare key, you should give Justine's hack a try. You never know how much growth you'll get behind closed doors.