Well, gardening in Texas is kind of a drag. Watering chores can get crazy, so here’s this solution. I took a foodservice former pickle bucket that was very well washed, and poked a hole in the bottom with a thumbtack. Then I poked another hole in the top of the bucket with the thumbtack so the water in it would get pushed down by air pressure and through the bottom hole over time. This is actually the second version I made of one of these things. The first version had three thin nail holes I pounded into the bottom of it and it also has a lid. That one’s been working okay, but the drip rate is too fast. I would ideally like this water drip rate to last oh, maybe half a week. To fill either of them, you just drag the hose over, fill them up, and put the top on. The first one I made drains in about 18 hours. It does help my tree sapling stay alive without obvious signs of water distress if I fail to water every single day. So I’ll see what happens.
Update, October 8, 2025: It works really well. There is green grass and fluffy soil beneath this thing and surrounding the area is dead, parched earth and brown cooked grass. And the tree it’s helping to keep alive is doing good. In fact it’s almost working too well, there are asters growing 3 foot high near it and butterflies they’re feeding. I gotta mulch more!
New Book of Days 
Leave a comment