Very Simple, Automatic Plant Waterer --Could Be Used in Arid Climates

I was talking to my dad last week, and he was describing a homemade contraption he came up with to automatically water a plant while he was away on vacation. I thought the idea had good merit and a lot of potential for use in arid climates, so I'll share it.

Basically, what he did was to set a one gallon milk jug on the floor next to his blood banana plant. He stuck a short length of hemp rope into the jug, all the way down to the bottom, from what I gather. He took the other end of the rope and draped it over to the pot holding the plant and buried the end of it, just a little bit, in the potting soil. That was all it took to wick water from the jug to the pot. I think he was gone for about 2 weeks, and he said it seemed to have steadily watered the banana the whole time.

I will try to sketch up his set-up here in the coming days and get it posted as well.