Daily DIY: Using Air Conditioner Condensation to Water Your Plants
- by Erin Loechner (RSS feed) on Jul 31st 2009 9:00AM
- Filed under backyard science, landscaping
I'm horrible at keeping my plants happy and healthy, and even my outdoor plants often suffer from my forgetfulness. There's just too much to think about, and unless it's raining, I all too often forget about my dear green friends. Naturally, I'm filing this green idea under "Why didn't I think of that?".
Plant a tiny garden under the condensation pipe of your air conditioner. Regardless of your A/C model, water will drip from the pipe daily, keeping your garden healthy, wealthy and wise. Although the water that drips isn't a lot by any means, it's consistent, giving your plants plenty of water to grow.
Of course, be sure to choose plants that will only grow a few feet tall so the pipe won't be blocked by their leafy greens! Try dwarf azalea, holly fern and vinca, as they only grow up to three feet tall and enjoy shaded areas.
Now you'll have an excuse to crank up the A/C on those hot summer days!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-31-2009 @ 11:15AM
Bill said...
Holly ferns -- actually, most ferns -- and vinca would do well in this environment. Azaleas and other like shrubs actually like to dry out between waterings, so this may not be a good plant for direct a/c drip. If you collect the condensate, however, and then use that moisture to periodically water the shrubs, you are doing them a great favor. Another excellent water source is to collect your shower "splash" water and use that for irrigation.
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