How to stop water dripping off balcony

[Soph1989]

I'm not sure if this is the right discussion to post my question in, but how do I keep water from dripping off my apartment balcony onto the balcony below me after watering my plants? I try my best to not over water the plants, but water leaks right through really quickly and the people below me are complaining. The gap between the balcony floor and the wall is probably one inch if not two all the way across (photo is attached). If I cut a pool noodle and stuff it in, will it keep it from dripping down? All of my plants have little saucers underneath that come with the pot, but there is still enough water to upset people I put a large serving tray underneath one and that one is up on a table but the others are on the ground. Thank you for the help!

[rainbowgardener]

Just get bigger plant saucers and then be a little careful when watering not to over do it. Works better to water a little, let it soak in, then water a little more. Plants get more benefit of the water that way, also. Just be sure when you are done watering to empty the saucers (maybe keep a bucket on the balcony to dump them into- you could re-use that water later).

[ButterflyLady29]

That's just what I was going to suggest. Bigger saucers under the pots.

[Soph1989]

I found some larger saucers at the dollar store luckily and they seem to be okay. Thank you for the suggestions

[imafan26]

You still want to make sure the water does not sit in the saucers. I know it is tedious but if the plants are not heavy just water them in the sink or the tub and drain them well before returning them. Otherwise if you can get a large window box that the pots can fit in and line it with a water proof liner. Make one drain hole and run a plastic tube from the drain to the ground. You can also try a SIP system. and run the overflow through a tube to the ground or into a bucket. you would have to raise the planters so the bucket will end up lower than the overflow drain.

[applestar]

I'm misery about rich water draining from the fertilized containers and prefer to capture them rather than letting them drain out into the ground to feed the weeds and grass, so I put catch trays under almost all the plants on my patio. I use sturdy and weather resistant 1020 nursery flat sized Permatrays for the most part, and also have found large round shallow galvanized pans at Tractor Supply that are perfect for large containers. I like trays that are about 2 inches deep.

After it rains, I have to go out and drain all of them. Easiest method is to have an extra tray on hand, start from one end and transfer the containers to the extra tray, remove the water filled tray and dump in a bucket, go to the next tray and repeat on down the line. The bucket of captured water can be used to water next time, which with containers is most likely to be the next day or the day after.

In my case, the saved water is often mingled with rainwater but if you are only capturing your own irrigation water, and especially if you use chemical fertilizers, you may need to dilute a little for re-using.

[Soph1989]

imafan26: Absolutely, I'll dump them out once the pot has finished draining. It is tedious, but I don't have too many plants for that reason
applestar: it sounds like you have a great system. That's what I did today; I have a large bucket for all of the saucers' leftovers and I'll use that to water them tomorrow. Today my leftover water is a dark yellow, but that's just from the fertilizer used correct?