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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43821
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 25 10:35 am Post subject:

Quote:

WHY?! I am so going to regret this when I have to keep them watered all summer.

tom is a thirsty boy, auto drip watering?

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19862
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 25 8:05 am Post subject:

I am going to set up an automatic watering system in the greenhouse. I've only had it a year and didn't get around to it last year. I've got most of the bits for it now but I didn't plan for a hanging basket in there!

(My garden shed is still full of inherited bits from my mum and my mum-in-law including three hanging baskets. Not something I would normally have myself.)

Clovelly has lovely gardens, we must visit them again with you Jamanda.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9928
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 25 10:34 am Post subject:
I keep meaning to set up automatic watering....

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43821
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 25 11:50 am Post subject:

auto drip at high pressure low volume with or without a timer rig are fairly easy and very affordable or scrapheap challenge

fancy can include full recycled hydroponic, easier than many think for "outdoor stuff" as water and feed are the only two criteria you need to address

iirc i have a ww2 booklet about outdoor hydroponic veg for soil-less situations such as balconies and yards, i cant remember how that was given a flow or monitored for feed and O2 etc

small solar pond pumps have enough lift if the reservoir is well positioned relative to the crop (get two if you need to gain ht)

hanging baskets are pretty and pita, water retaining gel grains can help but any heavy drinkers still need constant attention in drying weather

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43821
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 25 11:58 am Post subject:
ps my farm size pumpkin patch was scrapheap watering and zero attention once the holes in the pipe were the correct size etc checking the leccy fence to keep the piglets out was the big task

Chilli-head

Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 6

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 25 11:15 am Post subject:
My tomatoes are up ! They are at a toasty 23C, mainly for the benefit of the chillies in there with them (yet to show) Once they are planted in their final positions in the greenhouse, they are watered from an (internal) water tank, using a computer water cooling pump on a timer.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16249

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 25 9:15 am Post subject:
You have a sophisticated set up Chilli-head. Are you into computers, or are you a passionate chilli and tomato grower?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43821
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 25 10:18 am Post subject:
pooter fans, and pumps from high end water cooled, are ace scrapheap stuff for gardening needs reliable and fairly safe, ditto old style windscreen wiper motors

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9928
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 25 1:43 pm Post subject:

Chilli-head wrote:

Once they are planted in their final positions in the greenhouse, they are watered from an (internal) water tank, using a computer water cooling pump on a timer.

I need something like that - I have two waterbutts in the gh (fed off the roof) I should set up a timer and watering hoses to save me lugging watering cans about. and remembering. otoh it is nice to go in each day and view things. Is yours a homemade system or something you bought?

Chilli-head

Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 6

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 25 3:19 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

You have a sophisticated set up Chilli-head. Are you into computers, or are you a passionate chilli and tomato grower?

Sort of, for both questions ! I'm a contradiction, my day job is electronics and computing (machine vision guidance systems for agricultural weeding machinery), but at heart I am a luddite gardener !

I only have a small (6'x8') greenhouse, but I'm a 3rd generation (at least) tomato grower - my grandad used to get his plants from the sewage works where they grew as volunteers. My dad grew a lot, thankfully in more sanitary conditions. I helped him keep going as long as he could - he had a rather bigger greenhouse - now it falls on me to maintain the family tradition. I do love peppers and chillies - growing and cooking - too. Hence the screen name ...

I've been through several designs of automatic watering, from complicated (homebrewed electronics with moisture and temperature sensors) to a simple timer. IME, simplicity has the advantage.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16249

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 6:52 am Post subject:

As a former microelectronics assembly engineer, I always put any success I had to being a fairly simple soul with knowledge of using cardboard, foil and sticky tape to best advantage. Yes, simple is best.

Having seen a lot of things in the early stages, and trying to persuade them to work, I have a very low opinion of electronics, so am regarded as a Luddite by my family.

Nothing wrong with sewage farm tomatoes; the seeds go through pretty well undamaged, so sewage sludge is always a good source of seed. You never know what variety you will get though.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6670
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 10:54 am Post subject:
In terms of threading the needle for what's appropriate level of tech, this guy's diy evaporation based controller approaches has seemed like a neat idea to me: https://www.measuredirrigation.com/

Chilli-head

Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 6

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 2:34 pm Post subject:

It's not particularly well explained; if I'm understanding right, the valve has a lower, "turn on" level and a higher "turn off" point; one controlling nozzle fills the evaporator from the lower to the higher level, and we assume the same amount of water is applied to each plant as it does so.

I envisage an issue that the evaporating tray needs to have the same rate of loss of water as the plant. A tomato plant has a lot of leaf area, that varies as it grows. It could need a pretty big evaporating surface to equal a full grown plant. Or maybe I'm not understanding it.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6670
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 10:06 pm Post subject:

The "sensor"/controller is basically a float valve like in a toilet tank. Adjusting the refill rate into it adjusts how long an irrigation system runs. So, it will lose water relative to the surrounding environmental/climate conditions, and you just tweak how long it takes to refill itself when it empties to adjust it to your conditions.
Not perfect for everyone, but pretty neat for working in a gravity system with essentially no power need

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16249

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 25 8:30 am Post subject:
Seems a good idea.

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