Topic: Lottie watering system?

[kenkew]

Have tried mini piping from a butt on the lottie but because it's not clean/clear tap water the holes bung up. Anyone got a fool-proof drip feed system which uses rain water?

[Roy Bham UK]

Just a thought :o How about connecting one of those washing machine hoses that come with fine filter and also add some fine grit and gravel to the bottom of the butt? ??? ;D 8) that's assuming the hose is fitted to the bottom of the container ???

[aquilegia]

My sister's looking for a watering system to water her balcony plants when she's away. She lives in Madrid now, so very very hot and is often away for a week. Needs to be able to connect to a water containing vesel as she doesn't have an outside tap. Ideas?

[kenkew]

There is a gadget that screws onto a pop bottle from T&M seeds. You push the cone shaped fitting into the soil and it drips away. OK for a few days in summer but hardly sufficient for a week or more.

[wardy]

You can buy a bag which holds sufficicient water for two weeks and it drips onto capilliary matting or soaker hose.  The bag is filled with water and hung up.  Or you can fill a reservoir (see Tim's post) and stand the plants on cap. matting.  all this stuff is available from Two Wests & Elliott   They have a web site and catalogue.  They are ok as well - their factory is near me in Chesterfield.

[kenkew]

I'm thinking more for greenhouse on the lottie. Things in pots would do alright on matting but growing under cover in soil is what I'm trying to sort out.

[Justy]

would also be interested in hearing from anyone re this.  BTW the things that screw onto pop bottles I found them to be rubbish.  The bottle collapses in on itself as the air is sucked out and the tips over and squashes the plant!

Kenkew how did you put together your system with the water butt?  I was thinking of something along those lines too.  What I may do though is fill the butt with the hosepipe before I go away so the water is clean (I know, I know - not very earth motherish but when it comes to my baby plants I just want them to survive without me!!  ;D)

[Justy]

they are good Wardy!  This might be useful:

http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/product/WBDK.htm

[SpeedyMango]

My sister's looking for a watering system to water her balcony plants when she's away. She lives in Madrid now, so very very hot and is often away for a week. Needs to be able to connect to a water containing vessel as she doesn't have an outside tap. Ideas?

Aqui - my Dad uses these: http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/product/SDBDWK.htm in his greenhouse. My folks own a narrowboat and they are often away for up to a month in the summer. The systems seems to work well for him - he can either adapt the system to run from his water butt (next to the greenhouse) so it will last for ages, or get a neighbour to come in and re-fill the watering bag after a week or so.

He also uses those water retention granules in his pots and hanging baskets. He doesn't mix them with the soil though, but fills an old sock (or pair of my Mum's tights) with them and puts it at the bottom of the pot/basket then fills with compost. Seems to work a treat, as their baskets and tubs always look fantastic.

[wardy]

Two Wests sell irrigations systems which run from your allotment water butt.  These can come with an in-line filter so you don't get blockages.  They do  two lengths of soaker hoses and all the kit and kaboodle ;D

[wardy]

Justy I just set my water butt up on my plot.  Old blue plastic barrel with a lid.  I bought a tap from Wilko which is called a "water butt tap" and you have to drill a hole in the bottom your butt!  and fit the tap.  You can get a special drill attachment which needs to be the right size for the tap.  If you have a good lid on your butt you shouldn't get too much problem with blockages.

My water butt fills from guttering and a down pipe into the butt from off the shed roof and it catches no end of water, so much so we're thinking of linking a couple more as it's a fair treck to the standpipe on the lotty.

You can put a filter in to the tap before it's fixed into position (Two Wests again) but I didn't bother.  My butt is raised up on four breeze blocks so my watering can fits nicely underneath.   :)

[Justy]

ooh not sure about the drilling a hole in my butt!!! ;) ;D   I have a water butt but when we tried to fit the tap it kind of disappeared into the hole (that was already there).  Really annoying because the water just runs out of it now.  Didn't know that could buy replacements so will get to Wilko to buy one. (Unfortunately nearest Wilko 20 miles away - expensive tap!)  Will then try to rig up some kind of drip system using old unneeded hosepipe and bungs!

[Clayhithe]

The tap on my butt (water butt) is a couple of inches up from the bottom so dirt collects below the tap.
I attached a short hose to the tap and a Gardena filter/pressure reducer/diameter reducer to the hose.   Then I attached the microbore pipes with drip feeds on the end.   Works a treat :D

The drops of water gather on the drippers and grow algae:  this clogs the dripper and every couple of weeks I dismantle them and blow through them.

Very fine grit gathers at the low points of the tubes and blocks them:  blow through them now and again.

Drip irrigation is definitely not maintenance-free:
but it's a lot easier than watering twice a day.

[kenkew]

I catch rain water and fill two large connected water butts from the roof. Both butts are also linked to keep the level equal in both. I also have an over flow system which runs into the 'greenhouse'. Last year I connected a drip system from the tap of one butt using micro bore piping and drip 'taps' at each plant location. Worked OK for awhile but like I said at the start, it all clogs up. Only way really is to fit a tap to a container and let the rainwater level decide when to overspill into the greenhouse. Just have to hope for rain while I'm away!
I suppose I could fit a direct feed from roof to plant, snag would be the hit and miss of getting enough/to much water?

[moonbells]

This is the site I keep meaning to order from... once I've worked out how to do it  given I have raised beds...

http://www.gardensystems.co.uk/products.asp?type=Water%20Butt%20Pipe

moonbells

[Clayhithe]

it all clogs up.

Yes,  it does,  but it's worth doing.

Blowing through once a fortnight is better than watering twice a day.

No?

[Derekthefox]

My friends have a holiday home south of Alicante and water their plants this way for pots up to about 15 inches across.

Soak the pot with a hose before leaving.
Insert a filled 5 litre water bottle, head down into the soil in the pot, pushing down well to plug the end of the bottle with soil.
Ensure the top of the pot is covered with gravel to retain moisture.
As the water is consumed or evaporates, it will be drawn out of the bottle - this method actually works!
If necessary, use two water bottles, but one is normally adequate except for the middle of the summer.

[Fingle....]

I was just thinking something like that was the answer D

[derbex]

I run seephose from my water but to irrigate the greenhouse, runs off a timer. Bury the hose in the soil or under mulch. Doesn't seem to clog up.

Don't know what I'll do this year as I'm half way through replacing the soil and everything's in growbags.

Jeremy.

[kenkew]

Timer? On the plot? Is it clockwork?