Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old May 16, 2017   #1
Zeus123
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Georgia
Posts: 31
Default Installed the Irrigation System!

Hello!

So, I was beginning to get a little tired of spending 30 minutes a day hand watering my plants and I thought, 'WOW, I'm only a month and a half into the season and I'm already tired of this!" I'm a 28 year old man and certainly shouldn't have these feelings, but of course I leaned towards my millennial instincts and sought out a way to make my life easier. A quick trip down the road to HD and $50 later I now have a wonderful self watering container system as illustrated in the picture! Only took me maybe 25 minutes to setup from start to finish and works perfectly! I estimate that I have now saved myself 6,000 minutes per 200 day growing season (apr-oct) and maybe even as high as 9,000 minutes when the Georgia heat comes on and I would be required to be out there twice a day.

Only teasing, I actually love being outside and watering my plants, but last week I came home and the ones in the containers (the totes were fine although they are also containers) were showing some signs of needing water and I never like to see any signs of anything. Was the 1st day the temps were in the mid 80's and I instantly realized that there was no possible way I could avoid this issue unless I installed the irrigation system.

For anyone who doesn't have an irrigation system I HIGHLY recommend it based on the very small cost and installation effort. I can't stress enough that you still need to monitor the plants every single day to ensure that your watering 'schedule' is appropriate. You also must ensure that you really are getting the water all the way down. I've been experimenting with mine and at the moment I'm letting water run out the bottom and then testing all the areas in the containers with a moisture testing instrument to ensure the water really is getting to where it needs to go.

What I learned: Try and source only what you NEED from HD, Lowes, etc. Looked at some online 'kits' and quickly realized I needed things that weren't included and things were included that I certainly did not need. It's also so unbelievably simple that you would never need any directions to put this together. It's 90% common sense. The $50 was enough to outfit 10 containers and I still have enough to outfit my 10 pepper plants and the additional 5 tom's I'm planting this week.

I still spend those 30 minutes outside every day pruning away!

Please ignore my experimental container 2nd from the left. Although, it somehow reached 5ft tall already.

Zeus
Attached Images
File Type: png Drip Irrigation.png (628.0 KB, 157 views)
Zeus123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 16, 2017   #2
Worth1
Tomatovillian™
 
Worth1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
Default

You are on your way to automation.
I have just about tbe same thing yoj have coiled up in tbe barn.
I don't use it anymore.
With what I have now connected to my system is a hose bib.
I set my remote control on ten minutes.
I water the water turns off and I set the hose down.
Just about ready to reinstall the automatic drip.
Worth
Worth1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 16, 2017   #3
Zeus123
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Georgia
Posts: 31
Default

yes! love the new system. i have an automatic control for it, but i'm at the point where i only set it for the morning. once i get home from work i just turn it on depending on the plants needs.

Curious:

what sort of emitter do you use? i use the stake that sort of creates a '360 shower' (link below). seems to be working well, but i can't see it working as well for my pepper plants and trying to figure out the best option. any thoughts would be appreciated!

https://www.amazon.com/Vktech-Adjust...ation+emitters
Zeus123 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 16, 2017   #4
PureHarvest
Tomatovillian™
 
PureHarvest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b
Posts: 1,369
Default

Try this. About a 120 degree fan pattern. You need to get the leader assembly also that has the dripper. https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...l&rel=nofollow
https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...l&rel=nofollow
PureHarvest is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 16, 2017   #5
PureHarvest
Tomatovillian™
 
PureHarvest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b
Posts: 1,369
Default

By the way, nice job on going auto and building it yourself. It's not millennial, it's smart.
especially considering the low cost.
Next we need to set you up with getting nutrients into the line...
PureHarvest is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 16, 2017   #6
Worth1
Tomatovillian™
 
Worth1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
Default

I run drip line now in the garden and hunter bubblers on shrubs.
Worth1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 17, 2017   #7
garyjr
Tomatovillian™
 
garyjr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Mechanicsville, VA zone 7a
Posts: 97
Default

"What I learned: Try and source only what you NEED from HD, Lowes, etc. Looked at some online 'kits' and quickly realized I needed things that weren't included and things were included that I certainly did not need. It's also so unbelievably simple that you would never need any directions to put this together. It's 90% common sense. The $50 was enough to outfit 10 containers and I still have enough to outfit my 10 pepper plants and the additional 5 tom's I'm planting this week."

I looked at all the various on-line drip suppliers and HD/ Lowes and I found Drip Depot to have what I was looking for. They had a number of smaller kits, but they also allow you to customize them. For instance I thought I would need more of the 1/4" t's so I added another bag. Most of my containers are wood so I added the 1/4" hold down with the included nail. That made for a real neat appearance. My kit is the patio kit for 30 plants and runs 1/4" line direct from the source. No 1/2" header. I also added a timer. Total cost was around $75.00
__________________
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts." C.S. Lewis
garyjr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 18, 2017   #8
Father'sDaughter
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MA/NH Border
Posts: 4,917
Default

We're lucky that the supply house the local irrigation pros use is in the next town and they have no problem with selling to the public. While we don't get contractor pricing, the consumer prices are comparable to what we've found on line and you can walk in and buy just what you need.
Father'sDaughter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 29, 2017   #9
Shrinkrap
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: N. California
Posts: 694
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by PureHarvest View Post
By the way, nice job on going auto and building it yourself. It's not millennial, it's smart.
especially considering the low cost.
Next we need to set you up with getting nutrients into the line...
Yes, please!

I use the green 2 gallon per hour emitters, once a day now, twice a day in July and August. They are on the same controller as the rest of the stations in my back yard.
Shrinkrap is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:30 AM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★