automated irrigation of organic garden, will this work?

just wondering how people do it

i am planning on having a reservoir and a pump with those spaghetti tubes just like hydroponics but have the pump set really low and have it on a timer so it comes on once to a few times a day for 15 minutes.

i would also Put an air pump in the reservoir to keep it nice and oxygenated.

are these any other methods which will allow me to leave my plants for at least a week? im really struggling to find any guides or anything on how to do it.

thanks

You can def set up a system to water itself but several times a day for 15min at a time is gonna drown soil plants. With rock wool i only water twice a day. You need to find a timer with the option to customize days of the week. Not sure where is pick this up at. A hydro shop might have a controller that can do this but i think that would be more expensive.

You could always go hydro. Even then you'll not want to leave a res unchecked for more than 4 days, MAX.

i was thinking with 30 plants in 2gal pots a small pump on a low speed would drip water for 15 minutes without over saturating.

just get a $10 digi timer from a hardware store...they store like 36 setting or something, give it a heavy watering every 2 days while you are away if you have ok drainage, i wouldnt rely on it unless you were away

thanks, going to have to leave it for much longer than 4 days. i didnt know you could get digital timers like that, they definately look like what i need for a pump.

Those digital timers can be set for like 1 minute increments. If you get some of those low flow drippers used for xeriscape irrigation, and you know how much you water each plant today, then you should be able to keep them on pretty much the same schedule while you're gone.

how does this look?

pump: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Submersible-Water-Pond-Garden-Pump-Filter-1400L-H-New-/310241101457?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PondsWaterFeatures_UK&hash=item483bcf8691

20mm hose: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20MM-PIPE-HIGH-PRESSURE-DRIPPER-SYSTEM-METER-X-2-/370440387835?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item563ff7bcfb

4mm hose: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4MM-DRIPPER-LINE-X-5-METER-/370440404297?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item563ff7fd49

manifolds: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20-WAY-MANIFOLD-KOI-FISH-POND-AQUARIUM-HYDROPONICS-/400191102780?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PondsWaterFeatures_UK&hash=item5d2d3f9f3c#shId

drippers: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-X-Adjustable-dripper-sprayer-Garden-Irrigation-/220728552680?pt=UK_Home_Garden_GardenEquipment_HandTools_SM&hash=item3364726ce8

digital timer: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digital-LCD-7-Day-Electronic-Plug-Timer-Switch-24hr-/180625351191?pt=UK_BOI_Materials_Supplies_Electrical_ET&hash=item2a0e1c2217

Looks good. There are commercial greenhouses that use a similar setup all the time. You may like it so much you never go back to manual watering. I switched over to the autopot systems years ago and don’t miss manual watering at all. One final thought (I'm sure you know) is that you'll want to run the system a while before going away to figure out how long the pump needs to run each time and how many days/hours to wait between watering.

ok thanks, thats great.

I thought a drip system in soil causes dry pockets int he soil am I wrong?

Maybe it depends on the type of soil you use. I assume he's using some sort of soilless mix rather than actual dirt. Here's a link to the commercial system I referred to - http://www.hydro-gardens.com/gsystem.htm

They use sprayers but the dripper he's planning to get is pretty similar in that it doesn't just drip from a single hole, it looks like a mini sprayer. As long as the medium supports decent capillary action there should be no dry pockets.

using 50% compost 25% perlite 20% worm humus 5% biobizz premix

yes, the drippers i bought apear to have 6 holes or so and spray out to the sides, i dont think dry spots will be a problem if i possition them right.

weetsie said:

using 50% compost 25% perlite 20% worm humus 5% biobizz premix

yes, the drippers i bought apear to have 6 holes or so and spray out to the sides, i dont think dry spots will be a problem if i possition them right.

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Holy crap. Add some coco or peat to that. That type of soil mix + drip irrigation= over saturated soil, every time. Depending on how long you veg, I'd also increase container size a bit as well, the yield increase is more than worth the extra soil.

Hey man, I think this thread might help you out.

https://www.rollitup.org/organics/300439-no-worry-watering-system-organic.html

And I would run it at a really low volume for longer periods of time.

my 2cents: if you are planning on doing automated feeding organics you will have to switch you reservoir solution often, like every 3 to 5 days. The length of this will depend on the ingredients in your nutes. Some nutes go bad fast, and some don't. I use fermented plant extracts, and they need to be watered within 24 hours of mixing with water. But I also use some soft rock phos and that can bubble for days, and gets more available as it goes. The plant extracts get worse. Organics are not all the same. I see folks doing "organic auto" and they use a mix of organic and semi-organic products. They have to use the clear and thin ferts, or everything gets clogged. That means no molasses or other thick sticky ingredients. much luck to you , this is the future for sure. rize up!

Good point on the clogging Matt. I forgot to mention one of the most important parts for autowatering. I always use an "Israeli" filter to keep the chunks out of the lines. http://www.altgarden.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=745

I used to feed Earth Juice nutrients from a reservoir that bubbled constantly. This was growing in Autopots. With the filter the lines stayed pretty clear but they did need to be flushed out between grows or else they would clog up. I'm now using the same system except I use SuperSoil and just straight water. When additional nutrients are needed I bubble up some EJ for a day or two and pour directly into the pots.

i bought some coir/coco and im going to mix a bit of that in. also reading that perlite is not so great as all it does it displaces what could be useful compost.

Nice. Please be sure to let us know how it turns out...

I have been considering the same thing ,just so I dont have to pull out plants to water . Daily would be too much and organics spoil in rez . I was just going to set it up manually as if your watering after your dry cycle and fully saturate the whole pot once . Water just like you would normally but let the pump do the work for you .