Slow-release watering

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blitz007

Active Member
Hey guys, i'm new on this forum. I have about 4 years of experience with outdoor growing and am looking into taking a different approach to watering my outdoor crop this year. When I say crop I am only talking about 10-15 plants. Traditionally I have gone out and watered my plants with a watering can 3-4 times a week depending on the precipitation that week. Now I live in southern Ontario and the majority of the summer can be very dry with very little rain week to week which would always be very exhuasting when it came time to watering. I'd like to take a bit of work off my back this year by setting up some sort of slow release watering system. So far I have seen products like the Aquaspike, Aquarocks, and Treegator bags. But none of those seem to fit what I need. I am hoping to set something up so that I only have to make 2 trips out a week to water my plants. Nothing to elaborate, just something that will feed the kids in the days between. Does anyone have any ideas they can share with me??

thank you
 
Beaner

Beaner

Well-Known Member
how bout a 5 gallon bucket with a few tiny holes in the bottom, you fill them up and they slowly drain, or you could go high tech with a camo water bladder up in a tree and driplines carrying the water to the plants.

or you could plant closer to water to make you trips shorter, or make your own little mini pond with a tarp and a big ass hole...
 
rolln1up

rolln1up

Well-Known Member
Heres a method I have used with success during dry summers. Dig your hole about 16-20 inches and in the bottom place a dipper. THe brand doesn't matter but the bigger the dipper the better. Adult sizes hold more liquid I think so if your pride isn't a problem I would use those. That dipper will hold an amazing amount of water. Just pour water into one and watch how much it can suck up. If I can recall my experiments I got 240 ML in one without leakage. It should hold enough water to sustain your plant between waterings. GOOD LUCK
 
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blitz007

Active Member
Oh you mean a baby diaper. So by doing this, when you water your plant heavily, the diaper saturates and as the rest of the soil dries up there will tend to be water left in the diaper and the roots will work their way into it and absorb it?

I wonder how long a diaper would absorb water in the bottom of a hole before it became just garbage.
 
Mr.Pyrex

Mr.Pyrex

Well-Known Member
blitz007 said:
Hey guys, i'm new on this forum. I have about 4 years of experience with outdoor growing and am looking into taking a different approach to watering my outdoor crop this year. When I say crop I am only talking about 10-15 plants. Traditionally I have gone out and watered my plants with a watering can 3-4 times a week depending on the precipitation that week. Now I live in southern Ontario and the majority of the summer can be very dry with very little rain week to week which would always be very exhuasting when it came time to watering. I'd like to take a bit of work off my back this year by setting up some sort of slow release watering system. So far I have seen products like the Aquaspike, Aquarocks, and Treegator bags. But none of those seem to fit what I need. I am hoping to set something up so that I only have to make 2 trips out a week to water my plants. Nothing to elaborate, just something that will feed the kids in the days between. Does anyone have any ideas they can share with me??

thank you
Click to expand...
Hello from a fellow Ontarioan?

First off get some sponges from the dollar store and cut them all up into pieces and put them in the soil at different depths. Second your going to want something water retaining in your soil such as perlite or peat moss. third plant near a river or water source which means less watering. also covering your plants roots and stem with mulch or anything you can find in the area so the sun does not dry up the soil when it gets really hot.

set your watering schedule based on the weather

cheers
 
Gygax1974

Gygax1974

Just some idiot
Hey I just posted about these guys. i am using them to design my next veggie garden grow. Nothing awe inspiring or new but they have some nice little set-ups/misters/drips/etc. I noticed you mentioned your back, these guys have a simple system to hook your hose faucet up to a drip system, all you have to do is turn on the hose and then remember to turn it off...or they do sell a timer. Lets us know what happens, I always like to learn about other gardening projects...even the veggie/flower gardens....never know what I might learn:mrgreen:

Drip Irrigation

good luck
 
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blitz007

Active Member
Well my plants can't be hooked up to a real drip irrigation system as they are not anywhere near a hose. But the sponge idea sounds pretty interesting. My only worry is with doing this that I put too many pieces of sponge in the dirt and therefore end up holding too much water within the root system and in turn overwatering them. But as for the soil i'd be using, yes it would have peat moss in it since i'd be using potting soil. I have had really good results from potting soil as I find the roots can breathe even when the soil is saturated, also I find it doesn't compact over the summer over heavy rain days.

I appreciate all the feedback guys
 
weezer

weezer

Well-Known Member
hey guys i am going to try a drip system using gravity.. large 100 liter barrel in a tree or the best on a hillside,run a main trunk or 3 off the barrel,then run 1/8 in hose off it to each plant ... you can fill barrel with pump, or by hand.. you can put ferts right into barrels no need to make paths to your plants(unless prolem)...not sure how much pressure thier would be it will take some partical and find tunning .. you can also hang a pail in near by tree and run small hose to plant.. i think they make bags for that purpose... weezer
 
rolln1up

rolln1up

Well-Known Member
blitz007 said:
Oh you mean a baby diaper. So by doing this, when you water your plant heavily, the diaper saturates and as the rest of the soil dries up there will tend to be water left in the diaper and the roots will work their way into it and absorb it?

I wonder how long a diaper would absorb water in the bottom of a hole before it became just garbage.
Click to expand...

My bad on the spelling I've been eating two many brownies and cookies this week. Yah I meant baby diaper. As for you question about it becoming garbage. The jell stuff that absorbs water, its some kind of weird jell, will always absorb and store water no mater how long it is left in the ground and a lot more water than a few cut up sponges. Just wet, saturate, a diaper and than saturate a sponges and see how many it takes to equal the diaper. This summer we experienced the horrible drought as much of the south east united states did and the diapers kept my kids healthy and watered for the two weeks between waterings.
 
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blitz007

Active Member
So all it takes is one diaper at the bottom of the hole? When you harvested the plants that you used a diaper with, did you happen to dig up the diaper to see how much roots had encased the diaper? I think it would be interesting to see.

Also, your plants went 2 weeks without watering??? If I could leave my plants more than 3 days without worrying about them during a dry spell, i'd be a happy camper.
 
kochab

kochab

New Member
put a couple 5 gallon bucket sull of water out there with lines run out of them to the plants.....attach a battery operated pump to that and put it on a small timer.
or use those gel rocks that hold water.....mix a bunch in the soil.
 
rolln1up

rolln1up

Well-Known Member
10 days to 2 weeks depending on my mood. I'm just paranoid about growing outside so thats how the diaper thing started. No I have never dug up a diaper root ball at harvest time I just whack and run, but I might have to now it would be interesting?
Gel rocks that'll probably work good to wonder how much they cost.
 
kochab

kochab

New Member
dunno but ive seen a buddy use them. he grew in the desert with em. plants grew great. low humidity and lots of light. a bit cold at nighttime though.
 
Taipan

Taipan

Well-Known Member
Beaner said:
how bout a 5 gallon bucket with a few tiny holes in the bottom, you fill them up and they slowly drain, or you could go high tech with a camo water bladder up in a tree and driplines carrying the water to the plants.

or you could plant closer to water to make you trips shorter, or make your own little mini pond with a tarp and a big ass hole...
Click to expand...
this was posted, 01-02-2008, 12:05 PM isnt this after Beaner disappeared?
 
burbsking

burbsking

Well-Known Member
ive been thinking about this problem alot too, ive goto find a way to water my babies soon...

i was thinking of getting a large drum and running a main line off that and run smaller lines to each plant. i found a special low pressure digital time for rain water tanks etc so im thinking this could be an easy way to go about it. except the time is around 80 dollars

set timer for 3 days a week, premix nutes in the drum and refil every week or so.

also gona use water crystals which are too expensive and are good at slow release
 
naturalhigh

naturalhigh

Well-Known Member
yea just cyica beans//that or dig into the soil a 55 gallon drum above your pants and run lines coming down thats gravity feed with the buiplont auto matic watering tips///they release water when its dry and stop when its wet...work like a charm...
 
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abso1utepain

Well-Known Member
ok baby diaper??? lol well kinda good idea, but heres an easier one, go to a local garden center, ask for polymer crystals, or go on ebay, amazon, or any gardening/hydro sites, and get polymer crystals. they are the crystals in diapers basicly, well on the same idea, you just mix a few tablespoons of the powder into the soil and it will absorbe and hold the water untill the soil around it dries out then it slowly releases it, they are good for 3-5years befor they break down, and they do break down so its not like they will be there forever. i use them in my vegetable garden with no adverse effects other than i need to water less. and since they expand alot when wet it helps keep the soil loose. between vermiculite, peat moss, and polymer crystals i only water my vegetable garden if it doesn't rain for 20 days.

hope this helps!
 
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