Homemade irrigation project

[Dynamo]

I saw this on You Tube and thought I'd give it a go.



The rate of flow is regulated by screwing the lid on and off.

[Snoop Puss]

Looks interesting. What are you proposing to water? If I've understood it rightly, if it's tomatoes down at ground level, you might have a problem with the leaves getting wet and hence being more prone to blight.

[Dynamo]

Yeah it'll be tomatoes amongst other things. I'll keep an eye on things as I go along. I might let them hang down lower at a later date.

[Jungle Jane]

How are the bottles going to be filled with water? Is there pipework?

[Snoop Puss]

You might find that more water will end up on the plant leaves than going into your pots. Any reason why you wouldn't hang them much lower or even bury them a bit in the soil? I think Cadalot has a lot of success using pop bottles buried in the soil.

[Dynamo]

As I said in my earlier reply, I'll look at putting them lower if need be.

I refill them with a watering can.

[Jungle Jane]

I half bury a couple of little bottles for courgette & cucumber watering it works well to get to the roots. When the bottles are in the ground you don’t have to worry about spilling water over the edge when you fill up which makes things quicker,but for the water to last longer you’d probably want a couple of little holes in the lid for slow release,I don’t use a lid,let us know how it goes I wonder is that two days worth of water & would you only be watering the top two inches of soil etc none for the deeper roots?

[roitelet]

Here is a method I use. Same pots as I started with and still going strong. Only need filling every 3-4 days depending on the weather. Just don’t forget to take the pots out of the soil for winter.

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...tion_5614.html

[Dynamo]

I don't think this idea is any good. It either drips too fast or it doesn't drip at all. It looks like I'll be trying your tip of putting the bottle cap in the soil. That might reduce the flow.

[bikermike]

I have some of those plastic spikes that you screw onto the tops of the bottles and then stick them in the ground. They have small holes in to release the water.

They work pretty well but
1) bottle screw threads change, so hang onto bottles that work (i have a collection of square mineral water bottles that i have cut holes in to allow suppprt and filling without removing)
2) they need regular checking (once a month) that the holes aren't blocked
3) upside down bottles need support

[Dynamo]

The idea of controlling the water flow by turning the cap didn't work. It either flowed too fast or not at all, so I'm now trying ropes to syphon water into the pots using capillary action. So far it seems to be working a treat with a drop about every 10 seconds.

[Dynamite]

Looking like a great drip feed watering system. I love re-used things.

Kind Regards.............Rob