Watering tomatoes in gh while away

[Containergardener]

Hi I'm wondering what the best method would be to water whilst away, without buying some sort of irrigation kit. Thought of standing the pots into gravel grit mix and water or upturned bottles into soil with small holes drilled in the tops. Any other ideas. Don't usually bother but with this hotter weather ???

[greenishfing]

Personally I think that the best way of all is to ask somebody to help. If you find a suitable person the thought of getting some of your crop should ensure that your plants receive the best possible care.

[ameno]

Assuming you can't get someone to do it for you, I've had good success with milk bottles with pin-prick holes in the bottom.
Make sure you experiment with hole size and number, though, so that you get the water flow right. If the holes are too small/few then the water will drain out too slowly, but too big/many and all the water will be gone in a day.
You can also augment the flow with microporous tape (the kind sold for wound dressing) over the holes. The glue is water resistant, so the tape won't come off, but the tape itself lets water through slowly.

[Vince G]

Depends on how long you're away, how good your mates are and how much you want to spend. I have 2 Irrigatia Sol C-24 irrigation systems to water my 10' x 10' polytunnel. One has drippers to water 7 tomato plants on one side of the poly. The other side has around 25 plants (chillies, peppers, melons, aubergines and cukes) so I use a seeper hose here as there are too many plants to have loads of branching pipes and drippers, the system pump has some limitations.

Each system draws from a 250 litre water butt which I topped up to the brim before we went on holiday and in the middle of last year's drought without any rain topping them up, the water in each butt lasted about 10 days.

When I'm away a neighbouring plot holder with whom I have a reciprocal agreement checks on my polytunnel reguarly to see if any extra water is required.

A system costs about £90 at the moment, not cheap but growing is my main hobby so I don't mind spending a bit of cash, and it saves a lot of worry.

[Containergardener]

Thanks greenishfing and VinceG as this is at home there isn't anyone who can do it. If it had been an allotment be easier.
Ameno I will look at that idea thanks.

[Jay-ell]

In my greenhouse I have a water but that feeds 4 lengths of soaker hose fed through a timer connected to a water but. I had used drippers which was originally put in to water pots, but decided that the soaker hose will be better now that I'm growing in the ground. In the polytunnel I use a Irrigatia Sol C-24 wo feed soaker hoses, although it could easilly use dripper systems.

I have also used ceramic capillary fed spikes like these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XVQ44...roduct_details to water stacks of peppers and tomatoes.