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Hi folks, I’m back again for your excellent help and advice. I’ve been thinking about the subject of watering my large raised bed. Because I’m in a wheelchair I have had to have a raised bed tall enough to get my legs under to be able to reach everything. I want to get an automatic irrigation system attached to a water butt. How much taller than my bed would the butt have to be to have enough gravity pull?
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I would say, not much. Get the tap height slightly higher than the soil height I reckon. 6” min should work.
Regards Rob -
Thanks Rob. Way less than I imagined. Now off to browse for the water buttComment
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The Head of water (volume) above the level will give you the flow. The 6" above will get the last few drops of water. A larger (& taller) vessel may give more benefit if it has to be installed slightly lower, than a shorter one.
(The last few gallons going into a watering can) in a drought. Just make sure you can get a watering can under the tap
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Thanks 4shoes. I kept thinking when looked at them online that the tap on some of them was way too low, then I saw you can get something to stand them on. Rather than pay silly money for one, I will get my husband to stand it on bricks or something similar.Comment
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Not sure whether this is possible but, to put you in control of the watering, could you get a ?solar pump with a spray attachment, that you could operate from your chair?
Somebody cleverer than I will know whether its possible, or not.Comment
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my system says 25cm which is about what I have. fine for trickle irrigation of 2 growbags.
also will depend how much water you have leaning on the tap, I only have a little 20l reservoirComment
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That’s a very good idea Veggie. I did see some solar irrigation systems whilst browsing last night. I’m thinking of getting one, but as I’m also going to be growing stuff in containers I might need a spray attachment too.
I can’t do without the irrigation system on a timer. Because of my disabilities, I can be taken into hospital at short notice, plus I might not be well enough sometimes to go do the watering. I would feel bad making my husband go do it all after he’s been working.Comment
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I will need it for much more than 2 grow bags Mike. I have a wheelchair raised bed which is 4ft x 10ft, so I’m not sure what would be right fro me. I’m a complete novice at all thisOriginally posted by bikermike View PostComment
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Too many variables such as weather, soil type, sort of plants grown etc to be able to give a good answer to how much water you need in any given year. Being the sort of person who dislikes revisiting jobs I tend to go for the large overkill but ugly solution for any issues like this.Originally posted by Wheelie View Post
So having just built a new poly-tunnel I'm looking at get a couple of 1,000 Litre IBC tanks to hold rainwater and hopefully put this one to bed finally for my garden.
I fully accept other people's requirements differ, and so a more aesthetically pleasing system would be better for them.Comment
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How deep is your raised bed, Wheelie? I'm asking because I rarely water anything in the ground. Only water newly planted seedlings or containers if we've had a hot spell, or GH plants. Mother Nature takes care of the rest!!Comment
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Perhaps one solution does not fix all your requirements
Keep a good mulch on your bed to conserve water. Big Tick
Use a Water Butt for day to day
Have an outside Tap with Water Timer for emergencies (or perhaps just a hose to top up water butt). Water sitting in the butt will release the chlorineComment
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I think the 25cm height would give a slow trickle whatever the size of bed & amount of hose etc you could start with something like that & see how it goes,then raise it if you need to,I found this info that mentions between 20cm & a meter -
“ What height does my tank or water butt need to be at?
There is no strict rule about the elevation height of your tank or water butt. You may wish to start with a base height of about 1 metre (which when when water is added to the tank could give you a further metre of waterhead, giving approximately 2 metres of waterhead. However you can adjust the waterhead level to whatever suits your growing needs (we generally recommend somewhere between 0.2 and 1 metre). If you increase the height of the tank or water butt, this will increase the pressure and increase the volume of water flow. Conversely, lowering the waterhead will decrease the pressure, and therefore the water flow will be lesser”
https://www.tankfedirrigation.com/product-faqLocation : EssexComment
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High veggie. Even this simple thing is difficult to tell you. OK, I’ll tryOriginally posted by veggiechicken View Post it’s been made so I can slide my knees under the outside part of the bed to be able to reach the centre. It’s basically done in a V shape. Shallower at the dies and deep right down to paving slabs in the middle, so I no idea how much soil will be in there as they haven’t to come fill it up yet. They say they will do this in approx a weeks time. Your guess is as good as mine!
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Hi 4shoes. I can’t use a hose or watering can as it’s way too difficult to move my wheelchair whilst carrying them. That’s why I need an irrigation system. My husband is going to go mad when he finds out how much all this will cost!! Thankfully I’m a spoilt bratOriginally posted by 4Shoes View PostPerhaps one solution does not fix all your requirements
Keep a good mulch on your bed to conserve water. Big Tick
Use a Water Butt for day to day
Have an outside Tap with Water Timer for emergencies (or perhaps just a hose to top up water butt). Water sitting in the butt will release the chlorine
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