If you are limited as to how much time you have to spend watering your plants it may be a good idea to set up an automatic watering system.
Here are 3 different systems which are very useful and simple to set up which may help.
Dripline Run From A Water Butt
If you want to water outdoor or indoor raised beds, troughs or pots then one of the easiest methods is to set up a drip system fed from a water butt.
Dripline is basically a 4mm piece of tubing with integrated dripper valves spaced every 30 centimetres. The valves deliver 2 litres of of water per hour.
The higher the water butt is off the ground the better as this maintains a reasonable level of water pressure. Attach an automatic water timer such a the “Hoselock Sensor Controller” to the tap of the water butt and then run a 13mm delivery pipe from the timer to the beds/troughs/pots etc.
Attach the 4mm drip line hose to the delivery hose using a reducer then set up the drip line in a series of loops to give coverage of 1 dripper per square foot.
The water timer needs to be designed for a non pressurised system and can be set up to come on for a set time as often as required each day.
For example … if the timer comes on for 5 minutes twice a day then each dripper will deliver 0.33 litres of water per day … a mug of water.
Once this system is set up all you have to do is top up the water butt or tank once every 2 weeks and replace the batteries in the controller every 6 months..
All the components for this system can be found online at www.waterirrigation.co.uk
Capillary Action Cocomats
If you want to keep young seedlings and plants watered in a greenhouse or polytunnel it maybe a good idea to set up a capillary watering bench.
You will need to buy a Garland tray and coco matting or capillary action fleece to place in the tray.
If using the fleece you need to buy a metal riser to hold the fleece above the water in the tray but the coco mats sit in the tray and are strong enough to take the weight of any plant pots so a riser is not required.
The tray will require topping up with water once a week and the young plants should still be watered from above on occasion.
Keep the tray topped up and clean out on a regular basis to keep algae under control. Both ends dipped into the water in the tray.
Garland trays and capillary fleece of various sizes can be bought from www.twowests.co.uk
Coco matting can be bought from www.autopot.co.uk
Autopots
The autopot hydroponic system is mainly used in greenhouses and polytunnels to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines but can be used to grow most plants apart from root vegetables and potatoes and is a flood and drain system with the tank needing topped up every 1-2 weeks depending on water usage.
This is a very simple system to put together as all that is required are 2 different size of hose and all the fittings are push fit, so it is just a matter of cutting the hose to the correct lengths and connecting up the fittings.
The system is run from a large water tank or butt and if configured in a long line of pots then a 13mm delivery pipe takes the water to the pots where 4mm spurs then take the water into the Autopot valve which allows 20mm of water to fill the bottom of the Autopot tray in which a square Autopot sits.
The valve is mechanical and works similarly to a ballcock. Once the plant has used up the water in the tray the valve then opens and allows another 20mm into the tray.
Nutrients can be added into the tank so that all plants are fed and watered continuously.
For more information on the Autopot system go to www.autopot.co.uk