Drip watering system advice please

Hi all,
I have a greenhouse on my allotment with tomatoes, cucumbers and capsicums in growbags. I have difficulty getting there everyday to check the watering situation so I'm looking into getting some kind of drip-watering system that will cover for me.

I'd need some kind of reservoir to fill as there's no direct link to a tap. I'm guessing that I need to hook a water-butt type thing to a run of pipes and valves or buy a ready-made solution.

What advice can you offer, please? Any experience with bought or home-made solutions?
What do you do to cover this problem, apart from friends, family and neighbours?!

Thanks.

 

Of course, with mains water and electricity you're spoilt for choice - for those of us without either of these, the choices are somewhat limited to say the least.

I've tried to post a link, but it doesn't seem to like it, so I can only suggest you look at somewhere like www.twowests.co.uk and search for 'drip irrigation systems'. I've got the 'bag drip watering kit', (for which you can buy extra bags, tubes and all sorts of 'add-ons'). You need to be aware that once filled the bags are heavy and I found fixing them to the grooves in my aluminium greenhouse wasn't as easy as it could have been. That said, the system worked well.

You might want to take a look at their 'Iriso Tank Connector' which might possibly suit your purpose a little better by allowing you to have a much larger reservoir.

 

I've been thinking about the same sort of thing to make watering of my poly tunnel easier whilst on holiday, but using that irrigation system from Two Wests & Elliot would cost over £100 excluding a water reservoir.

I was thinking more along the lines of making a stand for the 25 gall water barrel I already have in there, fitting a hose union tap to control flow, a T piece and connecting up two lengths of car boot hose pipe with plugged ends and some holes drilled in it to water the borders.

 

Thanks for the link Fidgetsmum. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for but as Scrungee says, it could get expensive. To be fair I wouldn't mind paying that if I knew it would definitely do the job.
The cheapest solution I've come up with so far is to make something using fish tank airline. There's loads of it on ebay for not much money at all (5 metres for £2.00, average price) and the connectors are cheap too.
I might give this a go anyway as it's not much to lose if it doesn't work. It's just connecting it up to a water butt that might prove tricky and then seeing if it actually lets enough water through.

Typing this has made me want to try it anyway, so I'll order it over the weekend and let you know how I get on!
Thanks for your help.

 

Please let us know how you get on.

 

Drip systems tend to be unreliable unless fed by mains pressure, the water must not have any bits in it or the jets get blocked. Even with mains pressure (and clean water) it is difficult to get all the jets dripping at the same rate, so you finish up with some plants getting too much whilst others don't get enough.

 

I did think about that too, Larkshall, but with an outlay of about £20.00 for the airline solution I think I'll try it for what it's worth.
I'll report back shortly with my conclusions!

 

Those kits cost £12.95 each and look like this:



Tescos sell one that appears identical and it's now reduced to £5 in store (previously £10), consisting of 10 litre bag, 8 adjustable drippers, pipe and fittings. I can't find it online.

I checked the tubing with a vernier gauge to assist anybody wondering whether it would integrate with an existing gravity system such as the one above, and it appears to be 3mm internal diameter and 5mm external diameter.

P.S. I didn't see any tap in the box so it may have to be always on and only capable of being turned off at all the drippers

 

add 2 or 3 of these filters in the line before the 1st dripper ...

Claber Anti Leak Drip Irrigation Filter

.... and check and clean them regulary

and if the system is connected to the garden tap, you need one of these (or similar):
http://www.easywatering.co.uk/acatalog/Hozelock_Pressure_Regulator_2760.html

 

I would be very interested in this product. Can you tell me please, How tall is the water container and how much water does it hold?

thanks

stony