Automatic Irrigation

Discussion in 'Gardening Discussions' started by oldwinegum, Jan 21, 2007.

  1. oldwinegum

    oldwinegum Gardener

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    Does anyone have experience of any of the auto irrigation kits available, are they worth the money ect. As a caravanner we want to be away as much as possible but cant bare to neglect the garden after all this work.
    Advice gratefully received.
    ttfn
     
  2. geoffhandley

    geoffhandley Gardener

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    Don't get the Hoselock timers. The place where I bought my last one got fed up with all the complaints and stopped stocking them. This year i have been using a Claber practico timer and it has been very good. I have used it to water all my growbags in the greenhouse and then I dug a hole and extended the pipe out of the greenhouse and down the garden to where I keep my blue poppies and primulas. As the outside did not need watering that often when I am at home the outside section has a valve so normally it is switched off. Like you I have a caravan and last summer I was away for one stretch of 4 1/2weeks. The plants looked very well when I returned home.
    I had a Hoselock watering kit and i have been able to fit that to my timer and the Claber parts seem to be interchangeable. They do save you a lot of time. Watering the tomatoes every day wastes a lot of time.
    If I was doing it again I would get a timer that will switch on twice a day. Last summer there were some days when I thought they could have benefitted from watering in the morning and in the afternoon.
    Oh and I use drippers in the greenhouse and sprinklers outside. I did have a lot of very small seedlings outside and I arranged those around the sprinklers. They literally kept hundreds of plants alive while I was away in that heat.
     
  3. oldwinegum

    oldwinegum Gardener

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    Thanks Geoff thats just the Quality of advice one has come to expect from this site. Now to find the kit. Watch this space.
    ttfn
     
  4. Nik

    Nik Gardener

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    I have used several Gardena timers for a few years now with no problems, and would recommend them.
    If you use drippers set to about 2L/hour, they clog with lime scale after only 2 or three weeks in hot climates. Set them to 15-20L/hour, and run the water for a shorter time, and they don't clog for at least three or four months. You can't have as many on one thin pipe then, but 12-15 works OK.
    Nik :cool:
     
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