Automatic watering systems

[veggiewomble]

I have a patio terrace where I grow all my veggies and flowers in tubs and containers. I plan to be away for a week or two here and there during the summer and have been thinking about getting an automatic watering system to keep my plants going. Has anyone here used one, and are there any caveats? The Hozelock system looks quite economical (a small watering kit) but I don't know exactly how it works - will I also need some sort of timer to turn the water on/off? I have seen some good online deals but I suppose I'd prefer to see these items in action to decide whether or not they'll work for me.

veggiewomble

[Capsid]

I have used the Gardena system with the timer for the last 3 seasons to water a greenhouse and array of bonsai trees that can dry out very quickly. It works very well and takes away the stress on those scorchers.

It's worth investing in a good system. Think of it as an insurance policy.

[ricwiley]

I agree, get a good system. I use the hozelock AC4 timer on a cobbled together system. I have Hozelock parts, Gardena parts and other bits from the US.

The biggest problem I had was fertilising my tomatoes. I usually have a long holiday in the summer and whilst my neighbours are very good, I didn't want to ask them to feed the tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies every day.

I finally found an EZFlow system in the US and my sister in law brought it over when visiting as the shipping from the US was more than it cost. I set this up at the start of the feeding season and just keep it topped up with fertiliser. I can even add seaweed extract to it and this gets fed to the plants.

Whatever system you get, get a good one. I once bought a cheapo watering system which I could never get to work and the drippers broke very easily.

Cheers

[veggiewomble]

Thanks a lot for the thoughts. I just want a basic watering system and am looking at Hozelock. I will have to pop down to the local Homebase to see what they've got but my local store is not particularly well stocked nor are their staff very knowledgeable, so I have to go in armed with info, etc! It'll just be very handy to have as I will then be able to go on holidays without worrying about my plants wilting.

vw

[ricwiley]

I have started buying online.

This place seems cheaper than places like B and Q but they, and garden centres, have the advantage that you can look at the product first before you buy.

The Garden Superstore Hozelock Water Timers

They also do hozelock watering kits.

Cheers

[Plot17B]

Hi,
we put a hozelock system in OH greenhouse and it works great. I ran water and power underground into the gh and the tap is left on - the hozelock (battery run) handles the water flow on/off. Easy to programme and flexible. £30 - 40 for a whole kit, but when balance the cost against the plant time/cost etc, worth it as it lasts for years!
let us know how u get on....
P17B

[djhs196]

I used a basic one from B&Q last year, and it worked well within the constraints. The key thing for me, was that it did the job of watering A-okay. Everything lived and was watered, nothing died!

For me, I didn't get round to tinkering around enough with it, to try and vary the watering needs of different plants. In some cases, i found myself doing a bit of a top up - for others, like the toms, i found that I've overwatered some of the plants and the initial fruit was a little insipid.

I adjusted tho, cut back, and soon after and the flavour improved.

The above criticism is really of me, rather than the system tho - I think of it as the mainstay watering, it did the bulk of the work saving me a huge amount of time and ensured the plants didn't die - and I went over and checked it from time to time and corrected the watering by hand to get it "right".

Overall, I throughly recommend something of it's ilk

[dandamegs]

I use an AC4 timer as well, plus various hose and sprayers for the greenhouse & raised beds, works very well.

I don't use it now until full summer, so easy to overwater even setting the timing to a couple of minutes. Did a lot of damage the first year in the greenhouse.

It is amazing how much water gets sprayed about in such a short period of time

[rana]

The Hozelock timers are good but very expensive. 18 months ago I purchased a timer from Lidl for less than a third of the price. It has pretty much the same programming capability and a single AA battery lasts for over a year.

It kept everything in the greenhouse well watered during my absences last summer. It's good to be able to go away and not worry about fine warm weather killing your untended plants.

[almendro]

I live in Spain and over the years I have bought many water timers. The Hozelock ones are good as are the Gardena ones. I bought a Lidl one last year which works very well.

I bought a rainbird double timer in which the batteries only last about 10 days and this resulted in many dead plants.

The things to remember with water timers is to put new batteries in before you go away.
Note down when you put the batteries in so you know how long they have been there.

I have an unproved theory that batteries lose their charge if they get very hot so if the water timer is in full sun put an old towel over it.

Take them out before the winter because frost destroys them.

If you ever see one in Lidl buy several.