Building a automatic watering system for soil?

[ezbake]

Hey all, just wondering if it'd be possible to build an automatic watering system for a soil grow.

I don't know much about hydro but couldn't you get a rubbermaid and put a pump in there.

Then have the pump on a hose and have the hose going to all the plants containers/pots.

And have holes in the hose where you need it to water, and secure the hose from moving somehow.

Then have the pump on a timer to run once a day or something?

I am sure someone has done this, I would do hydro but I don't know enough about it yet, and have heard soil is better taste which is what I like most.

Thanks

 

[NOKUY]

your looking for "drip irrigation" just look it up ...it's simple.

you probably will prefer hydro in the long run tho.

 

[ezbake]

Yeah i know i agree hydro would, however I really want to try to stick to soil...i know it yields better but im all about flavor and aroma.. and also ive heard soil/organic is better potency?

 

[ezbake]

Alright i found some drip irrigation kits but they're mostly made for outdoors... how do I find one good for indoors? they make them to run from the faucet of outside or something

 

[NOKUY]

this might help ya get a direction...a cpl other options too (keep us posted...I'm interested in what you decide to do)


http://membrane.com/synapse/library/health/diet/indoor_gardening/

 

[mtnjohn]

the "wallmart" in my town ..sells drip irrigation stuff in season

check your local store now....i'll bet they have it


mj

 

[ezbake]

that link wont work for me

i need something i can attach to a pump and customize the spacing between the drips...hmm

 

[2buds]

I built a drip system for my grow. Used trash cans for reservoirs, used soda pumps with built in pressure switches(auto on/off when a valve opens,pressure drops) to pump the water, I used sprinkler valves wired to a sprinkler timer for watering, I got 8 way manifolds screwed to each valve to hook drip lines to for each pot, I got a rainbird esp-mc 24 site digital timer-has cycle/soak feature, waters in seconds not just minutes, runs my co2 system too, plumbed my place with 3/4" pvc. The pump pressurizes the system, when a valve opens the pump cuts on automatically and the plants are watered. I also put a valve on the trash can that cycles on for a while to mix the nutes and aerate the water before watering the plants. I did this so I could go on vacation without everything dying. It worked good and when I get things back on the perpetual grow I'll set it up to do my watering again. I got my dick in the way at the end of last year and screwed up everything so I'm setting up things again. It worked great when I had everything even, it doesn't compensate for those plants that take off but with some rearranging so that plants of equal size are plumbed together, I was able to water each group according to how much time was needed to water the groups properly. Be glad to post up some picks if it will help. I too like the soil but for all the trouble, in the end, I wish I had just did a Big-Toke bio bucket setup. The soil keeps going though just for the flexibility. Good luck.

 

[Johnny Chimpo]

Check out the autopot on futuregarden. It is just what you need. I use it with coco coir and perlite, but think it would work just the same with soil. It feeds off a reservoir via gravity to 1" in the bottom of the autopots and doesn't refill until its completely dry via the smartvalve shown also on futuregarden. Do a search on ICmag and there are a few threads on it, but futuregarden has a lot of info with pics. Not very cheap but very effective. I started with them and have tried many other methods and use went back to using them because they are simple to use and require no electricity. I do use an aquarium powerhead in my reservoir to keep it oxygenated.


Johnny

 

[Ono Nadagin]

outdoor and indoor drip dont differ much .... one is generally driven by a pump(indoor) and one is generally driven by city water pressure(outdoor)

how much space do you need to water and how often and how fast do you want to water ... then buy a pump that will water your space efficiently