| Project by zeddicus | posted 422 days ago | 463 views | 0 times favorited | 10 comments |  |
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I am big on automation. I am a computer software engineer and anytime I can get something done automatically without having to remember it or take the time to do it I am happy (provided it’s done efficiently). I put lights on timers when I can, and I even have two Roomba’s who vacuum upstairs and downstairs.
I love my garden. My daughter and I have been adding plants to it constantly since it started warming up. I found out quickly though that watering every day was taking up precious time, but skipping even one day would leave the plants noticeably wilted and dry. I would pick her up from school after work and we would have time to eat dinner, water the plants, play in the yard for a few minutes and then she was off to bed. So I decided that the trade off was to either let the plants die, or figure out how to have them automatically watered.
I started by piping with PVC around the deck starting at a faucet (my house has only two faucets, one front and one back and they are really not positioned well). The pipe runs up to the bottom of the deck, around the front and all the way to the other side. At each end of the deck I put a vertical supply ending in a faucet that sits just above the deck railing. At the front of the deck I put another faucet to allow me to hook hoses up to for watering the lawn (and filling my daughters swimming pool). At the other end of the deck is a fourth faucet for the drip irrigation system.
Not the best picture, but behind the chair in the background you can see the vertical pipe running up from the house faucet. In the forefront of the picture is the new faucet with a timer! The lawns will now be watered bright and early before I even get up from bed.
Here you can see the supply line running under the front of the deck and an offshoot to the drip irrigation line. There is a timer there along with a pressure control valve, backflow valve, and a filter. There is also a drain valve for the whole system (with the red valve) as I don’t plan to have this active during the winter.
Behind the upside down tomato plant you can see one of the two new faucets at the deck level. One I plan on eventually adding a timer with another drip irrigation system on the deck, but with only one plant on the deck right now (the tomato) I just use the faucet to fill the watering can.
The drip irrigation only had one tricky place where I needed to go from the new faucet under a path and underneath a wall to provide water to the upper planting area. A little digging took care of that though.
Here are some pumpkin plants with the new drip lines going to them.
And my daughters sunflowers with a line.
Flowers
And finally the beans and broccoli which are still waiting for their lines.
I should have the rest of the lines run this week and then the timer set up for the summer. We are actually having a little bit of rain today and tomorrow so I turned it all off, but when the 80 degree weather is back, the plants will be very happy they don’t have to depend on my memory and free time to get them the drinks they need.
-- If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
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10 comments so far
Cynthia
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528 posts in 553 days
posted 422 days ago
Good for you! More time for you and yours to spend together. And you still can look for the latest new things in your garden while it is watered for you! I have an irrigation system with a hose with holes for my back flower garden and I am pleased with it. Now I just have to water the front beds! Your system with the lines reminds me of those in greenhouses. Great job!
Cynthia
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528 posts in 553 days
posted 422 days ago
Oops, forgot to say what nice veggies and flowers and sunflowers you have!
Greenthumb
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1801 posts in 968 days
posted 422 days ago
its on my wish list
-- Central northish Ontario
mtkate
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139 posts in 487 days
hardiness zone 4
posted 422 days ago
Hi – wow. Zone 8b. You should also try mulching up to retain as much water as possible. When I finally started doing that, the labour from water went down a lot (but then, I am in currently water drenched zone 4 ish!).
The drip lines are ecologically conscious too. Great setup.
-- Zone 4a or 4b... depending on where you are standing!
Greenthumb
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1801 posts in 968 days
posted 422 days ago
I need a “raft” just to reach my gardens
-- Central northish Ontario
Greenthumb
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1801 posts in 968 days
posted 422 days ago
My FIL had a system put in on his section behind the Berlin Wall…..........it was done by the so called “Pros” and I must admit they did and do a great job of it but the problem lies with the FIL trying to fix, what was done “perfectly”.
My typical morning begins with “WHAT THE HELL HAVE THEY DONE TO THE SPRINKLER CAUSE IT AINT WORKIN”..........(silently thinking to myself “Its noon stupid and it isnt timed to come on at noon”.........followed by him taking the the wrong screw driver and adjiusting the sprinkler heads so that they water the driveway….........followed by him shouting “WHAT THE %$
, THOSE MORONS CANT DO JACK $#% RIGHT CAUSE ITS RAINING AND THE SPRINKLERS ARE ON…....(silently thinking….....”thats cause you moved the rain sensor to where it cant get wet”)Now he wants a generator and believes that the house comes with its own “Just plug it in” and all will work in a power outage????
When ever I hear “sprinkler” silent memories of “How dumb can a man be?” spring up!
-- Central northish Ontario
Bon
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5154 posts in 928 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 421 days ago
That’s a really great setup you got there Zeddicus.Everything looks like it is growing nicely.And some sun flowers too for the contest.
-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more
zeddicus
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18 posts in 573 days
hardiness zone 8b
posted 420 days ago
Thank you for the comments. I’m very happy with how it turned out. It’s even lead to some more ideas including some shelving on the deck for more pots!
I hooked up drip lines to the last of the plants tonight and scheduled the timer for tomorrow. Perfect timing since we will be away from the house this weekend. I’m hoping to run out in the morning and see bits of wet soil near each plant. I do still need to figure out some sort of mulch option. I am not a fan of ‘beauty bark’ so I’m very hesitant to go down that route. I think that’s about my only option though.
@mtkate – I forgot to mention that in my original post but yes, I can already tell the difference with the watering. Instead of leaving a large area watered, only right where the plants are located gets watered (except for a couple places I’m using sprayers). I think I still need to tweak things, but it’s doing well. The weeds aren’t going to get a free shower anymore!
-- If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
Desktopgem
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117 posts in 504 days
posted 420 days ago
What you have achieved in so short a time is amazing, or was it short? Those red flowers are gorgeous. I bought three miniature sunflowers today, they look grand. Yours will look wonderful being so many there.
-- Desktopgem
Scott Hildenbrand
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1658 posts in 919 days
hardiness zone 6b
posted 413 days ago
I was about to ask if you ever feared your PVC cracking in winter, but then saw your zone.. :)
I wish I could use PVC like that.. Save some $$ on iron pipe.
-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b