Hey /diy/
So I'm going away on vacation for about a week in july and I'll have a number of plants (tomatoes etc) sitting on a covered deck that need to be watered at least once every day or two.
The best thing I can think of to water them while I'm gone is a pump on a timer that'll draw from a large reservoir (one or more 5 gallon buckets, I have a lot of vegetables in pots to water) to water the plants every set amount of time.
The problem is that my deck has no power outlets to power the pump and I have no windows that lead to the outside that I can run a cable through.
I live in a brick apartment building with what appears to be holes cut through the exterior brick for fiber optic cable insulation; two rooms in my apt have these wallplates that 'appear' to be heading outside onto my balcony that carry these cables.
Would it be feasible to put an extension cord through one of these to the outside?
Does anyone else have any good ideas as to how I could rig up a system to water my plants? I'd prefer not to ask a neighbor to come over everyday if possible.
>>997369
2 liter soda bottle drip system?
>>997374
I am going to guess this involves twisting tubing in such a way that water only comes out slowly?
>>997369
I've used battery operated programmable hose valves (Battery Sprinkler Timer) before and the batteries for what I had lasted quite a while and would definitely last a week, seems mine lasted over a month if I'm remembering correctly.
If you can prop up the water reservoir you could rig up one of these to release water. You'd need a garden hose connection off of the reservoir to the valve then a manifold (PVC pipe and hose bibs) off of the valve that distributed water using enough smaller hoses to reach everything.
It would take some time to make and even-out the distribution with flow restrictors or different sized tubing.
>>997375
Not that poster but I think I know what they're talking about because I've used it.
Fill a 2 liter soda bottle with water, then poke pin-holes into it. Set the bottle in the planters/pots so the water drips out very slowly over the course of several days.
Since you still have time, I suggest doing a few 'dry' runs to work out number of holes vs seepage rate.
It does work, I used it for my tomatoes a few years ago and it kept them going until I got back no problem.
>>997389
This. If you haven't got a water outlet close, just use a garden hose to get it where you need. Reticulation stuff is dirt cheap. I rig raised beds with reticulation as soon as spring hits (& put it away again in Autumn) and just put new batteries in the tap controllers once a month. Never had a problem. The controllers only seem to last a couple of years though.
>>997389
There's a couple of drip-irrigation systems which do ok as well and are fairly simple things. 2L bottles do ok for about 2-3 days, after that they tend to run dry, I've murdered a few ferns once :(
Advantage of the drip systems is they're basically run off mains-water or a reservoir, no batteries and are fairly cheap. (its just thin-gauge Polyethylene hose with pin-holes in it and some clamps)
Downside is they're a bit ugly and can take a little fiddling to get the amount right.
>>997375
you can simply plug the end and drill holes along the tube. Way easier than twisting it and less likely to break.
>>997389
>>997490
Interesting thanks, I'll have to see if I can find one that fits something smaller than a garden hose because I don't want to (nor will I have the capacity) to dispense a high flow rate of water per go. My guess is that I'll need 0.5 - 1 L per plant per water. If I have 10 pots that need watering 5 times while I'm on vacation, that means I'll need a 50 L reservoir. That's a lot of water (almost 3x 5 gallon buckets).
>>997470
>>997491
This is a good backup. I know tomatoes like to dry out between watering though, do I have to worry about rotting their roots by keeping them constantly 'watered' like this though?
>>997538
>I'll have to see if I can find one that fits something smaller than a garden hose
Remember that the hose valve timer is just a valve/timer and with adapters you could accomplish what your after, with much futzing around for the right combination.
Pic related could cut some of that time down
>>997886
That's right, can't ever forget adapters attached to adapters attached to even more adapters.
>>997538
>This is a good backup. I know tomatoes like to dry out between watering though, do I have to worry about rotting their roots by keeping them constantly 'watered' like this though?
Not those guys.
The tomatoes don't like to dry out - they need air to the roots though. If the soil is compact, and you water too much, air (O2) can't get to the roots. I have an aquaponics system with 2 50g media filled beds with thriving tomatoes. The grow media is hydroton and it stays wet constantly. The flood and drain cycle is about 15min (or a little less).
If I was in your situation, before I left n vacation, I would aerate the pots (poke some holes in the soil) and rig up a sump out of a rubbermaid container or similar. Place the pots on top of it (metal grate shelving works fine...cheap) so the excess water can drain back to the sump. A $20 pump + hose connected to a stretch of 1/2" pvc with t-adapters to each pot and a $5 timer set to your liking would do. That may be more than you want to do though...easy to me but I've built similar.
how is this not even your first line of thinking or not even suggested yet
get family a freind or even a neigbough to stop by every day or 2 to water the plants for you
no need to buy all this reservoir and timer bullshit
>>998080
It was my first thought except for the fact that I am going on vacation with most of my friends/close family, leaving only a few shitters from work left that I would have to rely upon to not leave my front door open by accident while I was gone.
Also for the fun of it.
If you are growing plants that don't like constantly damp soil you could set up a siphon system.
You just need a bucket and a simple siphon in there that will empty the bucket onto your plants when the water level in the bucket reaches a certain level.
Then have your hose dribble slowly into the bucket, filling it and so activating the siphon once per day or so
