Vegetable Patch

[altvic]

In this dry spell I am struggling to keep the veg plot watered. Do Californists have any tips / recommendations for a not very expensive watering system for when I am away Calivanning this summer. I ask because previous water-boys were enlisted but I now live in a child free house - not that they ever did a good job in the past.

 

[AlisonF]

I installed hose pipes with holes around my garden in Norway as the summers could be long, hot and dry. I never got around to connecting a tap with a timer as wasn’t away long enough. It meant I could turn outside taps on and let it water itself whilst I enjoyed a cold crisp white grape juice sitting under the canopy.
A UK colleague who worked offshore so away a lot had a timed irrigation system installed and said it worked well for lawn and plants.

 

[Dodge1311]

In this dry spell I am struggling to keep the veg plot watered. Do Californists have any tips / recommendations for a not very expensive watering system for when I am away Calivanning this summer. I ask because previous water-boys were enlisted but I now live in a child free house - not that they ever did a good job in the past.

I use the hoselock system. It relatively inexpensive if you set a decent starter kit and it does work quite well. I started with my back garden then added the front. And now i have one in my allotment with the water coming from a butt that is filled from a 12 volt submersible pump dropped in the burn and powered from an old leisure battery and charged with a cheapy solar panel. I have gone a little OTT i know but i hate going away for a long weekend and coming back to all my hard work looking withered.

I do like how easy it is to switch from "drippers" to "spray heads" in the same ring and the timer i have does a dawn and dusk water that can be changed from 10,20,30 minutes at each interval. I started with the easy drip universal set and went from there. I would advise getting a piece of paper then drawing what you want it to look like, as i ended up with way to many parts for what i needed.

 

[altvic]

I use the hoselock system. It relatively inexpensive if you set a decent starter kit and it does work quite well. I started with my back garden then added the front. And now i have one in my allotment with the water coming from a butt that is filled from a 12 volt submersible pump dropped in the burn and powered from an old leisure battery and charged with a cheapy solar panel. I have gone a little OTT i know but i hate going away for a long weekend and coming back to all my hard work looking withered.

I do like how easy it is to switch from "drippers" to "spray heads" in the same ring and the timer i have does a dawn and dusk water that can be changed from 10,20,30 minutes at each interval. I started with the easy drip universal set and went from there. I would advise getting a piece of paper then drawing what you want it to look like, as i ended up with way to many parts for what i needed.

1000 thanks for your very comprehensive reply / advice. I will look up the hose lock system. Agree that it is disappointing to return home to withered plants (esp when the kids assured me they had religiously watered from my instructions).