This tutorial will teach you how to make automatic watering for indoor plants with your own hands. An automatic flower waterer is ideal for you if you are going on vacation or simply forget to water your plants. It provides plants with a specific dose of water according to a schedule set for one plant.
I built an automatic waterer for indoor plants so that the trees in my pot wouldn't dry out while I was away from home for 5 weeks. I have several huge trees in a small pot, so they need to be watered quite often, and I didn't want to ask my friends to check on my plants every two days for over a month.
Various gel and plastic bags, 2 liter bottles, plant wicks, etc. do not serve well because they do not hold or move enough water (a tree needs about a cup and a half of water per day), and commercial pumps with a timer were expensive. Basically, they worked so well that I continued to use them even when I wasn't on vacation. They did a great job every day for two years. As long as I remembered that they need to be filled with water once a month.
A homemade pump isn't the cheapest solution, but it is much cheaper than the commercial versions I've seen. Some of them required connecting a hose that had to go through the entire house, which brings to mind thoughts of flooding. My project is quite easy and will take you 1 day.
It's very simple to make: the hardest part is programming the timers for the duration of your vacation.
It's reliable: it always pours the same amount of water, and it won't flood the house while you're down.
Materials:
- 1 plastic bucket with a capacity of 20 liters (or some other water container)
- 1 small plastic tub (like those disposable leftover tubs)
- 2 vacation timers (search the Internet for vacation timer). Important: they should only be able to turn on for one minute, which means you can't buy the cheapest ones that run for an hour.
- 2 small submersible pumps, which are used in small fountains
- Several meters of vinyl tubes. Make sure the tubing fits the outlet of your pump
- Several medium-sized paper binders (if you don't want to reuse any parts of this project, you can use hot glue to replace them)
- Ground fault interrupter (recommended, although not required, but when the water and electricity in the house are close to each other it is always a good idea)
Tools:
- Sharp knife
- Marker.
- And if you're as safety-conscious as I am, you'll need: a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, a poison control phone number, an acid burn shower, etc.
Time:
About 30 minutes (or more if your timers have weird, confusing instructions)
Ensuring optimal water regime
The simplest way to provide moisture to indoor flowers while a person is away from home is to place pots with plants in a container of water . In this case, you can be sure that within a few weeks your home flowers will be fully provided with the necessary amount of water. This method is very profitable because a person does not need to spend money on caring for crops. But it is better to use automatic flower watering systems, as they are able to maintain the necessary humidity for a large amount of time.
Every lover of indoor flowers, regardless of his experience, is well aware that when plants are well watered, this amount of moisture will be enough for them for some time. That is why, when a person is going on a trip, certain additional work needs to be done with flowers:
- Plants are removed from the windowsill and placed in a less lit place. This can reduce the amount of moisture evaporated from the ground.
- Before the trip, it is worth trimming all buds and flowers, and in some cases, thinning out the leaves.
- It is worth placing all the pots close to each other so that optimal air humidity can be maintained. The container for pots with plants can be a regular basin or tray, the bottom of which must be filled with a small layer of damp material. It is on this that the pots are placed, and then several centimeters of water are poured into this container.
- In order for home crops to feel comfortable when people are away, it is worth making a small canopy over them from ordinary construction film, which will create the effect of a comfortable greenhouse. But when using this method, it must be borne in mind that the crops will find themselves in a rather stressful situation. That is why, when a person plans to be away for more than a week, it is worth preparing cuttings of your favorite flowers and putting them in a container with water.
Automatic watering in a greenhouse with your own hands: types and stages of installation
DIY making
The main advantage of an automatic watering system for indoor crops is that their root system is able to regularly receive moisture in the required quantities. When you need to make a small greenhouse with your own hands, you can increase efficiency with an additional source of water, from which the plants can receive moisture for many days.
Assembling systems from plastic containers
Assembling a homemade automatic watering system for home crops has a number of specific features, but there is an easier way to make it. To make it, you will need a simple plastic container, in the lids of which you should make small through holes. Then these containers are filled with settled water, turned over and placed between the pots with plants.
Throughout the day, water will flow to the bottom of the pots in small portions, maintaining optimal moisture in the layer of bulk material in which the flowerpots stand. But it is necessary to calculate the size of the holes in advance so that moisture can flow in the right quantity. But such calculations can only be made experimentally. Then you should decide on the volume of the plastic container, which should be enough so that the flowers can receive life-giving moisture for a long time.
When calculating the size of a plastic container, you need to take into account the volume of soil in the pot. For example, when there are very large flowerpots in the room, many containers with water are placed between them. If the greenhouse consists of small flowerpots, then this number of containers will be very large.
DIY installation of a drip irrigation system from a dropper
Self-watering pot
Among the many systems used for watering home crops, it is worth highlighting the method in which the plants are connected to a small tank. Moisture is supplied to the flowers using homemade wicks. To make them, you can use various cords, ropes or ordinary threads. The wick can also be made from a medical bandage, which must be twisted and given the appearance of a rope.
When homemade wicks are made, one end is immersed in a container of water, and the other end must be secured to a flowerpot and fixed in the soil using a small peg or a regular clothespin. This design provides a pressure difference in the capillaries, due to which moisture will move through homemade wicks from the container to the flowerpot. An automatic system for watering home flowers, which is based on the use of homemade wicks, is capable of achieving a high-quality supply of moisture to crops at the least cost of money and effort.
Using a timer for drip irrigation of crops
Today, the most energy-efficient solution for irrigating crops is the drip method. It allows for spot watering in accordance with a pre-set timer program.
Thanks to this technology, you can get the following advantages:
- Watering crops can be done at any time of the day.
- Slow supply of liquid, which allows plants to absorb up to 93% of the total volume.
- When various baits and fertilizers are added to the water, they will be delivered directly to the root system of the plants, which increases the effectiveness of the fertilizer by 76%.
- When using drip irrigation in intense sunlight, the leaves will not fade in the sun, unlike standard plant watering.
- With the correct setting of the drip system and timer, the root structure improves, which in turn significantly increases the amount of harvest.
- The drip method of crop irrigation significantly prevents the formation of weeds, since all the useful moisture is spent on plant development.
- When installing an electronic timer, human participation is only necessary at the system programming stage, which frees up time for other matters.
Factory devices
When a person has the financial means, it is possible to provide home crops with moisture by installing a factory automatic watering system. Experts identify the following types:
- Automatic watering system Aqua Globs. This is a special glass flask that is attached to a ceramic cone. This cone must be immersed in the soil during operation, which will ensure uniform moisture of the soil. The cone is made of a special porous material through which water enters the soil in small portions. When it is necessary to maintain optimal humidity for flowers that are in a fairly large pot, you can install several such devices. Moisture passes through these cones thanks to the connected rubber hose.
- Gardena factory system. Its main working components are a small pump, a special timer and rubber tubes. The capabilities of this system make it possible to simultaneously provide the required amount of moisture to up to 34 domestic crops.
Drip tape for irrigation: types and description
Capillary mats
To solve the problem of providing home crops with moisture, you can use special capillary mats. They are small mats that are made of hygroscopic material. Such devices can be purchased in specialized stores at a fairly low price.
Capillary mats can be laid on any type of surface, for example, on a windowsill or a large table. But for effective use, part of it must be immersed in a container of water. Before laying such a product, it is necessary to cover the surface with film, otherwise small drops of water can damage the lining of the window sill.
Quite often, the dimensions of the capillary mat do not allow its edge to be lowered into a container of water. Then specialized strips can help, which need to be moistened generously with water, and then one end should be placed under the product, and the other should be immersed in a container. The principle of operation of such strips is very similar to the use of wicks, which are made by yourself and ensure the flow of moisture to the pots.
Special pallets
To assemble an automatic watering system for home crops, you can use specialized trays that work on the same principle as capillary mats.
The design of a special pallet consists of the following elements:
- the deep tray itself;
- small additional pallet;
- capillary mat.
A deep tray is used to store water, and a smaller tray is placed in it, at the bottom of which there is a capillary mat. Then a pot with a plant is placed on it. For many days, water will flow through the capillary mat to the pots with home crops. The advantage of this method of organizing an automatic watering system is that it helps to avoid rotting of the root system of flowers.
How to create and use drip irrigation at your dacha with your own hands
A huge number of irrigation systems for home crops have now been invented, and each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. That is why when a person is going to leave the house for a long time and does not want to worry about the fact that the flowers will not be provided with the necessary amount of moisture, then it is worth choosing any of the above-described automatic systems that are most suitable for the plants.
What it is
Regardless of the type of design and configuration of the irrigation timer, almost all of them work according to the same scheme.
Outside the plastic device there are special sockets for connecting pressure and outlet garden hoses. On the front panel there are control handles for the controller for setting the time and frequency of watering, which, in turn, controls the ball valve installed inside the housing. In electronic versions of the device, for example, the Aqualin brand, controllers (toggle switches) can be made in the form of buttons, and information about the specified parameters is displayed on the display.
The basic device opens and closes the ball valve according to clearly established parameters to automatically supply water to the garden plot at a certain frequency.
Equipment safety
If it is necessary for house plants to feel most comfortable during human absence, then it is worth testing the operation of the manufactured watering system and making sure how well moisture flows to the pots through a self-made wick, and whether there is enough water in the container.
It is possible that after a day there will be practically no water left in the container. This is very dangerous for home crops as they can dry out quickly. That is why you first need to select a container of a suitable volume so that the flowers are fully provided with moisture during the absence of a person. It is also worth carefully calculating the height of the container with water so that moisture can flow through the homemade wicks in the amount necessary for the plants.
When a flower lover does not have the necessary funds to purchase a factory watering system, then you can quite simply make one yourself. A homemade system will be able to operate at the same level as an industrial product.
Electronic timers with mechanical control (toggle switch type)
Very easy to operate, reliable and durable devices. To select operating modes of the irrigation system, you need to perform the following steps:
- Unscrew the top transparent plastic cover. You need to work carefully, do not lose the sealing gasket, it may fall out;
- Use the left toggle switch to set the frequency of turning on the system, the maximum period is 72 hours;
- Use the right toggle switch to set a specific watering duration, maximum 120 minutes.
Important. The initial countdown time of the electronic device begins from the time the timer is turned on. This means that if, for example, you want the watering to turn on periodically at five o’clock in the morning, then the first timer setting must be done at the same time. In the future, the time when the irrigation system is turned on will not change.
Manufacturers, complete with a timer, sell a full set of fittings for connecting plastic pipes or flexible hoses of various diameters. The timer is powered by two AAA 1.5 V batteries.
Watering timer - photo
Green Helper GA-021
Reviews and comments
- Dasha I made a kind of watering system when I left for another city. I didn’t want to ask someone to come to my apartment to water the flowers, but this system solved this problem just wonderfully.
Anya This method is perfect when you leave for a long time or often forget to water your plants. There is nothing complicated in such designs; everything is done very quickly.
- Olya I didn’t even think that it was possible to make automatic watering for indoor plants, now I won’t worry about my flowers when I’m away for a long time. As far as I understand, there is nothing special about such designs
- Nina I often go on business trips, and I have a lot of indoor plants, I like to tinker with them. Therefore, I often have to ask my relatives to water them in my absence. And if you make such an automatic watering system, you won’t have to ask anyone. I will definitely do it, it turns out that it is not difficult.
What equipment is needed to assemble an automatic irrigation system?
To assemble such systems, it is first necessary to determine the number of consumers (plants), draw up a plan for the placement of system components and calculate the approximate fluid consumption.
Next, you need to purchase the following equipment and materials:
- drip irrigation timer;
- drip irrigation tape;
- polypropylene pipes for supplying water to the belts;
- pipe clamps and clamps;
- plugs;
- valves and fittings;
- reduction and rotary knees;
- seals;
- connecting elements.
These materials can be purchased separately. However, if you are not an expert in this field, then it is better to purchase ready-made kits, in which the number of certain elements for irrigating a certain area is calculated in advance.
