New Greenhouse Irrigation for 4" Pots or Just Pots

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While getting all greenhouse familiar I used all off the shelf stuff from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Overall it served me well, but irrigation for 4” pots (really pots in general) was a sore spot.

The first go round I just stretched ¼” soaker hose across the pots. That was ok but in addition to watering the plants, I was watering the tray too. Also, once the plants grew a bit everything became entangled. Delivery was also less than precise. You can see all that in the picture below.

ry%3D480




With the second go round I’m using a commercial based product and the results have been very good. While it might look all like a spidery mess, in reality it’s not so bad in person and fairly manageable. Uniformity and delivery is even and consistent, no more dry spots, no more watering the trays, position the tubes and stakes good and no tangles with the plants really.

It looked like the typical layout had everything even or level with the tray or pots, but based on my space and configuration coming down from above was better. I put some on – off valves along the top (in line on the ½”) so I can use just a potion or all lines at once. One thing I might do is lift the support tube and 1/2" line up a little.

The picture below is half the table space on one side of my HF 6x8 greenhouse. In the picture there are 4 trays with each holding 15 pots, so 60 pots total. Each manifold has 8 lines and stakes. The table can hold 8 trays or 120 plants total in this configuration. Below is all Basil.

ry%3D480


Again it my look like a bit of a monster, but it’s fairly manageable and very effective.

The stakes, ¼” lines, manifolds and pressure regulator-emitter are NetaFim products that I ordered through a local Outdoor Specialty Product (landscaping and alike) company. The link below is an overview of the system and components, it’s pretty informative.

http://www.netafimusa.com/files/literature/greenhouse/G222-Potted-Plant-Watering.pdf

I’m in no way affiliated with the local outdoor company or NetaFim. My experience with both companies was mixed, but the product is working quite well for my needs.
 
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I use draining trays for both my liners and my 4" pots. They will be in those 4" post for about 6 weeks so I need something somewhat automated and fairly precise.

I did try a little capillary mat setup, but I didn't find it effective.

With the capillary you have a water pan, a felt like fabric and your planted tray. One end of the mat is in the water pan the other underneath the pots or liner that are in a tray. The moisture is then drawn from the water pan, through the mat and the portion of the mat under the tray with a liner or pots then stays moist... allowing the plants to draw some of that moisture. As the moisture is drawn into the plant soil, the capillary action replaces it through the felt from the water pan.

In basic situations I think your solution is a good one and I have read that others do like you do successfully also.
 
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Okay. I seem to have misunderstood. You're being a sharing person, no advice neded.. My bad.

sorry about that!

Looks good.

Cheers,
Lori
 

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