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Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9929
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 25 1:43 pm Post subject:

Chilli-head wrote:

Once they are planted in their final positions in the greenhouse, they are watered from an (internal) water tank, using a computer water cooling pump on a timer.

I need something like that - I have two waterbutts in the gh (fed off the roof) I should set up a timer and watering hoses to save me lugging watering cans about. and remembering. otoh it is nice to go in each day and view things. Is yours a homemade system or something you bought?

Chilli-head

Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 6

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 25 3:19 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

You have a sophisticated set up Chilli-head. Are you into computers, or are you a passionate chilli and tomato grower?

Sort of, for both questions ! I'm a contradiction, my day job is electronics and computing (machine vision guidance systems for agricultural weeding machinery), but at heart I am a luddite gardener !

I only have a small (6'x8') greenhouse, but I'm a 3rd generation (at least) tomato grower - my grandad used to get his plants from the sewage works where they grew as volunteers. My dad grew a lot, thankfully in more sanitary conditions. I helped him keep going as long as he could - he had a rather bigger greenhouse - now it falls on me to maintain the family tradition. I do love peppers and chillies - growing and cooking - too. Hence the screen name ...

I've been through several designs of automatic watering, from complicated (homebrewed electronics with moisture and temperature sensors) to a simple timer. IME, simplicity has the advantage.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16254

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 6:52 am Post subject:

As a former microelectronics assembly engineer, I always put any success I had to being a fairly simple soul with knowledge of using cardboard, foil and sticky tape to best advantage. Yes, simple is best.

Having seen a lot of things in the early stages, and trying to persuade them to work, I have a very low opinion of electronics, so am regarded as a Luddite by my family.

Nothing wrong with sewage farm tomatoes; the seeds go through pretty well undamaged, so sewage sludge is always a good source of seed. You never know what variety you will get though.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6670
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 10:54 am Post subject:
In terms of threading the needle for what's appropriate level of tech, this guy's diy evaporation based controller approaches has seemed like a neat idea to me: https://www.measuredirrigation.com/

Chilli-head

Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 6

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 2:34 pm Post subject:

It's not particularly well explained; if I'm understanding right, the valve has a lower, "turn on" level and a higher "turn off" point; one controlling nozzle fills the evaporator from the lower to the higher level, and we assume the same amount of water is applied to each plant as it does so.

I envisage an issue that the evaporating tray needs to have the same rate of loss of water as the plant. A tomato plant has a lot of leaf area, that varies as it grows. It could need a pretty big evaporating surface to equal a full grown plant. Or maybe I'm not understanding it.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6670
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 25 10:06 pm Post subject:

The "sensor"/controller is basically a float valve like in a toilet tank. Adjusting the refill rate into it adjusts how long an irrigation system runs. So, it will lose water relative to the surrounding environmental/climate conditions, and you just tweak how long it takes to refill itself when it empties to adjust it to your conditions.
Not perfect for everyone, but pretty neat for working in a gravity system with essentially no power need

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16254

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 25 8:30 am Post subject:
Seems a good idea.

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