Hi Mike

On Thu, 11 May 2006 14:35:20 +0100, "mike. buckley"
wrote:

lo all.

I can find plenty of products to helpfully dispense water to my plants
from a pressurised mains feed (like an outside tap), but I can't find
anything that's suitable for a gravity feed like a water butt. Is
anybody doing this? In the height of summer my toms dry out between me
watering them before I go to work and getting back in the evening.

Thanks

In our little polytunnel I use a brown plastic drip-feeder pipe which
has built-in dripper valves every 6 inches or so. Known as water-but
pipe - works off low pressure water only.

As the polytunnel is 'uphill' from the bungalow, it just so happens
that the head of water from the storage tank in the loft is about
right for the drippers. They are turned on & off with a plug-in amins
timer - which controls a mains-operated washing-machine inlet valve -
costs about a fiver from CPC (www.cpc.co.uk - search for 'water
valve'.

The timer is set to come on & off for selectable 15min periods
throughout the day (mainly to save cooking the washing machine valve)
- and waters a row of tomatoes in ring culture, and four raised beds -
each 4ft x 10ft.

I looked at the time for low voltage solenoid valves - but they're all
much more expensive. If you're friendly with your local scrap dealer
then you might even find them second-hand for much less money !

Hope this helps
Adrian
Suffolk UK

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