NT wrote:
On Aug 9, 7:34Â*pm, wrote:
I'm thinking of fitting semi-permanent pipework in our greenhouses
(and maybe some other places) with a time switched pump to provide
irrigation. Â*The pump will use rainwater collected from the roof in a
tank which will be topped up by mains water with a simple ball valve
controlling that. Â*(it may need to be slightly clever so that the
mains only gets turned on when the tank is, say, only a quarter full).

An additional reason for using a pump is that our mains water pressure
is very high and tends to destroy things which then gets expensive in
lost water. Â*A system as above will at least limit the rate of loss
considerably.

So, in the greehouses I was thinking of running plastic around the
edges and having some sort of small bore feeds to individual plants,
pots, etc. Â*Can anyone suggest a practical way to connect small bore
feeds to plastic pipe? Â*I know there are systems sold for doing this
but my experience with them has been that they're not very robust or
long lasting.

In a greenhouse it makes a lot more sense to put large trays on the
staging, add sand and water those. Or ISTR synthetic felt mats used
for the same purpose.

OK, that is effectively what we do in one greenhouse, I suppose it
wouldn't be too difficult to autmate the level of the water in the 'tray'.

However it won't work for tomatoes in gro-bags will it? (This isn't a
*big* growing installation, just domestic)

--
Chris Green