Low tech auto watering system

[VAFisher]

So, I'm getting married on Saturday and leaving Sunday morning for a week in Bar Harbor, ME. This will be my first extended time away from home since I got seriously into this hobby - and I'm nervous about it.

I've been testing this system out for the last couple days and it seems to be working ok. It's just a cheap battery operated timer purchased at Lowe's.



And 2 sprinklers mounted to posts. Anybody with experience doing something like this; how long do you let the water go? I was thinking 20 minutes or so at 7am. Should I hit them again in the evening too? Right now I'm only watering once a day by hand and I'm worried about wet foliage at night if I do this twice a day.



I'll have to huddle the trees closer together to make sure they are all getting coverage. I have the neighbor coming by every day to make sure everything looks ok but I didn't feel like I could ask him to spend 20 minutes every day watering by hand. Hopefully everything makes it through the week - wouldn't be a good start to the marriage to come home to a bunch of dead trees...

 

[jriddell88]

Pay the water bill !

 

[VAFisher]

No water bill for me. I have a well. I'll just have to hope the pump or the electricity doesn't go out.

 

[CWTurner]

I had that same timer from Lowes and set it for 45 minutes, but that time would depend on your climate, sprinkler head, and trees. It worked well for my one trip away from home.
However when I tried setting it up for a second trip, it wouldn't work. Apparently moisture got inside the timer somehow (it was mounted remotely from the sprinkler).
Took it back to Lowes.
Hope you have better luck.
Looking at your setup, I would suggest a lawn sprinkler set up in the middle of the trees so that the water falls down onto the trees, rather than across them. Just my opinion
CW

 

[Vance Wood]

I have used an automatic system for years. This trip however; is in the capable hands of my son. He is very good at doing this so I am not particularly concerned.

 

[GrimLore]

I've been testing this system out for the last couple days and it seems to be working ok.

Those work good, both the single and double zone. I used them the last two Summers here and will use them again when the new sod is installed. I have a 6 zone professional controller but have not needed it here yet as we are still renovating and changing things in and out. I also clustered the plants a bit for coverage. I set mine for 4:15AM and PM as it is usually warm and dry for 15 minutes. Have had no problems yet.

Grimmy

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I use a similar system, but with more permanent plumbing in the ground and a lawn sprinkling system timer. The entire thing, including plumbing, fittings, timer, etc couldn't have cost more than $200. It has worked flawlessly for me for a decade.

 

[armetisius]

Back the morning up to 3--less water loss to evaporation but drop
the afternoon down to 1. In the heat of the day the plants will enjoy
the "shower" and its cooling effects. With the forecast temps I would
set them both to 4 hours per cycle. And get the plants away from the
"edges" of the sprinklers sweep. The closer to the middle of that sweep
the less likely that a "very" windy day will prevent the water from
reaching those on the edge.

 

[VAFisher]

Back the morning up to 3--less water loss to evaporation but drop
the afternoon down to 1. In the heat of the day the plants will enjoy
the "shower" and its cooling effects. With the forecast temps I would
set them both to 4 hours per cycle. And get the plants away from the
"edges" of the sprinklers sweep. The closer to the middle of that sweep
the less likely that a "very" windy day will prevent the water from
reaching those on the edge.

Unfortunately there is no rain forecast here for next week, but the temps aren't all that bad. 2 days in the upper 80s and the rest in the lower 80s.

So you're recommending running them from 3am - to 7am and then again from 1pm to 5pm every day?

And I think I've read this before, but the theory that wet leaves will burn in midday sun is just an old wives tale correct? I've never really worried about it because I don't typically water foliage.

 

[Cypress187]

This is more the low tech I was expecting

P.s: It's not a waterpipe (I think).

 

[JudyB]

I water mine in full sun from overhead with no issues. I would water longer than you would think to go, say 30 minutes, in case there is a wind issue. I would also do an afternoon watering just in case it gets hotter than expected. The issues you will have if the trees are a bit too wet for too long pale in comparison to the issues and death you may have with too little water.

And Congratulations on the marriage! Have a great time on the honeymoon, best of wishes for a long happy life together.

 

[LanceMac10]

If you gotta' pay the neighbor to water, do it. I would not really depend on your set-up, no offence.
Married, huh.....good luck!
Bar Harbor is great, so I hear. It's a haul, even from here. Just so many great spots on the coast, I don't need to go that far.
Enjoy yourself.....a couple of nice photos wouldn't hurt....

 

[armetisius]

Unfortunately there is no rain forecast here for next week, but the temps aren't all that bad. 2 days in the upper 80s and the rest in the lower 80s.
So you're recommending running them from 3am - to 7am and then again from 1pm to 5pm every day?
And I think I've read this before, but the theory that wet leaves will burn in midday sun is just an old wives tale correct? I've never really worried about it because I don't typically water foliage.

But do you know what the winds will be? Bright sun and winds will do
you more damage than you can keep up with.
Yep. According to the link you are forecast for mid to high 8o's through a
week from Friday with winds mostly from the South and West after Thursday.
Read that as hot with drying wind for the whole time you're gone.
https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=maidens+virginia
If that were actually true there wouldn't be a tree in Florida. Have gotten
"caught" in more 15 minute squall lines than I could ever count back when
I was younger. Don't you feel better after a shower? your trees do too. So
long as they have time for foliage to dry before nightfall you should be just
fine.
Married? if you thought bonsai was crazy--just wait.

 

[armetisius]

This is more the low tech I was expecting

P.s: It's not a waterpipe (I think).

Are you sure it isn't? Looks like it is making a good try at it.

 

[quietobserver]

I use a similar system. If you have time between now and your wedding you might consider a test watering at 30 minutes or whatever, check the pots, and tweak the watering length from there. Like someone else said, I've found that for many of my trees the sprinkler needs to run a lot longer than I thought. Also learned from walking around Brussels when they overhead water, surprised at the length of time the system ran in each zone.

 

[LanceMac10]

If you have time between now and your wedding you might consider a test watering at 30 minutes or whatever, check the pots, and tweak the watering length from there.

Excellent! Definitely run some testing first!!

 

[VAFisher]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm planning on setting the whole thing up tonight and running a test tomorrow morning and Friday morning. Then I'm gone. I'll move everything as close together as I can and then set up both sprinklers to hit them from opposite sides. Hopefully that will cover me.

 

[jeremy_norbury]

I'd move everything completely out of the sun...huddle them all together on the ground and spray them from two sides.

It's damn near impossible to overwater, but SO easy to underdo it.

 

[Waltron]

I got a trip coming, im planning setting up my baby monitor which i can watch from my phone to make sure the timer comes on, that way i can phone a friend if it fails. going to be testing it for a few days prior to departure as well. just thought id share my idea.

 

[VAFisher]

I ended up taking Jerry's advice and huddling everything together out of the sun as much as possible. All of the sun lovers came over to the maple and azalea side of the garden in the shade. I put as much stuff as I could up on the benches on that side and everything else went on the ground. They still got some morning sun, but were mostly shaded in the afternoon. I set the sprinklers up to hit from 2 angles from 4-5am and 4-5pm every day, and asked the neighbor to make sure the sprinklers were coming on every day and to check to make sure nothing had fallen over. It worked out pretty well - no casualties.