Micro irrigation for greenhouse - confused :-)

Hi,

Got a new greenhouse last year and I have about 40 odd plants, roughly half strawbs and half tomatoes.

As my summer holiday looms in a month I'm thinking about what to do for watering.

My outside tap is 40m from the greenhouse and I have the plants on 2 tiers each side of the greenhouse.

I was wondering if people had recommendations for rigging up micro irrigation.

So far I have standard hosepipe leading to the greenhouse.

Below are partial links to Amazon co uk but I don't have permission to post links yet so to see the items you'll need to add amazon co uk at the beginning of them.

I was thinking of then attaching this to enable 4 rows of watering: /gp/product/B06XPGC4DM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A2SVN44ML4RNJ8&psc=1

But what I'm confused about is what diameter pipe is best to use for these 4 lines with presumably then using T-joints like these: /gp/product/B01DW6X5NW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A399BIVTVCRA6Q&psc=1

To create the side spurs to attach drippers like these: /gp/product/B01DW6X17W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A399BIVTVCRA6Q&psc=1

So, if this is all a decent idea (attached to a timer at the tap end), is 6mm pipe ok to use for the 4 long lines and also for the side spurs that go to the plants?

Sorry for a long post, I hope I've made a tiny bit of sense!

Yours,

Joe

 

Cheap Irrigation System.
I have a std.connection on the outside of the greenhouse for the garden hose to connect which goes through the wall and joins on the inside to a reducer this is then rigged up my micro pipe with sprinklers and drippers placed to where I need them..its a wooden greenhouse so the micro pipe is attached around its walls with cable clips nailed into the wood. Just simply turn on the tap...which can also have a timer clock incorporated.

 

Thanks for your reply. I've finally rigged up a system pretty much the same as the Kingfisher one but using 4 lines as in the splitter from Amazon.

The thing I've noticed is that the drippers seem to piddle the water through the soil and then straight out the bottom of the pots within 30 seconds of switching the system on. Now this could be the tomato plants getting bone dry during the day (so perhaps they need more watering to maintain some overall moisture in the soil?)

Another thing is that at the beginning of a run of a line, those drippers go really well but by the time you get to the far end (12 plants on the longest run) there isn't much left to come out. I'm no physicist so was wondering if there's an easier way to get the water a bit more uniform in the way it comes out.

It was incredibly hot in there rigging it all up but me and my 8yo son feel like we've done a major engineering project and have had a lot of fun doing it.

 

I suppose you could make use of some inline taps and splitters but the problem here is you've already set up...maybe you still can...have a look and see if you can modify it slightly to get more pressure to the latter end

 

I use that type of system partially coupled with capillary matting. Works a wonder. Once in awhile a pot will stop drawing but I give it a good soaking and we're off again

 

We've been out just now and done some tweaking. Partially closing the earlier drippers to force more towards the later ones does work.

The idea of capillary matting is a good one. Going to look into that next, perhaps with a saucer underneath each plant with matting to catch and help reabsorption of the piddle through water.

Random unrelated question - some tomato plants are 5ft high and spindly at the top - shall I look off the tops cos they're too thin to be able to support any fruit of they bear them up there?

 

I top mine @joebongo at around that height and remove some leaves especially round the base to open it up a little... I still self polinate with an artists brush and spray mist..Dont forget to remove sucker stems/offshoots...