A 24/7 Home Water Irrigation System for Flower Pots
A home water irrigation system that will supply enough water for the plants to keep them healthy and happy round the clock. This system needs no water timers.
How?
To use wicking
action to supply water to the plants. With this system , one can easily check if there is enough water delivered to the
pots and plants.
What is Wicking Action?
It is an absorption of liquid through capillary
action by a material such as candle wick, paper or fabric cloth or
strip. In this irrigation system, fabric strips are used instead of
wicks as they are economical and easy to use; furthermore, one could
control the rate of water flow easily
What’s needed?
1.
A length of 13 mm PVC to deliver water to the flower pots or plant
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Click to enlarge picture if necessary
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2.
A plastic water cup with lid for each plant.
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3.
4 mm silicone tube often used in aquarium, preferably black in color to avoid algae growth.
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4. Dremel drill or similar with abrasive grinding
Stone of 3.5 mm tip
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5.
A few sheets of woven type fabric filter cloth
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6
Few glue sticks
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7.
Mini float valve so that 4 mm or larger silicon tube could supply water through the float valve.
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8
Plastic storage box about 150 x 150 x 120 mm
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Step by Step
1. Making plastic box stand |
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a)
Cut a strip of PVC measuring about 15 x 100 mm to make 2 stands for the cups as shown
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b)
Heat the larger end of the PVC strip with a lighter and make it flat to form a base to
fix onto the bottom of the plastic cup using hot glue stick.
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c)
Once the stand is ready, drill
2 holes, one on the top and the other
at near bottom of the cup. Making sure
the near bottom hole is about 3.5 mm for the 4 mm silicon tube to be inserted tightly with no water leak. Make a horizontal
cut at the top hole using a scissor.
d)
Cut a long fabric strip of about 5 mm width with one of its
ends "threaded" through the cup, making sure the strip will pass
through the horizontal cut at the top hole as shown
e)
Extend the 5 mm fabric strip if necessary so that the strip can be wrapped
round the PVC stand. A wedge made at the end of stand can be used to terminate the fabric strip.
f)
With the cup cover fix, the cup
is ready to be used
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2. Constructing the Water tank |
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a)
At about 100 mm from the bottom, drill a hole of size to fit the mini
float;
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b)
At the opposite bottom end, drill
another hole of size to fit a PVC socket or otherwise to fix a 6 mm flexible
PVC hose. The hose will allow tank to be moved to adjust water level..
Alternatively in areas where water cannot be piped through, one can use invested mineral water bottles as shown in the second picture. |
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3. Constructing Water Distribution pipe |
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a)
For each cup, make a 3.5 mm hole on top of the distribution pipe for the 4
mm silicon tube to be inserted. There
should not be any water leakage if the tube in inserted properly; if necessary, apply UHU Glue to seal the leak.
b)
Connect the other end of the silicon tube to the plastic water cup as shown.
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4. Installation |
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a)
Tank Installation
Select a suitable place so that the water
distribution pipe will be 15-20 mm below the surface of the earth in the
pot. If the pot is too large and too
high, drill appropriate holes in the
pot for the tube and make sure the earth level of the pot is not higher than
20 mm from the distribution pipe.
If necessary, use bubble leveler to ensure that the distribution pipe is truly horizontal. This will ensure water will find its level to supply water to the cups. Thereafter, fix the pipe in position by using pegs or pipe hangers.
b)
Flower pot placement
Adjust the height of the pot using
padding so that all the surfaces of the earth in the pots are at about
the same level; if necessary, construct small stools for the smaller
flower pots.
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5. Testing and commissioning |
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a)
Adjust the water dripping rate to about 2
drops of water per 5 minutes or about 30-50 mils per day. This dripping rate can checked by hanging the cup's stand to the pipe as shown using rubber bands
b)
The dripping rate can be adjusted by:
1.
Increasing the depth of the water level in the cup;
2.
Trimming the width of the fibre strip to reduce the water wicking
action
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6. Water Filtration System | |
Water filters will be needed to get rid of algae which will easily clog up the small pipes or tubes.
One should place water filtering media in the following places: a) in the water tank
b)
along and in-line with the water distribution pipe as shown
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7. Maintenance
No system can work properly without
maintenance. Once a while, one should do the following;
a)
Monitor the water level in the cup,
making sure that water level is about the same;
b)
Place paper testing strip under
each
flower pot to test the wicking action. Paper should not be too wet or
too dry. One can also try to use finger to test the wetness of the
soil.
c)
Clean up the filters and clear the clog in the silicon tube as and
when necessary. Bicycle pump is a good tool to apply pressure to clear any water clog.
If one found no water in the cup, one can do the following:
a)
Fill the water tank as high as possible to force water to flow into the cup;
b)
Pump water into the cup by massaging or pressing the silicon tube
repeatedly.
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