Hello and welcome to the forums @Gunner75165 haven't got any ideas about your watering solutions, but somebody might.
Howdy, from Dallas area
Hi Folks,
I'm new to gardening and an Amature Gourmet cook (meaning I can read recipes and measure) LOL.
I'm starting a Bucket Garden and intend to automate as much as possible. As you can see in my Avatar I have 20 buckets that will mount on a homemade custom rack.
I'm approaching this like a recipe. Put all the right ingredients together and let nature do its thing.
I intend to install an automated watering system that connects to WiFi with filtered water and I'm thinking a 9-zone watering solution (5 zones for buckets at 4 buckets per, and 4 zones for spraying nozles to wet and cool leaves. Water pressure allowing I'll also have 3 drip hoses off the spraying nozzles for three upside-down hanging tomato plants (Ramona and Cherry).
The garden hose will flow to a filter, then PVC pipping down the length of the rack, then branch off to the buckets and sprayers. All on a timer that can spray a little on hot days.
For the summer I'm thinking of a 30% sunblock cloth as the Texas sun is brutal. My goal is to automate as much as possible and go chack on picking time.
I live in zone 8a. Texas, think hot as hell summers. I've read there are great veggies that do well in the heat. Spring and fall will be my most productive harvests and in winter I'll likely not grow anything due to the cold here.
I'm hoping to learn a bit on this site to achieve impressive results.
Any ideas on higher-end watering solutions will be appreciated.
I'm new to gardening and an Amature Gourmet cook (meaning I can read recipes and measure) LOL.
I'm starting a Bucket Garden and intend to automate as much as possible. As you can see in my Avatar I have 20 buckets that will mount on a homemade custom rack.
I'm approaching this like a recipe. Put all the right ingredients together and let nature do its thing.
I intend to install an automated watering system that connects to WiFi with filtered water and I'm thinking a 9-zone watering solution (5 zones for buckets at 4 buckets per, and 4 zones for spraying nozles to wet and cool leaves. Water pressure allowing I'll also have 3 drip hoses off the spraying nozzles for three upside-down hanging tomato plants (Ramona and Cherry).
The garden hose will flow to a filter, then PVC pipping down the length of the rack, then branch off to the buckets and sprayers. All on a timer that can spray a little on hot days.
For the summer I'm thinking of a 30% sunblock cloth as the Texas sun is brutal. My goal is to automate as much as possible and go chack on picking time.
I live in zone 8a. Texas, think hot as hell summers. I've read there are great veggies that do well in the heat. Spring and fall will be my most productive harvests and in winter I'll likely not grow anything due to the cold here.
I'm hoping to learn a bit on this site to achieve impressive results.
Any ideas on higher-end watering solutions will be appreciated.
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
Welcome....Sounds like ypu have a lot of this figured out.
Welcome to the forum from a fellow Texan here (Huntsville)! I have experimented with wifi watering systems a good bit and here are my thoughts;
They work ok but as of yet they are not 100% reliable. The weak link always seems to be either wifi connections or system software resets due to power failures etc. The big problem is that when they go haywire, your plants will die in the Texas heat very quickly, especially so for plants in buckets.
You sound like you want a set and forget solution to gardening, and I'm afraid that just is not possible. Plants need daily care for pests, watering, pruning etc. That's part of the enjoyment in gardening in my opinion. If you are wanting to automate the watering chore, I would suggest to start simple and see how that works out before investing time and money in a system that is problematic. I use the Orbit B-Hyve wifi system to water my gardens via drip tape in the rows. It works pretty good and is expandable which my be something helpful for you. The system needs resetting more often than I like though which can be a nuisance.
The shade cloth is not a bad idea for the brutal heat in the Summer, so I would implement that for sure. Lastly, take the time to enjoy the daily tasks in your new garden and slow down life a bit and learn what plants need to thrive. To me that is the best part of gardening personally.
Best of luck in your new endeavors!
Bud
They work ok but as of yet they are not 100% reliable. The weak link always seems to be either wifi connections or system software resets due to power failures etc. The big problem is that when they go haywire, your plants will die in the Texas heat very quickly, especially so for plants in buckets.
You sound like you want a set and forget solution to gardening, and I'm afraid that just is not possible. Plants need daily care for pests, watering, pruning etc. That's part of the enjoyment in gardening in my opinion. If you are wanting to automate the watering chore, I would suggest to start simple and see how that works out before investing time and money in a system that is problematic. I use the Orbit B-Hyve wifi system to water my gardens via drip tape in the rows. It works pretty good and is expandable which my be something helpful for you. The system needs resetting more often than I like though which can be a nuisance.
The shade cloth is not a bad idea for the brutal heat in the Summer, so I would implement that for sure. Lastly, take the time to enjoy the daily tasks in your new garden and slow down life a bit and learn what plants need to thrive. To me that is the best part of gardening personally.
Best of luck in your new endeavors!
Bud
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
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