watering plants efficiently

[seneca]

I was wondering if there was a way to water plants effieciently - ie. making sure the maximum mount of water gets to where the plant needs it most (roots.) I have heard of burying a drinks bottle, but not sure how that would work. I imagine one end is cut off, the lid removed and holes pierced into it. does this work?
I have some spare plastic pipes of varying sizes that would look better than a pop bottle and was wondering about how best to fit them. How about a 30=40 cm length with holes drilled in and then hammered into the ground at an angle. Water then could be poured down the tube and get to the are beneath the middle of the plant. will this work? has anyone any other ideas that they have tried?

thanks.

 

[breezer]

like to see you hammer a drinks bottle into the ground.

Some councils, when they plant a tree they "plant" a pipe that finishes at the roots, they water the tree by pouring water down the pipe. (yes the pipes do have flip lids, which usually get ripped off)

You cant really hammer the pipe in since it will be full of soil, which is why the council put them in when the tree is planted (so the pipe stays empty)

annother option is to bury a soaker hose.

 

[seneca]

like to see you hammer a drinks bottle into the ground.

no, I just planned to dig a hole with a trowel and bury it.

You cant really hammer the pipe in since it will be full of soil

I thought it would be easier to hammer a stake in that was a similar size to a length of pipe. Wigle the stake around a bit to enlarge the hole and loosen it. Remove the stake and insert the pipe. Easy.

I have a few trees in pots and when I dig the holes for them to go into the ground, I'll bury the odd pipe with them.

flip lids

never thought of covering them. I suppose leaves could fall in and clog them up, but don't see it as that big a problem. Not sure whether a pipe would need a lid though.

 

[HOF]

this is one of my projects during winter. Im planning on running an irrigation system on a timer for next year. With the complete kits you can choose the type of water fitment depending on what you are trying to do. So for example ill have sprinklers on general plants and drips onto my tree ferns

 

[Thermo]

sprinklers are inefficent, go for porus pipe or drippers. Its what we always recomend to customers when we fit irrigation systems

 

[2scoops0406]

sprinklers are inefficent, go for porus pipe or drippers. Its what we always recomend to customers when we fit irrigation systems

Sprinklers are useful in certain situations, but if you have a programmable timer, then sprinkle at say 2:00 am. This will improve "efficiency", loss through evapouration, no end.

 

[breezer]

i think thermo means that with a sprinkler you can not 100% say where the water will go, and it is also needed at the roots not the planty decorative bit.

When we had grass, i ran a "main pipe" one way (non soaker) and T off it the other way with soaker hose and burried the lot.

its great, you can water the grass (or plants) when you like, and no one gets wet.

 

[seneca]

interesting thoughts, people. My main concern was how to get the maximum amount of water that I giving the plant (in most cases trees/shrubs that are yet to be planted) to the most vital part of said plant (roots.)
I'll be taking the water from a water butt and applying it with a watering can. The simplest and cheapest way of doing it. I figured the tube system was an easy way of doing it instead of pouring water over a dried suface around the plant and it running off. A bit labour intensive when compared to irrigation, but there are only a few plants and they are dotted all over the place.