Consistent watering is one of the most important things a Vegetable Gardener has to consider during the Summer months when growing warm loving vegetables like tomatoes, aubergine, cucumbers and sweet peppers.
Automatic watering systems will take ‘you’ out of the equation, that is ‘you’ standing and watering every plant, every evening and instead get on with watering itself, when you are at work or on holiday.
Watering – How long to reach the roots?
You will be surprised at how long you’ll have to stand with the hose pipe on the same part of the soil to even reach the roots of a plant. It’s 15 minutes on average, watering the same spot in your garden to water 6 inches of soil from the surface down to the roots.
This watering fact surprised me, in how much time this would take to water my entire garden on a deep soaking, just so the plants get what they need. I do love to switch off from my 9 to 5 job in the garden in the evening, watering and observing nature, however if I deep soaked every plant, I would be there quite a few hours and my water bill would be sky high!
This is why for time saving and if you go on holiday, automatic watering systems can take away some of the watering burden on trying to keep your plants alive in the summer heat.
Watering System Types
There are two types of watering systems:
- Drip feed through droppers or a soaker hose, which only drips on the soil surface, over the course of a certain time period from a tap with a timer or water butt.
- Wicking or capillary material, which allows the roots to suck up the water they need through their roots. These are fed through a water tank, which needs to be filled up by you.
I grow warm loving vegetables every year in my greenhouse and I have had experience with installing a had a few different watering systems for raised beds, pots and in the greenhouse. Let’s look at the positives and negatives of these 3 top watering systems to take the hassle out of watering your vegetables in the summer.
1. Drip Feed or Soaker Hose Watering Systems with Tap Timer for Raised Beds, Pots or Greenhouse.
Drip Fed System from Tap
A drip fed system is where the water is taken from the tap through this tubes to a drip tap which is placed near the plant stem on the soil surface. There will be lots of Drip taps to this system. A timer can be placed on the tap to urn this system on automatically at certain times of the day to water at the most effective times. Drip fed systems are great for pots or containers.
Soaker Hose from Tap
A Soaker hose is a porous hose pipe that when filled with water seeps out on top of the soil soaking an area of soil around the hose. This can be linked to a normal hose pipe back to the tap. A timer can be setup on this system at the tap as well.
Soaker Hoses are great for Raised Beds and flower borders.
Positives of Drip Fed Water Systems
- Delivery of Water – The drip feeder or soaker hose is right over the plant to be able to deliver the water to that zone.
- Automatic watering – It is automatic if a timer is placed on the pipe to the tap.
Negatives of Drip Fed Water Systems
- Cost & Spread – The Drip feeder would have to be on for at least an hour to deep soak large pots or containers which could be costly on your water bills if watering daily.
- Pests – The Soaker hose attracts slugs that sit under the hose , which is not great if you are growing lettuce which slugs love to eat.
Overall Water Efficiency Score
This automatically watering system takes a while to setup with lots of piping and hose pipe. It is costly depending on how many times you have the timer on daily and weekly. Pests can also be attracted which is not ideal for your vegetables. Although if you do spot them, you can remove them from the garden.
Score: 5 out of 10
2. Hozelock Growbag Watering System for the Greenhouse
I have been using the Hozelock Growbag watering tank for a number of years and I add extra bottomless pots on top of the grow bags. This is due to Tomatoes and Cucumbers being heavy feeders and I think need more nutrients than what is in a growbag.
The plants roots find their way down the bottomless pots and into the growbag and by the end of the season in August the roots are in the water tank.
The watering tanks are ideal for holidays and your plants will still be watered. The tanks last a week in cool weather and 3-4 days in hot weather, then you’ll need to fill them up.
Positives of Drip Fed Water Systems
Positives of using the Hozelock Growbag Watering system
- Convenience – The plants water themselves by sucking up the water via their roots from May to September.
- Holidays or Busy lifestyles – It’s not bothered with your lifestyle, but it does help by you not having to fill up the tanks for 3-4 days in the heat to 7 days in cool weather.
- Indoors or Outdoors – This clever system can be used in a greenhouse or outdoors for water needy plants like tomatoes and cucumbers.
- Consistent Watering – Tomatoes for one need consistent watering otherwise they are susceptible to diseases. These water tanks give the plant what they need, when they need it.
Negatives of using the Hozelock Growbag Watering system
- Initial Cost – You’ll definitely need two tanks which is enough for 6 plants, which cost about £32 each from Amazon.
- Ongoing Cost – Every year you will need to buy 2 grow bags approx £9.99 each and the wicking material – approx £8.99 which is enough for 2 tanks.
- Human Error – You are in charge of topping up the tanks, there is a handy indicator that tells you when they are half full and then empty, if you forget to top up the water, then your plants suffer.
Score: 6 out of 10
3. Auto2Pots with Tank Watering System for Greenhouse
A few years ago I wondered what all the noise was about with these Autopots, gardeners on facebook groups were saying how great they were for watering and feeding plants, and now I can see why.
I can now sing their praises too. They feel like an upgrade from the Hozelock growbag watering system, costing more but worth it in the long run. They really do push your plants to their growing potential. The sweet peppers and cucumbers are certainly better in size and taste.
The best thing about Autopots is the easy setup and no maintenance needed. Just top up the generous 47L tank every once on a while and you are good to grow.
With a busy life of 9-5 working and school pickups, fuss free growing and watering is what it’s all about. I can rest knowing that my plants are being watered whilst I go about my busy daily life. Pure Bliss!
AutoPots work on a wicking system with water being sucked up from the bottom of the pots, as and when the plant needs it to grow.
Positives of using AutoPots Easy2Grow Watering System
- Easy to Setup – Easy to join together out of the box and start growing.
- Easy to top up the tank – Just make sure your tank is raised up on an upturned bucket and fill the tank with a hosepipe from your tap. The 47L tank lasts ages depending on what you are growing. For example, in the photo above I have 3 young cucumber and 3 young sweet pepper plants. Even in this heatwave I haven’t had to fill up the tank yet and the water has been in there for 2 weeks, going down slowly.
- No Maintenance – There is no maintenance required. It’s easy to store and get out again next year. Although this year I’m going to try some winter veg in the greenhouse, to see whether it works all year round.
- Easy to Expand – With Autopots it is easy to add another tray with two pots, if you want to grow more plants. Eventually you might need to upgrade to the next size water tank, if you have more than 6 pots.
- Compact units – If you have a 6.6 by 6 foot greenhouse (a small one) then you need compact units. These Autopots can be lined up in one line or put next to one another.
Negatives of using Autopots Easy2Grow Watering System
- Initial Cost – The initial cost is high however it is worth it. Kits with 4 pots, trays, pipes and the 47L tank with everything to get you started vary in price from £77.50 from a Hydroponics shop online to £111.99 with a well known high street company. EBay are also good for spares although I have only ever had to replace a stop valve in 3 years of owning it.
- Yes I can really only think of the 1 negative. I really do love these Autopots!
Score: 10 out of 10
Summary
In summary, the Autopots Easy2Grow Watering system has won the prized award for best automatic watering system for growing vegetables. (In my opinion).
They have really impressed me with the plants growing capabilities over the past few years. The plants in the pots grow stronger and more upright, as well as having fantastic harvests. These plants seem to be the elite over the Hozelock watering system.
SowGrowHarvest.co.uk
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