Re: 8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video

Nonna.PapaVino 4/18/2012, 6:24 pm

Plantoid, the pvc pipe I've used for hoops in our garden are in their 5th year and show no sign degradation except for the algae that grows on everything that doesn't move here in Western Oregon. It looks to me like Shawn's system waters a few boxes at a time, not all at once, which would pretty much eliminate having the soil too wet. Also, Mel's Mix doesn't tend to hold too much water anyway, unless you intentionally 'drown' it.

Shawn, can you regulate the water flow with the valve just outside the boxes?

shawn350 4/18/2012, 6:29 pm

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Plantoid, the pvc pipe I've used for hoops in our garden are in their 5th year and show no sign degradation except for the algae that grows on everything that doesn't move here in Western Oregon. It looks to me like Shawn's system waters a few boxes at a time, not all at once, which would pretty much eliminate having the soil too wet. Also, Mel's Mix doesn't tend to hold too much water anyway, unless you intentionally 'drown' it.

with a raised box the boxes has even moisture and I dont thing I would swamp the plants if I tried.

Shawn, can you regulate the water flow with the valve just outside the boxes?

I have a valve on my panel that has them regulated to 1 gpm. The Solenoid valves are on/off. you could just put a valve on each box and regulate it that way. I just went for 1 gpm for everything and I regulate by time.

shawn350 4/18/2012, 6:37 pm

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Plantoid, the pvc pipe I've used for hoops in our garden are in their 5th year and show no sign degradation except for the algae that grows on everything that doesn't move here in Western Oregon. It looks to me like Shawn's system waters a few boxes at a time, not all at once, which would pretty much eliminate having the soil too wet. Also, Mel's Mix doesn't tend to hold too much water anyway, unless you intentionally 'drown' it.

With raised boxes its very hard to over water. I am using the pre-bagged mel's mix.

Shawn, can you regulate the water flow with the valve just outside the boxes?

The Valves are on/off solenoid valves, so no. but you could easily just put a valve on each box.

I use one valve (circled below) and have a flow meter (arrow) so I know I am at 1 gallon per minute so 10 min = 10 gallons. This helps me track the right water usage.

8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video - Page 2 Img-2021

8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video - Page 2 Img-2021

Don 4/19/2012, 12:37 am

Shawn, are you using Sched. 40 PVC or Sched. 80? I have a lot of Sched. 80 stuff laying around. Don

shawn350 4/19/2012, 12:47 pm

Don wrote:Shawn, are you using Sched. 40 PVC or Sched. 80? I have a lot of Sched. 80 stuff laying around. Don

I used a mixture of both, Schd 40 just has a thinner wall than schd 80. So 40 has a lower pressure rating but still higher than anything we would experience. With 80 being that the sizing is based on outside diameter you do have a smaller flow path in 80. again I do not think it would be a big deal in this application.

Don 4/20/2012, 12:07 am

Are all those joints glued? Will they hold 25 psi without glue and without leaking? I don't have much experience with pvc but it seems like the slip on joints are hard to get apart once firmly set.

shawn350 5/4/2012, 12:00 am

They have to be glued for sure. they will leak or just blow apart.

shawn350 5/4/2012, 12:18 am

First Small Harvest

8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video - Page 2 Harves10

Pumpkins are going crazy!

8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video - Page 2 Pumpki10

My Maders

8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video - Page 2 Maders10

**gwennifer** 5/4/2012, 12:09 pm

Awesome harvest pic! Wow! 8 Table Top Boxes with Automatic Watering - Video - Page 2 593714

jaycromer 5/15/2012, 4:48 pm

I have read through both the build thread and this thread and you have a great setup going there. I started with one small table top box this spring but have much bigger plans for fall. I am curious what size drainage holes you ended up going with in the bottom of each box. I did the book reccomended 1/4" ever square and extra in each corner. Have you had any drainage issues in your boxes? I was also wondering how often you are watering (how many times per week) and what the duration you water for is. Again everything looks great there!

Coelli 5/15/2012, 5:20 pm

Hey Shawn,

We're pretty close to you - in Tujunga!

I'm wondering, did you find the corners of your boxes don't get enough water? We built the same grid, but it seems that the corners stay too dry.

Coelli 5/17/2012, 12:49 am

And just to follow up - we can't get our grids to water evenly and might switch to regular drip irrigation tubing at this rate (in fact we've already bought the parts). I'm disappointed because I really prefer the PVC grid.

We have holes about 3" apart, 3 in each segment, each drilled into the tops of the pipes. They're also a little bigger. Would less and smaller holes help even out the distribution of the water? The grid seems super-sensitive to how level they are and if one side is even slightly higher than the other, everything goes out of whack.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated so I can return this $85 worth of drip irrigation stuff back to Home Depot. Smile

Sponsored content


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.