Water Garden while on vacation

[dubele]

Hello,

I am new here...my first post.

I just planted a 10' x 16' garden. I just realized I won't be able to water my garden when I am on vacation......are there any options for watering while on vacation?

Thanks,
Doug

[pepper4]

Hey Doug! Maybe a neighbor or family member would be able to do it

[DoubleDogFarm]

Battery timer and a sprinkler. Sprinklers are a big waste of water, but will get the job done.

Neighbor for the exchange of fresh veggies.

[Joyfirst]

Soaker hose with a timer - no waisted water.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I like, just install a few days before vacation, so you can tweak it.

[rainbowgardener]

Depends on how long a vacation, what you have planted, and what the weather will be while you are gone.

If the weather isn't too fierce hot and sunny (you didn't say where you are located... Texas isn't too good for this), you can probably soak everything deeply, lay down a bunch of mulch and soak the mulch and be good for at least a week (but not if it is baby seedlings!).

Otherwise friendly neighbor (best) or drip irrigation system on a timer (expensive). If you just have a few plants you are worried about, poke a few small holes (like pinholes) in the bottom of 2 liter soda bottle. Fill it 1/3 full of sand, bury it next to the plant and fill with water. Water should slowly drip out of the bottle to the plant roots... gives you several extra days.

Welcome to the forum!

[freedhardwoods]

Unless you live in a very dry area, you shouldn't need to be watering this time of year. In 30 years I have never watered anything before July, other than new transplants when I set them out, and then only in very dry weather (no rain for 2 or 3 weeks). This time of the year there is more than enough rain here in the Midwest. I will admit, though, that I do things differently than many here. I don't harden off transplants. I just set them out, give them a good drink of water, and let them grow. Most of them make it and do just fine.

[dubele]

I am in Southeast Pennsylvania. We haven't had our usual deluge for the past month, so I have been watering daily.

The vacation I am referring to is in late July. PA July's are usually very hot and humid....if there is not rain in the forecast...my plants (tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, brussell sprouts, Swiss chard, pole beans, peas, collard greens, zucchini, and cucumber) are goners.

I like the idea of a timer on the faucet and maybe I'll do a soaker hose (may be too expensive)......what is everyone’s experience with timers? Any issues with it being in the sun all day?

Thanks for the replies,
Doug

[DoubleDogFarm]

I like the idea of a timer on the faucet and maybe I'll do a soaker hose (may be too expensive)......what is everyone’s experience with timers? Any issues with it being in the sun all day?

We like to use this timer, Orbit LCD @ $65.00 (expensive ) https://www.dripworksusa.com/tech/orbit/62001english.pdf

No problem with rain or sun.

[greynolds]

We like to use this timer, Orbit LCD @ $65.00 (expensive ) https://www.dripworksusa.com/tech/orbit/62001english.pdf

No problem with rain or sun.

My first post and I've got a similar situation.

I'm heading off on vacation in a few weeks and need a solution that can deal with the odd/even day rules that we have in our town. I picked up a similar, but less expensive, Orbit digital timer at the local True Value hardware store, but it doesn't have a provision for programming the date (or day of week like yours, but that wouldn't help in my case). It has the ability to water every other day, but the problem is that at the end of a month with 31 days (like July), it would start watering on even numbered days instead of odd because it would water on the 29th, 31st, then the 2nd, 4th, etc. and potentially get me fined for breaking the water ban rules.

Does anyone know of a somewhat reasonably priced timer (say under $100) that can be programmed with a date and setup to water on only odd or even days of the month? It needs to be a model that just attaches inline on the hose and runs on battery power as I don't want to go to the effort of a more permanent install as this will only be used when I'm away (I water by hand when I'm home).

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Neighbor kids are cheap labor 10 bucks a week and my neighbor kid would water every day!!! The 8-10 year old range are the most enthusiastic about gardening I have found they come over while I'm picking and weeding all the time anyway.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Here is a four station timer, about $60.00. It has odd-even day scheduling.
https://www.dripworksusa.com/tech/orbit/57962english.pdf
You would also need a bit of wiring and a valve.
https://www.dripworksusa.com/store/valves.php


I'm using the TRD9I timer and (9) VRB34 valves. 2 are in my garden, 1 for the greenhouse and the rest in the orchard.

I think the neighborhood kids is a great way to go.

[applestar]

Neighborhood kids could be expected to reliably water if you set up a watering system with a manual timer that they can set to water for X number of minutes.

[DoubleDogFarm]

You could go for one of these

Dripworks Manual Wind Up Timer New!
These easy to use windup timers will water from 5 to 120 minutes and then shut off automatically. They can also be locked-on to water indefinitely. The dials can be turned backwards with no damage to the mechanism. The outlet on the timer is a standard hose thread, but it comes with a plastic quick connect fitting attached that can be easily removed. No batteries are required.
Duration: 5 minutes to 120 minutes
Maximum Pressure: 80 PSI
Flow Rate: 0 to 6 GPM
Warranty: 1 year
Mfg. Part #: YL-21001/YL-21102


TWU1 Single Valve $14.50 Qty:

[greynolds]

Neighbor kids are cheap labor 10 bucks a week and my neighbor kid would water every day!!! The 8-10 year old range are the most enthusiastic about gardening I have found they come over while I'm picking and weeding all the time anyway.

The kids in my neighborhood are either too young (not in school yet), too old (in college and no interest in doing such menial work...), or I don't have confidence in their reliability.

[greynolds]

Here is a four station timer, about $60.00. It has odd-even day scheduling.
https://www.dripworksusa.com/tech/orbit/57962english.pdf
You would also need a bit of wiring and a valve.
https://www.dripworksusa.com/store/valves.php


I'm using the TRD9I timer and (9) VRB34 valves. 2 are in my garden, 1 for the greenhouse and the rest in the orchard.

There are plenty of timers like the one you linked to, but all of the ones I've found (including this one) require some form of hard wiring and / or need to be mounted indoors and that just isn't an option for me. I need something that is purely battery powered and can be mounted outside. Having to rig up adapters to connect to the spigot and hose wouldn't be a problem, but something that mounts inline with the hose would be ideal. Like I said, the one I picked up at the hardware store is almost what I'm looking for - all they need to do is add calendar functionality and an option for odd / even day watering and I'd be set. Charge $10 more and everyone is presumably happy . It's funny, I asked about this at the True Value in my town and the employee wanted to know why I wanted something with an odd / even day option - he had no idea that we had an odd / even water schedule in town .

I think the neighborhood kids is a great way to go.

Neighborhood kids are a great option when available. Since that's not an option, I may ask a guy at the gym who usually comes in with his son (who appears to be about the right age to work out well for this) if his son would be available and interested (and have a way to get to my house) in doing it. Since he'd probably have to make an effort to get to my house, I'd definitely pay him more than $10 for the week - I was thinking more like $50 which would be worth it to make sure my garden is in good shape when I get back. Anything to be able to escape the horrible supermarket tomatoes later in the season...

[greynolds]

Here is a four station timer, about $60.00. It has odd-even day scheduling.
https://www.dripworksusa.com/tech/orbit/57962english.pdf
You would also need a bit of wiring and a valve.
https://www.dripworksusa.com/store/valves.php


I'm using the TRD9I timer and (9) VRB34 valves. 2 are in my garden, 1 for the greenhouse and the rest in the orchard.

Taking another look at this, I can get the TMBVHST "Faucet to Valve Setup", some 2 conductor direct burial wire and connectors, and the [url=https://www.hunterindustries.com/Resources/PDFs/Owners_Manuals/Domestic/LIT467.pdf]Hunter XC Hybrid Battery Timer[/url] and I'll be all set. This timer can be mounted outside and can run on batteries. So I can mount it somewhere close to the faucet and run a short wire to the valve and I'm all set. It's more expensive than I had in mind, but it looks like the perfect solution for me. Order has been placed - hopefully it'll arrive in time for the trip. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[moderntechnology]

Hello,

I am new here...my first post.

I just planted a 10' x 16' garden. I just realized I won't be able to water my garden when I am on vacation......are there any options for watering while on vacation?

Thanks,
Doug

I'm leaving for the weekend but I don't have neighbors to assist with watering, nor a sprinkler with a timer and it's very hot here in Oklahoma. Luckily it's always windy. The end cap of my water hose has a pressure twist knob that enables me to set it to a fine mist. So, I'm going to set it to a fine mist and position it so that when the wind blows it will blow some of the mist on to my tomato plants. Hope that works for the weekend. My only concern is that they might get too much water :/. Guess I'll find out this Sunday when I return.

[TheWaterbug]

There are plenty of timers like the one you linked to, but all of the ones I've found (including this one) require some form of hard wiring and / or need to be mounted indoors and that just isn't an option for me. I need something that is purely battery powered and can be mounted outside. Having to rig up adapters to connect to the spigot and hose wouldn't be a problem, but something that mounts inline with the hose would be ideal.

I can't help with the even/odd problem, but I [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BRRD18/ref=ox_ya_os_product]bought one of these[/url]for myself and one for my Mom, and the [url=https://www.orbitonline.com/lib/media/27922-24%20rE%20(1)1.pdf]user's manual at Orbit[/url] says only:

Warnings
For outdoor use with cold water only.

I'm assuming that means it's OK if it gets rained on. It's completely battery operated, and I just have it between the main hose bib and my drip lines. It's worked great so far.

They might have smarter versions that will go even/odd.

[greynolds]

I can't help with the even/odd problem, but I [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BRRD18/ref=ox_ya_os_product]bought one of these[/url]for myself and one for my Mom, and the [url=https://www.orbitonline.com/lib/media/27922-24%20rE%20(1)1.pdf]user's manual at Orbit[/url] says only:

They might have smarter versions that will go even/odd.

As I said a few posts back, I ended up going with the Hunter XC Hybrid timer and it has turned out to be perfect (if overkill) for my needs. It handles the odd/even day requirement for watering in my town perfectly and is expandable to handle additional valves if I want to setup additional zones in the future.

[gixxerific]

Sounds like a good timer I have one like that that is totally programmable with multiple programs.

That is the way to go no worries there, except how the garden is doing while you are gone. We left for a little over a week last year, I thought about my garden a lot.

But never fear when you get back you will not recognize it. Amazing how fast they grow when you are not watching. Make sure everything is picked before you leave.

Have fun.

[jal_ut]

I got a cheap timer to turn the Christmas lights on and off. I think it was about $12. You would need an electric 110 volt valve to go with it. You can probably find this stuff at The Home Depot or similar stores.

[dave103069]

Timer with a sprinkler is the easiest solution. I picked up a battery operated digital timer at wallmart for about $25 and also bought a cheap sprinkler. Works great for a cheap quick solution...

Timer
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Orbit-1-Dial-Electronic-Hose-Timer/16332345
Sprinkler
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Melnor-Oscillating-Sprinkler-with-Metal-Nozzles/16561388

[garden5]

I'm glad you were able to find a timer to suit your needs .

I've never used one, but I've been considering seriously getting one (I do every year ) and I've seen some pretty customizeable ones on the market. Most of the ones I see are designed to go on the spigot, so that tells me that they're fine for outdoor use. I mean, the designers must realize that most spigots are located outside.