You don't say how long you to be gone, or how many containers to be watered, so it is hard to tell how big a water supply you will need. Your idea of a tank full of water to gravity water is quite doable. Drip emitters would water the amount needed for each container and a battery operated timer is cheap. Al

Hah, in all my yakking, I forgot the most important bits of info!

We'll be gone one week. (We currently live in central TX, where it's around 65-80 most days now).

We have 12 containers: 3 are one-gallon milk jugs with pepper plants (jalapeno or bell) in each, 3 are 2"x2"x3" containers with just one flower per plant, 2 are about 3"x3"x3" with a plant in each, 1 is 36"x12"x12" (scallions and carrots), 2 are about 6"x24"x8" with many flowers, and one is an 8" diameter round pot about 8" tall with a couple marigold plants.

I'd like to go get some bigger pots to transplant the peppers into before we go, because two of the jugs have multiple small plants growing inside that have just produced their first true leaves in the past week, but it wouldn't become more than 3-4 more pots and then zero milk jugs.

I am now aware that (1) we should have planted the peppers earlier and indoors so they'd germinate earlier; and (2) pepper plants do not like their roots disturbed, so transplanting isn't great. I did transplant one already in a weird and stupid way: I tried to carve out some soil with it to put it in its own pot. the soil fell away, and I was literally left with the plant and no soil in my hands. Nonetheless, I planted it in its own container, and now it's growing quite well. I lucked out, I guess!

Thanks!

OK, is this a good layout for such a system? I sketched something based on what I've read. I don't know if this will work. All the things I'm reading have pumps or at least a pressurized system behind it. This is way smaller and will rely on the bucket being elevated to generate pressure.

Do I even need the timer? And will a 5gal bucket last a week when I'm only watering about 10 small pots with mostly flowers and a few young pepper and carrot plants?

http://oi55.tinypic.com/29202gz.jpg

Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:8083}}

And since I'm just feeding the water from an isolated 5gal bucket, the backflow preventer wouldn't even be necessary, right? No risk of contaminating a water source via backflow, so that'd be about $10 saved.

Right?

With a gravity system you will not need a pressure regulator or any backflow preventer, only a battery operated timer and a drip system with the appropriately sized emitters. Five gallons capacity is, if you will pardon the expression,"a drop in the bucket". Al

Why not just use capillary matting?

If it were me, I'd probably move the pots inside, out of direct sun, group them close together, tent the group loosely with clear plastic... cheap painters drop cloth type plastic... water well right before I left for vacation... and they should be ok... unless any of the plants are already pot bound and thirsty.

I travel north to visit my children for about a week at a time, and I don't really do anything special for my houseplants. I water before leaving, and ensure the temperature isn't too warm. Of course, they're indoor plants.

I hope you find a good solution...

We have a setup similar to your sketch. We use a small water fountain pump inside the bucket on a timer instead of gravity feed. This way we don't have to raise the bucket or worry about the water leaking out of the hole at the bottom of bucket. We use the drippers and stakes from a drip irrigation kit. I say set the whole thing up and test for a few days to make sure you have enough water. You may need to add more drippers in pots near the end of the line.

Thanks for all the comments! Now to address them:

1. capillary matting
I did not know this existed. I am looking into it, but it seems just putting everything in the bathtub with some water and covering with plastic may be easier.

2. small water pump
How much did you pay for the pump? I can't imagine it's that cheap, and that's our goal: cheap cheap cheap. :)

3. inside + clear plastic + water well = may be ideal solution.

I have sitting on our veranda a 5gal bucket (5gal seems to be enough for a week of absence: I don't even use but maybe 1/2gal per day when watering them), a 4ft tall table, a soaker hose, and a timer. I need to get a hose remnant today and can finish my contraption.

That being said, no alterations have been done to any of these things yet, so if I get some comments pointing out this won't work at all (or I discover it doesn't tonight) then I can return everything no harm no foul (may keep the timer, though, because I love gadgetry).

IF soaker hose doesn't work, I will put everything in the tub with a small layer of water and pray they live. Although really my prized things are the peppers, and they don't really need much water to survive, do they now?

Again, thanks for the comments so far!

(And curse Home Depot for not having flag emitters, which are apparently the type of emitters you need for low pressure drip irrigation systems�"this is the reason I've got a soaker hose now. Also it seems cheaper and since some plants are closer than 18" apart it seems better than emitters.)

Kyle,

You can use regular drip line emitters in a low pressure system. I've done it before. The black 1/4" tubing with emitters every 6", 12", or 18".

Also to hook up your tubing to the reservoir, you can just drill a hole and make a homemade compression fitting. No need for extra couplings.

5 gallons probably isn't enough. You should record how many gallons your plants need a week when you hand water, then use a bucket twice as big. Maybe 20 gallon Brute trash can.

Use a stone grinding drill bit, to drill a hole big enough for a garden hose. (Stone grinding bit drills just a small hole at the end of the bit, but tapers up to about an inch width. So you can drill whatever size hole you want with it).

Cut off a small piece of garden hose, stick it in the bottom of the trash can, then attach a battery operated timer valve to it (about $45). Using connectors attach 1/4" line to your plants and put a spiral of 1/4" drip tube in each pot.

I had a 50 gallon reservoir that used a 1/4 tubing for a long time. No leakage. I have now tested 3/4" tubing into plastic buckets using just the drilled technique, no leaks. Fast and cheap to set up.

Good luck.

p.s. You can see some my pictures at:

http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa59/emgardener/?start=all