Watering the soil - The most important link in the care of the greenhouse plant. In case of temporary impossibility of regular manual irrigation of the land, help comes laws of physics and improvised means.
Moistening of the soil with use of a dug plastic bottle - ideal alternative to watering in the usual way.
How to organize watering?
If a the air in the greenhouse is dry and hot, then in order to organize watering with the help of a dug plastic bottle, for each plant from the greenhouse you will need 1 and a half liter.
With moderate humidity and temperature soil appropriate to use 1 bottle for 2-3 plants.
For irrigation moisture-loving or large greenhouse dwellers use 3-5 liter containers.
1 way "down the neck"
- Make a needle with a row of small holes in the narrow part of the bottle located at the neck. The number of vertical rows of holes should match the number of irrigated plants.
- Cut the bottom.
- Wrap the bottle in cotton fabric to prevent clogging of the holes with soil particles.
- Dig a hole between 10 and 15 cm deep between the roots of the plants.
- Place the homemade sprinkler with the lid closed down with the neck down, turn the holes to the root system.
- Fill the bottle with earth, fill it up with water for irrigation and cover the bottom with a plastic cap to reduce evaporation of the liquid.
Do not make big punctures.whose diameter is greater than the thickness of the needle. Through them, the water will leave the tank early, due to which the plant may suffer from dehydration.
Important. Do not use containers aggressive liquids (solvents, glass cleaners) and oils. The remains of these substances on the walls of the bottle pollute the soil and detrimental effect on plants.
2 way up the neck
It differs from the above method by the absence of the need to cut the bottom of the tank. Holes are made 2-3 cm indented from the bottom.
If the water runs out in the bottle ahead of time, the liquid remaining at the bottom will be able to compensate for the lack of moisture for some time.
Bury the bottle in the soil on the neck. Cover the neck but do not tighten the corkso that the container does not shrink as it empties.
How does the method work?
Irrigation using bottles dug into the ground is based on transferring fluid from a wetter environment to a drier onethat is, by the gradient of humidity. Speed up the process promotes gravity of water.
When the earth is saturated with moisture, the flow of water from the bottle slows down due to the gradient alignment.
With this method the likelihood of over-drying or excessive soil moisture is minimized.
Benefits of irrigation with bottles
- Undoubted low cost due to the use of improvised material in the manufacture of sprinkler.
- Simple and fast construction application.
- Time saving. The need for frequent visits to the greenhouse to check the soil moisture disappears.
- Through the bottle into the ground can flow not only water, but also fertilizers dissolved in it. They arrive dosed and directly to the root system, bypassing the overlying layers of soil.
- Reliability: You now do not have to worry about the state of the plants during a short departure.
- Prevention of fungal diseases root system due to excessive soil moisture.
- Lost the need loosening and softening the earth.
- Waterburied in the ground reaches the ambient temperature and to the roots comes warmed.
What crops can be watered?
Suitable drip irrigation method for plants with above-ground shoots and fibrous root system:
- cucumbers;
- tomatoes;
- cabbage;
- pepper;
- eggplants.
Warning. The method is not suitable for root crops (carrots, beets, turnips). If you use plastic bottles for watering in a greenhouse, Manual watering cannot be completely ruled out. due to the fact that leaf irrigation procedures play an important role for many plants.
Useful and inexpensive
Many experienced gardeners use self-made irrigation systems and prefer them to factory ones. Do not rush to throw old plastic bottles out of the water, because often modern methods have cheaper counterparts.
