A kit is a good way to try drip irrigation and see if it works for you. After that, you can order the tubing and fittings in bulk from online places like dripworks or mrdrip. This way you can get your per pot cost below 50 cents. Sorry I have not figured out to post a hyperlink yet.
This message was edited Feb 17, 2006 8:47 PM
This timer was 25$ at home depot last year. Cheaper than most it worked just fine in my absence.
You will need a splitter to run multiple lines. Inexpensive plastic ones work just fine.
When I am over the road , it's nice to know the garden is watered.
great plants and pictures ,
thank you for brighting my day
Thanks Tazzy. I want to encourage others to attempt new things. Most climate zones have wonderful plant combinations waiting to happen. I live in the subtropical south. Plants that dislike humidity and heat just melt here every summer. The midwest has lots of pontential .
same here its sand and hot
most plants in ground are dead by july
or water bill is in $$$$$
I see hope for my plants this summer!
Now I just need to get that leaky faucet fixed so I don't get a lake at the low spot next to the skirting.
Thanks for all the info :-)
Jesse the system kattamos is showing is almost identical to mine. My system start up cost is about 20.00. the timer I added cost me 31.00. Its really inexpensive to use. The only setback for me is is attaching the* 1/4 inch tubing in the 1 inch tubing. Thats where one of those strong teenage boys come in. I just could not punch those holes. but I think they came out with something new to do that.the gratest think about this system is you can add and take away as you see fit.
*
http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrigation.php?cPath=40_72
I see where they have come up with a new puncher, got to try that. :)
Sylvia
tazzy - that's the kewlest looking plant! What is it exactly?
love your garden./ pure heaven. love your road shots, too
still waiting for the basement photos,though..gotta see that
hilary
I wanna see the basement shots too,gotta know how she arranges them...!! :o)
Loretta...
If you buy drip/mister irrigation at either Home Depot or Lowe's, then stay with that store. I made the mistake of buying from both places and they are hard to splice together.
They are lifesavers when it comes to watering chores for potted plants, but it is hard to hide the tubing so it can be ugly for some folks. Also let the main tubing heat up in the sun to avoid kinks when running it along paths. They also sell spray heads that can be quarter circle, half circle, full circle, etc. with adjustable flow rates - this helps cover larger areas instead of individual emitters for groups of pots. You can hang spray heads upside down from trees that your hanging pots are in as well (like they do at the garden centers). After a few days of watering with this method, you can figure out which pots need more water and which ones need less and change emitters/sprayers as seen fit.
Basement pix! Basement pix! Basement pix! Basement pix! Basement pix! Basement pix! We want to see the basement, kattamos. I have a basement and a crawl space and a garage, and I sure hate the ritual of discarding the annuals that are done for the year.
xxxxxxxxxxx, Carrie
Hi Kattamos,
I'm new to Dave's garden just had to tell you
how much i enjoyed the pictures of your gardens
beautiful and lush
when i start on my garden maybe i can get some
pointers
I do not know how I would go about making an indoor system. I have so many plants and I can't figure out how I would even get started. Is there any information/pictures where this is used strictly for indoor plants?
JesseK
I have limited space also,so I would like to see how she stores them for the winter..I don't think there is any info about making an indoor system to show us how it's done..
Loretta...
Heres a little "Lushness" from summer 2005. It's the fence line bed. just off our covered patio. we love the view.
Deanna
Wow very nice..What's those pink flowers on the lower right hand corner and the greens on the fence??
Loretta...
Mandevilla? That is a beautiful picture, Deanna! Now that you've managed to wet our appetite....show us more pics! LOL
Ok, Ok, since you asked *grinning here*- thought you'd never ask! (:-}
Thanks Brinda thats what it is..Yeah Deanna we want to see more.. :o))
Loretta....
Got time for another? My DH makes fun of my flamingo, but I think he's (the flamingo, not DH) so cute with the Astilbe!
I'm sorry,Brinda! To answer your question-yes, it is a mandevilla. By Fall, heart frame completely covered.The vine on the fence is Virginia Creeper!
How many of you enjoy just foliage? We do-a lot. Check this one out.It,s ground cover in one of my large semi-shade beds (creeping jenny, ajuga, and creeping sedum). I've since added plectranthus vines for even more show.
This message was edited Feb 20, 2006 4:04 PM
Deanna, so very pretty!!! And I just love your flamingo! I'm the same about foliage.....DH and I enjoy it so much. I'm loving your pics....this has turned into a great thread to help me get through all the winter blues! I'm sooooo ready for spring!
Deanna do you have the mandevilla in a pot or do you just buy new every summer?I've tried to save mine and it always got to shabby looking.. :o((
Loretta...
Kattamos, your tropical garden inspires me! I love your Nancy's Revenge and the Black Magic (I think?) next to your front door. I can't imagine moving all of those plants indoors.
You can never have too many plants! :-)
trunnels - verry nice use of color! Love how the pot color echoes the coleus. Is that a little fountain in that pot? Please tell me you are over-wintering the coleus, and then tell me how!
Thanks, PrairieGirlZ5! Yes, it is a fountain-in-a-pot. :-) And you better wait for Kattamos to answer you about overwintering the coleus; I've never been good at it. Fortunately, they are fairly inexpensive here in the spring.
Though I am not sure why, people want to see the unheated unlit basement where my plants sleep thru winter. The largest are the brugmansias and bananas trimmed down to 7 feet tall .I wrap the brugs pots in a plastic bag. The 10 and 12 inch pots go into the largest pots on the soil. Then the 8 and 6 inch pots fill out the top layer. Every 2 or 3 weeks ,I water the top layer of pots. The water seeps down from pot to pot until it is stopped by the plastic.
Here's a shot of the bare brugmansia forest
do you grow brugs in the ground, or are they all in pots? Can't imagine hauling all those inside before frost, then back out in Spring. I have several brug cuttings, started from my two brugs in the ground. Have thought about putting some of them in pots, but can't have as many pots as you have.
Sams does have large pots at a good price.
Your yard is absolutely beautiful.
Loretta, Yes, the Mandevilla is in a pot in the ground. I let the frost take it, as I didn't have the provisions to overwinter it properly. It makes me sick. Wish I could store it each winter, like my elephant Ears! Meet the "Herd", as my DH and I affectionately call them. I started with one bulb 12 years ago, and have given away over 100 bulbs since then.
Deanna
This dark cool dry overwintering process does not work for coleus or most annuals. A sunny window sill in a warm kitchen sometimes works.
JesseK I do not know how a drip system would work indoors. You would have to watch it carefully or you might have a small flood in your home.
Trunnels Thanks for taking my side on the too many plants debate.
It is a huge job twice a year to migrate the plants. One summer, a banana grew several trunks and weighed 125 lbs.
The following pic is Moon River II. the blooms can be as big as a plate.
It dies to the soil each year and can stay outside all winter. This could be a new direction for me.
kattamos, that picture is really cool.
We had a banana that we got in 2004, took it in to overwinter and here it is in early spring of 2005. They grow so fast!!! I don't know how much this thing weighed, but I do know it took DH, my son and myself almost 2 hours to take off all the pups. It will be interesting to see how it does this year.
I just love coleus, but I don't try to overwinter any cuttings. I just don't have the room with everything else. And they are inexpensive here also, plus all you need is one plant to get MANY! Cuttings are so easy.
Oh Brinda, that is sooo pretty! How do you do the cuttings? I think I'm dumb.
You're not dumb at all! PrairieGirlZ, coleus and caladium are probably the easiest plants we grow. When the nurseries start getting them in you need to pick up a couple. I have mostly full sun here and they do fine, even though they will also do well in shade. They will grow large, or you can keep them cut back. Just snip off a piece about 5"-6" and stick it in water. It will have roots in less than a week and then you can just pot it up. (I've even just stuck the cutting in soil and they root) Just remember to keep them pinched and they will bush out! And I make sure that I pinch the seeds off. I want the plant using all it's energy for beauty, not seeds!
Make sure you visit the Coleus Forum in a month or so....it will be buzzing like crazy!
Thanks for the tip Brinda. I have used coleus in my pots for 2 or 3 years now, I wish I knew that I could've over-wintered them in a sunny windowsill, I had The Flume, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, maybe they shoulda called it Neopolitan, very nice plant! One gallon for $6, and I lost it all. :-(
Any of you folks grow Magilla Perilla? I just started a couple years ago, and just LOVE this plant. It looks like a huge, healthy coleus shrub! So easy to grow, and seems to be every visitor to my yard's favorite.
