Watering: I'm looking for a tip ...

[Grelinette]

... to check the correct functioning of an automatic watering!

Here is the problem: we installed automatic watering systems on several shared gardens, mainly drips, and we had some disappointments with programmers who trigger watering:

- bad programming, bad handling.
- false contact (random) of a solenoid valve wire
- hs battery
- faulty programmer
- blocked pipe
etc ...

The waterings are triggered at night and we can see in the morning if the soil is wet, but it is difficult to check whether the watering has been triggered as planned by the program.

The ideal would be to have a method to check, for each irrigation network:

1) the trigger time
2) duration
3) the amount of water

For 3), I will try to put a can or a bottle connected to a micro-sprinkler, so that I will see if the amount of water complies with the material data (announced flow rate of micro-sprinklers) and with the programming .

For the hour and the duration, it's more complicated!
An electronic system is needed which records the effective time of activation and the duration as a function of humidity.

Do you have any tips?

[Did67]

What seems important to me is that there has been watering and approximately the amount of water required. The "general public" drippers are rather approximate ...

So I would have proceeded like you: a bottle on a witness dripper, per line ...

Time and duration are of little importance from a plant point of view. Pra ialleurs, if the system worked (debited the planned quantity), and if the clock is on time, why would you wish that the schedule of ela porgrammation was not respected?

On the other hand, if the bottle is empty, or insufficiently filled, or too full, one of the parameters has "screwed up".

The big variation will actually come from the rain. And there, the sophisticated programmers integrate a rain gauge. L0, it plays ... The system that starts just after a good watering, so for nothing ...

[chatelot16]

simple solution: water meter: this indicates the amount of water distributed during the night if it is read every day
http://www.bricodepot.fr/angouleme-cham ... /prod8358/

to make automatic there are magnetic sensors to put on the meters when there is a magnet inside intended for that

[raymon]

Controlling one or more tasters also seems to me the best solution; the more expensive meter will not take account of any leaks on a fitting.
What I don't like about l to g is that we water only a very small part of the ground so the roots are essentially in this area. I like once a week to run ten hours continuously to water a larger area.

[Did67]

The "drip" is not necessarily a few drops every 24 hours!

It is indeed necessary to determine the duration of each watering (and consequently the sintervals), so that it forms, under the ground, a "bulb" of wet ground corresponding to the stage of vegetative development of the plant, therefore of its roots !

On my tomato plants, I do not put back before appearing at the end of the day, the first isgnes of water stress: last leaves a little "flappy" ...

The raspberries, I stress a little less, otherwise they stop producing (I have "pick-ups") ... The "salads" either, I do not stress too much otherwise it accelerates the rise without seed ...

But otherwise, the rule is to go to the first signs of water stress ...

But otherwise, I favor drip: the aisles remain dry, the aerial part remains dry, dosage adapted to each line of vegetables according to their needs (size, development), which is more difficult by spraying or worse, by "tourniquet"