Water water everywhere!?

OK those of you with trays upon trays and trays on those...... Weezingreens I am talkin to you...LOL!

HOW do you water them all?? I know bottom water yada yada yada-- what method or type of container do you use to water everything in a timely manner- it takes me 15 minutes with my litle wating can to bottom water 15 flats and about 20 pots (nevermind the houseplants and nevermind misting with cammomile tea!). Since I am in the basement a hose is not the greatest choice-- so how do you do it so everything gets water without having to run the the sink 18 billion times??

Heather

Welcome to DG, Heather. Sorry I cannot answer your question, though. I haven't started many seeds in a few years... no space.

Heather, I wish I could tell you I've got a high-tech watering system, but at this point, I am bottom watering, using several milk and bleach jugs that I keep refilling until I'm done. It takes a lot of water, for sure! Out in the greenhouse, I have a big plastic tote with a sump pump. I can drag in the house when it is safe to keep the hose outdoors without freezing.... soon, I hope!

Heather, what a timely question you ask! I was just out at the greenhouse testing my sprayer to make sure it worked before tomorrow's compost tea spray. It worked and as I was testing it I had a bright idea to use this to water the seedlings and other things in the greenhouse. It worked like a charm! This sprayer is on wheels and has a coiled hose that is rather long and I love it. I use it only for compost tea, so I just put water in it and a little of the tea and made a weak tea watering solution for the greenhouse! The nozzle adjusts from a stream to a fine mist, so it's perfect. Also the long wand makes getting at the tight spaced towards the back of the shelves and under the lights a breeze. I can also direct the spray into trays for plants that need bottom watering. I watered my plants in about half the normal amount of time tonight. I had been struggling with this, and here was the answer right under my nose!

I've had two fancy hose nozzles with a mist setting that work wonders in my greenhouse for germinating flats to mature plants. They cost about $10 and neither of mine lasted more than one year. I'd like to find a brand that lasts even at double the price. My next choice for germinating and tiny seedlings is an empty squirt bottle like from dishwashing liquid. It takes more time but you have good control.

Small seedlings are bottom watered. We have a pan that holds 2 - 1020 flats. Pour in water set the flat in go for another, etc.
First is wet by the time you get back with the next.
In the greenhouse we have many hoses. We use spray wands. The best one we found is at Wal-Mart for $4.
We can water everything in a couple of hours.
The hose is hooked to our well, running at 50 PSI.
Bernie
This is a pic of some of our Petunias.

This message was edited Apr 9, 2005 7:40 AM

This message was edited Apr 9, 2005 7:42 AM

Is that a pressure sprayer Pixiedish?? the kind some people use to take roundup all over the yard with? Ohhhhh- I gotta get me one of those...

Heather

Forgot that I have a "fog nozzle" from Seeds of Change (since I haven't done seedlings recently)... It screws onto a regular hose and creates a fine mist that I can use on even tiny seedlings. To control the on/off, I have a Themb Valve between the fogger and the hose. Solid brass (both of them) and well-made. Mine are about 5-6 years old.
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.asp?item_no=S15125 (Fog Nozzle)
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.asp?item_no=S15128 (Thumb Valve)

There are adapters that will change the thread of your indoor faucets to one that will take an outside hose. My coiling hose came with one. An old but still good solution for small seedlings is an end piece called a 'rose'. It turns the water into a fine mist. You have probably seen and used them and never knew the correct name. If you can, set up an automatic drip system. It is the best way to go and you can even fertilize with an injector. A good quality siphon is handy for fertilizing with a watering hose. A good brass siphon may cost $15. Pressurized sprayers are nice but most are too small for my needs and the spray is too hard except for the largest plants. If I need to use water that is dechlorinated, I put 5 gallon buckets by those racks and use it after it sits 24 hours then fill it again right away so it will be ready for the next watering. I may have to look into a reverse osmosis system soon as I want to grow bog plants and tap water will kill them. Jessamine

Heather, yep it's a pressure sprayer. Mine holds two gallons. You can get them bigger, but it's awkward. Getting one on wheels was a good idea. I got it at costco last year. I start a lot of plants, but I don't really need an autodrip system myself. That would be great if I had a bigger greenhouse, but this works fine for smaller amounts of work.

PIXYDISH!!!!!! I got a 1 gal. pressure sprayer tonight at walmart -- I LOVE IT!!!!! that thing is the coolest thing ever!!!!!!! I watered my seedlings in record time-- now we'll see how they are in the morning the spray makes it a little deciving how much water they take on... but I did mostly bottom water . My babies all got their first meal of BioBoost from Gardens alive -- that stuff works great! Stinks to high heaven, but works like a charm.

Heather

Whats it stink like?

poo --- really, chicken poo, cat poo, kinda ugh! but it is super concentrated so once you add water it's not so bad and once you water the plants it goes away - it doesn't stink up the house ( I mostly use it on my house plants) just when I am standing in front of 15 flats with bottom heat - then it is a little strong....

Heather