DIYdeals Reservoir decks, rainwater butt or tank, clean natural water such as spring or well, un-pressurised mains water such as from a cistern.  Maximum tube length from water source to drippers 60m. Maximum height of drippers 5.0m above water source - maximum height of pump above water source 3m. Water with algae, sediment or the possibility of disease or pesticide should not be used for garden irrigation.
As a guide a 200 litre water butt should last approx 2 - 3 weeks.

The inlet tube connects the pump inlet to the water source. It features a thin tube of varying length with a filter on the end. The intake filter needs to be suspended in the water source, far enough from the bottom that sediment is not sucked in and deep enough to ensure that good use is made of the water store. In a water butt which is cleaned out each winter this would typically be 10cm from the bottom. The intake tube can be fed through a 6mm hole in the top edge of the reservoir/water butt which will normally provide enough grip to keep the filter at the correct depth. From the water source the tube can be fixed to walls or fences with cable clips, but never more than 3m above the water source. It can be buried or concealed behind things to minimise adverse visual impact. As the tube is only 6mm diameter this is relatively easy. At the pump end it is very important to leave a little slack and to cut the end very clean and square prior to pushing onto the inlet connector on the pump (marked I). It is also important that there are no sharp bends close to the pump and that the tube does not pull against the inlet – either of these things can lead to air leaking in which will seriously impair the pumping.

There is a range of factors that govern the water demand of any given plant but the most important of these is leaf area. Plants with a large leaf area, and in particular a young, actively growing leaf area, are likely to use more water than plants of a similar size which have a lesser or more mature leaf area. Normally speaking, the leaf area is a much better guide to water requirement than pot size is. So bearing this in mind, what are the options for modifying water application to each pot ?

•Use multiple drippers – need more water, put in an extra dripper or two. Pots are used for a huge range of different purposes, but the guidelines are broadly similar: -
•A pot of fast growing annuals will use more water than a similar sized heather – or cactus.
•A pot of onions or carrots will use less than a pot of runner beans .
•A slow growing aspidistra will use less than a fast growing geranium.

Pot watering, above provides good guidance on how to govern the amount of water required. With hanging baskets there are also some other considerations: -
•If watered automatically they can be located in places where access 2 or 3 times a year for maintenance/replacement is acceptable even though hand watering is not. Your options for hanging basket placement are hugely increased.
•They often have a lot of foliage (and young foliage too) compared with compost volume and they are often in sunny, windy locations so are very prone to drying out quickly. They need watering little and often to maintain a healthy moisture balance.
•They are often high up. This not only makes them difficult to reach, but also means many pumps do not provide enough pressure to reach them. The DIYdeals pump is okay up to 5.0m above the water source.
•They are often on display to neighbours and the general public. An easy to conceal automatic watering system which does not forget to water them is highly desirable.

8. Greenhouses

Pump location – Normally the solar pump wants to be located in the sunniest location possible. This is likely to be outside the greenhouse facing the sun. However where watering is required all year round, the pump needs to be inside, away from frost. A sunny position inside the greenhouse will often be okay, but watering is likely to be reduced by 20-30% due to light loss caused by the glass and structure of the greenhouse.
Water sources mentioned above will be fine for greenhouses used mainly in the warmer seasons. However many gardeners believe that watering with very cold water damages their plants in which case it is better to situate the water storage inside the greenhouse where it is warmer.
Benches often hold large numbers of small pots and trays. This makes them unsuited to dripper irrigation. One solution is to construct a capillary bench: -
• The bench needs to be flat and rigid, ideally with a slight slope towards one corner for drainage and with the lower edges raised to direct water back to a drainage point which is not raised.
•It is covered in a layer of heavy duty polythene overlapping all edges then a layer of capillary matting which does not overlap the edges.
• A line of drippers is laid along the top edge, for large benches further lines can be added lower down. When the water is on it will tend to run towards the drain, but the capillary mat will trap some and will spread it over the whole bench.
•Excess water can be collected and re-used – but beware that any disease present can be spread.
•Pots and trays stood on the bench will be watered from below. It is essential that the pots and trays used are suitable. Suitable pots and trays will be those that allow the compost to be in contact with the matting. These are widely available as many commercial growers water in this way.
•Things you may need to know: –
+ tall pots should not be watered in this way as capillary action will only lift water so far (150mm max). Tall pots can be put on a capillary bench, but will need a dripper.
+ Algae is likely to grow on matting that is exposed to light. This will cause infestations of fungus gnats, which may damage some plants and may annoy you. Covering exposed areas of bench with pea gravel will solve this problem (and reduce water usage)
+ When pots are moved, or new pots added, they must be watered from above to establish capillary contact., otherwise they will dry out.
+ If you irrigate your bench with a nutrient solution, plant growth will be good but occasionally water from above with plain water to prevent excessive nutrient build up.
+ Rotate pots regularly to prevent excessive rooting into the mat.
Growbags. Like hanging baskets, these often have a large amount of leaf area in relation to compost volume. They benefit greatly from the regular irrigation provided by the DIYdeals pump kit will provide enough water for 12 tomato plants or 24 capsicums.
Things which may improve cropping: -
• When you plant out into a grow bag, put your plants into a 15cm pot with the bottom cut out. The plants benefit from the increased depth and the pot helps to contain the water while it soaks in.
• Cut drainage slits in the edge of the bag between the plants so the water has to travel along the bag before it can drain out. With a DIYdeals pump kit the cut can be fairly low, no more than 2cm of undrained depth.
•Add tomato fertiliser to your water butt. It’s good for peppers and aubergines too. If you want organic tomatoes don’t use a grow bag.
Hydroponics – growing plants in nutritionally complete aerated solution. There are a multitude of hydroponic growing techniques out there, the main division being between those that use a solid but inert rooting medium and those that don’t.
•An inert rooting medium is one which provides a physical structure for the roots to grow through, but does not provide much in the way of plant nutrients. Examples include rockwool, perlite, leca and various foams. Organic materials such as coir and peat may be used on the basis that it is just the physical structure they are providing.
•Examples of system that do not use solid rooting media include nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics and aerated deep solution cultures.
The intermittent nature of irrigation from a DIYdeals pump kit means that it is best suited to techniques using solid media, which provide a reservoir of water for the plants between watering. It is the nature of hydroponics that the solution must provide all of the nutrients necessary for growth. In run-to-waste systems as long as the nutrient supplied is in roughly the right concentration and proportions the plants will take what they need and the rest will be flushed out. In recirculated systems the plants will soon expose any shortcomings in the formulation. Nutrients which are short will soon disappear completely, anything in excess will build up. Disregard anyone who thinks they can sell you the perfectly balanced solution as this will change with the stage of growth, weather, fruit load etc. So although recirculated system use less water and far less fertiliser, they are not well suited to the typical gardener. Which just leaves solid rooting media, run-to-waste system for you DIYdeals pump users.
By and large, if you use complete nutrient solutions and otherwise treat it the same as grow bags, you won’t go far wrong.
Greenhouse pots and beds.
The considerations are the same as for pots and beds outside.

9. Allotments – These have special requirements. They are often a long way from mains water or electricity and the DIYdeals pump kit is ideal in this situation. However, they may be less secure than a garden and anything left lying around may disappear. Since irrigation will undoubtedly improve cropping how can you resolve this?
•Screw your DIYdeals pumps to the sunny side of your shed low down, or fix it to the shed roof in the upright position and camouflage it to hide the box whilst still leaving the solar panel visible to the sun.
•For seed sowing, lay in a line of 12 drippers turn the pump on and sow the seeds or plants in the watered area, secure the drippers using stakes, lightly cover over leaving just the end with the connector on showing. Typically the drippers should be spaced at 30cm (12") intervals. This is fine for individual large plants like runner beans, but smaller plants can be sown in groups around each dripper. As the plants grow they will spread to cover the ground. Weeding is much easier when plants are grouped like this. At harvest just select the largest from each group and allow the rest to carry on growing.
Repeat for other rows.