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Post by dianthus on Sept 28, 2015 12:45:42 GMT
There are loads of daleks in Cardiff Bay, Roofy 
Anyhow, you need a 'Comitrol' to make your onion puree or juice. They put loads of it into HP brown. |
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 28, 2015 14:17:21 GMT
There are loads of daleks in Cardiff Bay, Roofy
Anyhow, you need a 'Comitrol' to make your onion puree or juice. They put loads of it into HP brown. Cardif bay is a haven for Daleks ?? I don't understand ? (puts on Dalek voice and waves egg-whisk around...) Eeeexxplain ... EEEEXXXXPLAIN....
PolyDalekTunnel News
Plans for Operation Allium - the Big Push - continue apace. This weekend I liberated another 4 square feet of workbench space by re-running all my cables and wires and controllers so that nothing was on the workbench any more. Instead, it's all dangling from the roof ! You can click the pictures to see a larger version.
| The main distribution centre. Power comes in from the drum, and then feeds out to two buses: "front" (lights, radio), and "back" (Control Centre). Not the tidiest of arrangements yet... I need to cable-tie things down a bit. But at least its not all on the workbench any more.
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| The control centre. This feeds the christmas 'night lights', the heater and - in the near future - the growlights. It also has the temperature datalogger.
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| The space saved ! Enough for a tray of 50 seedpots. Or a Capsicum plant. Or perhaps a tray with a kettle and a teapot on it... hmmm.....
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Next job... The Enbobbling of the Polytunnel. (the Bobble sheet should be arriving on Wednesday.. watch this space... |
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 28, 2015 15:10:23 GMT
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Growhouse News
The common or garden Roof Growhouse (Tectum Brevis Conservatorium). Many of you may have used them, and perhaps you have come across my current problem ? The thing is, the 'door' doesn't go up high enough, with the result that you can't get a watering can spout in high enough to water anything on the topmost shelf.
As a consequence, I usually take the top shelf out altogether. Which works as far as the watering is concerned ... but its a waste of a perfectly good top shelf.
Soo... what to do ?
(click to make the pictures bigger)
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| Well.. after sampling several glasses of my Onion Beer (don't tell dianthus) I had a brainwave, and this is what I came up with.
Firstly, cut a small hole in the centre of the roof, and stick a small kitchen funnel into it.
Seal it top and underside with lashings and lashings of duct tape so that the growhouse is still waterproof, and the hole won't turn into a tear and start expanding.
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| Then, get a spare sprinkler head from a watering can (you can also buy these as a seperate item from Wilko's, B+Q etc) and push it onto the spout of the funnel. Apply more duct tape liberally to make sure it doesn't fall off.
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| Make sure your plant is ROUGHLY underneath the sprinkler, and VIOLA.... you can water your top-shelf plant just by watering the exterior funnel. It will also trap rain (to an extent) and feed THAT down to the plant.
Here is Ogden the Oregano Plant, warm and secure on the top shelf, and happily watered.
It MUST be possible to somehow extend this so that ALL of the shelves receive the water... some sort of splitter cable ? That way, the growhouse can be almost permanantly zipped up, and all the plants will be toasty warm and happy, but still watered. I haven't puzzled THAT bit out yet, but I'll let you know if I do.
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Post by daitheplant on Sept 28, 2015 19:18:20 GMT
Perhaps you should try a gravity fed watering system?  |
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 28, 2015 20:34:08 GMT
??
It IS gravity fed ?
Thats what makes the water come out of the watering can, and into the funnel !
(assuming you hold the watering can in the correct position).
Or are you reffering to some type of elevated Water Butt ?
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Post by daitheplant on Sept 29, 2015 18:52:39 GMT
Imagine a hospital IV drip, and you have it. You can also get solar powered watering systems.
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 29, 2015 20:07:39 GMT
Solar powered ? Sounds fascinating. Tell me more. But don't be too harsh ? All I wanted was a way to water my top shelf ? It cost £2.30, including the funnel, the "shower head", and the duct tape ? I'm sure it's been thought of a thousand times before. I know I'm only a beginner, and no doubt I'm treading in footsteps created before. But nobody has posted it on this forum ?? And I'm DEAD chuffed with it Be happy for me ?  |
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Post by dianthus on Sept 29, 2015 21:09:17 GMT
Roofy.... please don't worry. A lot of gardening is achieved with home made gadgets and gizmos.
Think of all the implements made by inventive folk like yourself...... the seed drill, Qualcast's lawn mower, seeds on sticky tape, etc. the list is endless.
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Post by SueA on Sept 30, 2015 7:55:53 GMT
I think you should patent your great idea Roofy as a 'Flower Shower'! O.K. I know yours isn't meant for flowers but it rhymes! You could use a piece of hosepipe or similar atached to your funnel with holes cut in it & a 'showerhead' attached with tape into each hole for each shelf if you see what I mean. |
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Post by SueA on Sept 30, 2015 8:01:08 GMT
Very bad quick sketch of what I mean, not sure if it would work though:-  |
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Post by SueA on Sept 30, 2015 8:52:59 GMT
Actually , just thought about it Roofy & the water would just run right down & out of the bottom, revised sketch :-  |
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Post by roofgardener on Sept 30, 2015 9:21:08 GMT
AHA.... you have anticipated my Yet-to-be-revealed Spudlink Bin Watering Pole concept. (except the vertical pipe would be copper, and just have holes drilled into it rather than shower heads).
As a refinement to your excellent design, Wilko's sell a bar-sprinkler, which would allow troughs (or multiple flowerpots) on each shelf to be watered as well.
Now we need a watering-can sprinkler head with a spout diameter LESS than that of the main downpipe, to facilitate attachment.
I think we should keep the tray at the bottom, even with a blocked pipe, in order to catch any 'dribbles' that make it through the individual sprinkler-head seals and run down the pipe ?
P.S I just LOVE your name... "The Flower Shower" ... excellent !
It even LOOKS like a shower cubicle. But with shelves.
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Post by SueA on Sept 30, 2015 19:32:47 GMT
Good idea Roofy to keep the bottom tray & the bar sprinklers would be a better plan! I did try pieces of hosepipe with holes punched down them once years ago when I tried some of those plastic planting bags for flowers hanging on the fence so that the water got all the way to the bottom but I don't know if it made a great deal of difference, would be interested to see if your 'spudlink pole' works! |
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 4, 2015 17:18:51 GMT
Well, the SpudPole (1) and the Flower Shower (2) are - effecively - two seperate projects. I've just found a "splitter" unit on t'internet... it's plugs into a tap, and has FOUR hosepipe-sized outlets, each with a little valve dial to control flow. If I can adapt this to mate with the Funnel.. then.. well... four hosepipies leading down to each shelf in the Growhouse ? Each hosepipe could terminate in either a shower-head, or a shower-bar.
Notes:
(1) = "spudpole" is a registered trademark of RoofNet Transnational PLC
(2) = "FlowerShower" is a registerd trademark of SueA Trading Limited
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Post by dianthus on Oct 4, 2015 18:43:18 GMT
Roofy..... what are your dreams like? Your brain has lateral thinking par excellence! |
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Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT
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Aug 10, 2019 9:01:47 GMT