Homemade Auto Watering System (part recommendations)

[Bloomer001]

Hello All,

I'm looking for part recommendations (pump & timer) for a homemade auto pot watering setup.

Enclosed pls find pics of my setup. The orchid is planted in a 5" plastic pot with drain holes. The orchid's plastic pot is inside a blue ceramic pot about 1' tall (drain hole is plugged.) I have an internal plastic pot that keeps the orchid at the top of the blue ceramic pot. The orchid is planted in mostly bark media, and I want to try watering every other day.

Here is my idea: I can fill the blue ceramic pot with 8" of water (the standing water won't touch orchid's pot), put a pump on the bottom of the blue ceramic pot, run tubes to the top of the media, have a timer run the water pump for 10 minutes every other day. I will need to fill the water in the blue ceramic pot every 10 days or so. I will have my ferts in the water.

Any part recommendations would be appreciated.

[WaterWitchin]

Just look for a table top fountain pump. But 8" reservoir likely won't last ten days, as you need water level to stay above pump.

What are you trying to accomplish? Wouldn't it be easier to just water a couple times a week for one plant?

[Bloomer001]

I'm looking for something to water while I'm on holiday. Two weeks time.

[Ray]

Two weeks is not an issue. Water the daylights out of it just before you go.

[Bloomer001]

I'm at the mercy of the landlord to control the boiler. It often gets very hot in the apartment. Then I have to regulate temp by opening windows. I will get a fountain pump - thx for the suggestions. Will send pics b4 I leave to costa rica

[Roberta]

You can also help slow down the drying by making a "mini greenhouse" - water the plant well, then just pop a plastic bag over it. A couple of weeks without normal air movement won't hurt it.

[Bloomer001]

I made a LECA bed to keep the humidity up. I top dressed with extra sphagnum moss. Will water "like hell" until I leave. I think they'll be ok.

[Bloomer001]

... the fountain was too much trouble

[Dalachin]

Looks good to me! When I left mine for two weeks in the summer I watered really well and left just a little water in the outside pots and the full size phals did fine. If I were you I’d top up the water on the leca before I left.

[Bloomer001]

Thats what I was thinking. The idea was that the humidity will vent up into the pot. I already had a 1 cm bottom layer of LECA in each pot and lots of vents on bottom. I have an internal chamber of LECA & sponge rock inside the middle of the pot almost to root ball. The humidity should go up.