watering and tools

[merc]

I water my paphs/phrags once a week, but it takes me literally all morning to water my small collection of plants. There has to be a better way. I'm wondering if you guys could shed light on the watering methods and tools you use to water your plants.

Here is what I use:

Super fine mister: Mostly used on basket orchids and tillandsias and for paphs only on those super dry winter days.


1L sprayer: Great and fast BUT water splashes everywhere.


These are what I use the most. The steady, controlled stream of liquid is perfect so I don't end up getting water in the crown, but it takes forever to water each plant thoroughly.


It takes me a couple hours to water every week. Reducing watering to an hour max would be ideal. I am extra extra careful not to get water on the leaves or crown so I don't get weird brown leaf spots or crown rot. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[eds]

I'm very interested in this too.

I have two of these,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spear-Jackson-Action-Pressure-Sprayer/dp/B00RD0KTZQ/ref=asc_df_B00RD0KTZQ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226005619422&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14634775859409188358&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046381&hvtargid=pla-420395423259&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

But sure there must be a quicker and more controlled way.

 

[Ray]

There are battery powered backpack sprayers, but have you considered a moderately sized tank and electric pump?

 

[Paphluvr]

2Gal. Poly pump sprayer. Long lasting, holds pressure longer than your little hand-held unit, easier to pump and relatively inexpensive.

Picture for reference as to type only.

 

[podiver]

I would second Ray's suggestion of a small water storage container from Home Depot or Lowes as they are inexpensive and an aquarium pump. You could even use a bucket to be more mobile. It depends on your growing conditions and concerns for splashing water or runoff through your pots. There are numerous threads in the forum regarding watering methods for terrarium and windowsill growing.

 

[NYEric]

We have 2 like in Paphluvr's post, but only 1.5 gallon size. But we have lots of plants. It takes my GF 5-6 hours for full water and feed days.

 

[southernbelle]

I water my paphs/phrags once a week, but it takes me literally all morning to water my small collection of plants. There has to be a better way. I'm wondering if you guys could shed light on the watering methods and tools you use to water your plants.

Here is what I use:

Super fine mister: Mostly used on basket orchids and tillandsias and for paphs only on those super dry winter days.
View attachment 24777

1L sprayer: Great and fast BUT water splashes everywhere. ☹
View attachment 24778

These are what I use the most. The steady, controlled stream of liquid is perfect so I don't end up getting water in the crown, but it takes forever to water each plant thoroughly. ☹
View attachment 24779

It takes me a couple hours to water every week. Reducing watering to an hour max would be ideal. I am extra extra careful not to get water on the leaves or crown so I don't get weird brown leaf spots or crown rot. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

QUOTE]
I use a 10 gal. Plastic trash can (with fertilizer/additives) and a small electric pump with a 15’ 1/2” curly hose. On the end I use a short wand that I have removed the head from. I can adjust the flow on the water on the wand from slow to fast depending on size of the pot, so I am careful not to get water in the crown.
I bring my plants that need watering each day to a large sink and let them drain before returning to the table. I use an app called Errands that tells me what to water each day based on table number and a colored tag in each pot. I have about 100 plants so it goes pretty quickly as the most I need to water on any particular day is about 10. Wouldn’t work for everyone, but works for me.

 

[merc]

i have a similar poly pump sprayer for outdoor garden tasks and thought about picking one up just for indoor plant watering, but was afraid water would splash onto the crown of the plant. what do you guys do to mitigate splash for the pump sprayers?

 

[Paphluvr]

Don't have the spray set too coarsely, hold spray nozzle close to mix and complete watering before noon to allow plants time to dry. Also, because I am watering my plants one by one, if I get water in the crown I blow as much as I can out before returning them to their rack.

 

[merc]

update! i was getting ready to put in an order for a fancy new big 2 gallon poly pump sprayer that had a neat little guard to keep liquids off nearby plants and my husband happened to walk in before i completed my purchase. i explained my pain points with my existing watering tools and helped me make a little DIY guard for my existing sprayer out of an aerosol bottle cap. works like a charm!



another issue i had with my existing sprayer was that tilting it caused it to suck up and spray air if it was less than half a tank full of liquid. my husband suggested replacing the rigid intake tube with a flexible, silicone tube and adding a weighted metal clunk at the end of it so it would always fall in the direction of the liquid in the tank. i'll be dropping by hobbytown this weekend to pick up the necessary parts for this swap.


while a 2 gallon poly pump sprayer would have been nice, a functional 1L sprayer is definitely way better than my dinky little 200mL squeeze bottles!

 

[Phred]

I have a large collection and my system may help shorten your task. I mix my water in a pal and use a small fountain pump with a sink sprayer attached.

 

[Phred]

I carry my trays to the sink and spray them one at a time.

 

[musa]

I'm very old fashioned, I use a watering can (maybe s.o. remembers this high tech invention of the last millenium) with a longer pipe to reach each plant. Especially seedlings and small Paphs will get water in the crown which is easy to blow out with a simple plastic tube. The rest dampness will dry as I don't water after mid day.
What ever you do, watering will take some time...

 

[Sherry H]

This is from Lowe’s I thoroughly rinse/water first with this hose head and then use pump for fertilizer. I have about a hundred paphs/phrags and get two sessions from each fill. Since I grow outside water/fertilize twice a week.

 

[Sherry H]

Pump is automatic and hose head doesn’t disturb the soil

 

[tomp]

There are battery powered backpack sprayers, but have you considered a moderately sized tank and electric pump?

I use a 4 gallon Chapin 20 volt back pack sprayer to which I have added 20 feet of hose so I don’t have to carry it. Works great. on occasion I have also attached it to a hand truck if it needs to be moved around when full.
it is a good idea to completely dissolve granular fertilizers prior to pouring into the tank. Makes clean up easier.

 

[Sherry H]

Wow how many ladies?

 

[merc]

Wow how many ladies?

i have 65 now and like 3 incoming orders waiting for mid-winter thaw so they can ship. heh!

 

[merc]

to my husband's dismay i caved and bought a pump sprayer like y'all originally suggested. it has cut my watering time down from hours to minutes! he was hoping we wouldn't have to buy and store a new orchid-thing-a-ma-jig in the house, but it is worth 1000x it's space and weight.

 

[Ray]

I ended up getting a Petra 4100. It's a 4-gallon back-pack/rolling cart sprayer.