[Billyk]

Gravity/pressure. Sealed container, battery powered aquarium air pump. Should provide enough pressure to aid gravity. I used something similar to feed kalkwasser to a reef tank, worked for about two years.

 

[Bostonears]

You can probably buy bushels of really good tomatoes for what it will cost you to build a watering system to keep your tomatoe plants alive.

Personally, I've got loads of indoor plants. I never water any of them more than once a week, and they are all thriving like crazy. In my experience, the key is to water the plants heavily (really soak 'em) on an infrequent schedule, rather than a trickle of water more often.

 

[kuroguy]

Not a single spare outlet in your apartment? you can't even unplug one of those lamps you left on for those damn cats? Every solution starts with a problem. It just sounds like you're making it too complicated.

Oh, and by the way, a hose left on in an unoccupied apartment is generally a bad idea. Good thing you don't have access to a hose bibb. Now if you'll just throw away the bathroom faucet hose adapter we can be on to other complicated solutions.

 

[kevin gilmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bostonears /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can probably buy bushels of really good tomatoes for what it will cost you to build a watering system to keep your tomatoe plants alive.

Now where is the fun in that... Besides which real home grown tomatoes
taste way better than the hot house stuff.

I go thru the additional effort of heater tape in the soil, and then
i plant tomatoes about 1 month earlier than everyone else. I already
have red tomatoes for this season.

I even mix up my own brand of special fertilizer.

The correct solution involves a few solar panels and a 12 volt 10 ah
gel cell and then you have plenty of power to do whatever you need.

 

[deltaydeltax]

Too funny. I never expected two pages worth of posts.

My apartment has plenty of outlets, none out on the patio though. My patio also isn't like the really nice big ones you might see in other parts of the country. I have a big city, small apartment patio/deck/porch/whatever. It's about 3' wide, and about 6' long. I'm happy with is since some of my neighbors must use their fire escapes as places to put plants.

Growing my own veggies also provides a nice place to hang out (even though it's the size of most peoples closets...). There aren't too many plants in the downtown areas of the city.

Thanks for all of the input.

Someone already has tomatoes, amazing...

 

[rembrant]

Here ya go. It's probably more than you want to spend but it is exactly what you asked for.
Danger*Den*::*Pumps*::*DD*/...

 

[olblueyez]

RIO makes some super nice small pumps with lots of acessories. I had one by AZOO and it sucked. Aquaclear and Eheim always seem to be popular with Aquarium people as well.

Aquarium Water Pumps & Powerheads: Pumps, Powerheads & Wavemakers for Freshwater & Reef Aquariums

 

[deltaydeltax]

Eheim does make some nice filters. The gasket wore out on mine recently and it started leaking all over the floor. It was quite the scene. A quick visit to the pet store to buy a new gasket, and some spray lubricant solved that problem.

 

[mono]

I don't think you will find a pump the size of two 9V batteries that has enough lift unless it were a very expensive piston pump with too high a power:water flow ratio. Probably a submerged pump is best in small sizes, to avoid priming issues.

If you're only going to be gone a week, have you considered soil hydration crystals?

 

[Juaquin]

Swiftech makes a very small pump (2.4"x2.4"x1.5") for watercooling PCs - see here. Have a look around that site if you want alternatives.

Also, a google search for hydroponics would probably help you out

 

[pdupiano]

...umm Aqua globe ? anyone? or design something similar? Not that hard really.

 

[AudioCats]

forget water pumps, just get some giant cactus, they stay green all year round.

 

[deltaydeltax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif forget water pumps, just get some giant cactus, they stay green all year round.

I'm Hispanic, I'll end up eating the cactus...

So far we've had tons of rain and my plants have been getting plenty of water. Once I can get a ride, I'll go to Home Depot and try to get a gravity drip system of some sort.

My girlfriend thinks it's funny how I have allergies but still want to grow all of these veggies. I think she's crazy for not wanting more veggies.

 

[Bostonears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...umm Aqua globe ? anyone? or design something similar? Not that hard really.

Just saw Aqua Globes in a Home Depot store today. Never used them myself, but it looks like you'd be hard pressed to find a simpler or cheaper solution to the OP's problem.

 

[Omega]

DIY forum, DIY answer

In the past, I've successfully used an up-ended plastic milk jug connected by a thin gravity feed drip into a big pot. The goal is a slow trickle feed. Make sure you have enough "head" of pressure to drive the water through the thin tube, even when the jug is nearly empty. Bonus: easy to add fertilizer to the jug and see how much water has been dosed.

Building instructions:
1) Buy and drink 1 gallon of milk (or imitation juice) in a clear plastic jug.
2) Wash
3) Buy some aquarium tubing...something thin and flexible.
4) Drill an appropriately sized hole through the milk jug cap. Glue it to the tubing using some good glue. Silicone caulk/adhesive works well.
5) fill jug with water+fertilizer solution
6) fit cap to jug, mount jug with enough height to give you appropriate pressure drop. wrap cap/jug junction with duct tape or seal with caulk if you are paranoid about leaking. I just put a towel underneath it.
7) Important! Do a trial run to make sure the water flows a good amount throughout the whole volume of jug. If your tubing is too large, you can always plug it up (silicone caulk plug + puncture with a needle) to limit flow to what you desire.