Every how long do I fill the drip irrigation?

[CrazyConure]

I recently switched from watering by hand to a diy bottle drip irrigation. I make one small hole in the cap and the big pots finished it relatively quickly. I gave it a refill and it went down slower, but still quick. About less than an hour to empty.

Anyways, I'm using a 2 liter bottle. I'm afraid I'll over water my plants. Whats a safe guideline for drip irrigation? The bottle in inserted head-in, in the soil.

 

[marlingardener]

If your pots are sitting in a catch tray, and the water quickly fills the tray and even overflows, the plant is likely getting too much water. A two liter bottle in what size pot? There is no "safe guideline" since some plants need more water than others. For pot plants, watering until a bit comes out the bottom of the pot is a good indicator of sufficient watering. A finger inserted into the soil about 2" deep and the finger feels dry--the plant needs water.
I use upside-down clear plastic two liter soda bottles next to my tomato plants. The bottom is cut off the bottles, and I carry a bucket of water around, filling the bottles. The caps are off, and the bottles are buried about half-way into the soil (I do the burying when I plant the tomatoes, so the tomato roots aren't disturbed by later bottle burying). This deep waters the plants and is quicker for me than trying to slowly water each plant. However, the plants I use this method with are in garden soil in the garden, not in pots.

 

[MaryMary]

^ ^ This. ^ ^

A 2 liter bottle (with the bottom cut off to form the funnel,) is going to provide approximately a half gallon of water to your plants. It makes a big difference whether you're using a 2 gallon pot, a 5 gallon pot, or a 10 gallon.

And as marlingardener also said, some plants need more water than others. Watering until you see a slight seeping from the bottom of the pot is a good rule to follow.

Any time you try something new in gardening, you kind of have to fine tune it to your conditions to figure out what works for you.

@marlingardener, I have a friend that gardens on a much larger scale than I do, and he uses that method - buries the bottle halfway down by his tomatoes. He puts a chunk of horse hooey ( ) in the bottle, and lets the water flush it down. He swears by it!!

 

[Corzhens]

I have no experience in drip irrigation but from what I understand in the primer that I saw on tv, the amount of water is just slightly more than the amount of water you would use to irrigate the plant. For example, a small plant would need a glass of water for the daily ration so that's around half a liter (maybe). In that case, you have to use a half liter bottle for that particular plant. You are right with the idea that you may be over-watering the plant with that 2 liters of water.

 

[CrazyConure]

Thank you all for the wonderful responses.

I'm using the 2 liter bottles for my pumpkin and melons. They are in a large container.

 

[marlingardener]

CC. since both melons and pumpkins like water, you seem to be doing just fine.
MaryMary, I use chicken manure in the bottles--kind of like manure tea every time you water. It does work awfully well.