One to two inches of water is all that is needed for most vegetable plants. However the type of soil and the amount of rain you get need to be taken into account. Sandy soil will need more water and clay needs less.
It is better to put more water around the plants less often. It soaks in deeper.
How does the water get out of the pot? Through the drain hole?
It will work if you can get the reservoir 10 feet off the ground, and put some kind of timer on it to only drip a couple hours per day.
I set up a cheap drip irrigation system for my garden in central Texas when I lived there; it operated on just a few PSI water pressure (supplied by city water and a regulator.) I watered about an hour or two every other day during the early afternoon when it was really hot. The rows were mulched to retain moisture. That was the best garden I ever had.
Bob
Shredded office paper. (earthworms love it) It will compete with your plants for nitrogen, so you'll have to fertilize.
Bob
I've seen a "system" for a couple dozen individual tomato and cucumber plants. Take a two liter plastic bottle. Heat a small diameter wire,(like a paper clip size) and poke a single small hole on the side and very near the bottom. Dig a shallow(2 or 3 inch deep) hole right adjacent to the plant. Insert the bottle with the small hole on the side facing the plant. Fill the bottle and replace the lid. The water will seep out very slowly and only need to be refilled. By removing the cap, placing a funnel in the top opening, filling and replacing the cap. The sealed system keeps water from escaping quickly but the expansion and pressure caused by heating will push a small amount out on a regular basis. Of course you will need to watch how fast it does empty the contents. The size of hole and rate of temperature change could change the rate. The example I read about kept the soil moist below the surface. Having it enter below ground would lessen evaporation. Mulch would help even more. Just an idea. Maybe a bigger jug(gallon milk or juice carton with screw lid) may help too. Lots you can play with.
I like my drip system better , though it's considerably more expensive than yours . Every 3 days or so depending on rainfall I will flip the switch that turns on the submersible pump in my well . I then set a timer for 45 minutes to let me know when to turn it off .
Personally, I have 14 raised beds @4'x4' each. They are all hooked up to my auto irrigation 2gph droppers at each plant. Seven minutes every other very early morning seems to do the trick. That old thread I answered to had many limitations to automatic systems. I just though the system I had read of was quite ingenious for a primitive system.
I have used commercial low-pressure dripline for many years: 1/2 gph emitters spaced at 6" running at 25psi on a spring powered timer. Close-mesh filters keep the glop out but require frequent cleaning. I garden (veggies exclusively) in nine 8'x3' raised beds. Plants are closely spaced to eliminate the need for mulch ,which is, as my dad said, "ain't nothin' but a place for cutworms to hide"..
I'm still in the figuring things out phase of drip irrigation . I'm thinking I might need some kind of filter in the system , my adjustable emitters are apparently getting plugged with something in the well water . When I first tried it out there was a fine screen in the hose adapter that was getting plugged with some very small particles , don't know what . I thought whatever it is was small enough to pass thru the emitter holes , but maybe not .
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