HZT Automatic 30 Day Micro Drip Irrigation Kit

The HZT Micro Automatic Drip Irrigation Kit is conveniently small, neat and moderately easy-to-set-up, home irrigation system for houseplants, greenhouses and conservatories. The boxy control and pump unit works via a USB plug, or can be run from 4 AA batteries (not included). The batteries act as a back-up power supply, which preserves your settings if there’s a power cut.

In addition to the main pump/control unit, you receive 33 feet of quarter inch clear plastic tubing, a set of three and four-armed attachments to set up your circuit, two sealing plugs (to close up the end of your circuit), a set of pronged droppers which are pushed into the soil at the base of each plant and deliver the water. There’s a USB power cable and a wide hook, which can be clipped on to the back of the control box, so it can be attached to the side of your bucket if you wish, for ease of use.

First step is to work out your circuit. The blurb says this can be done in 15 minutes - which I found to be wildly optimistic, but then I did waste an awful lot of time setting everything up badly at first, and having to re-think.

Setting up your system needs a degree of consideration before you start. I would advise anyone connecting more than 5 plants together to take the time and draw up a map of your tubes and attachments before you start, and save yourself a great deal of time and nervous agitation.

The system works best if you make sure you run the shortest possible lengths of tubing between each plant. Be sure to begin the circuit with the four-pronged connector: working out from a central point, like a spider’s web, worked much more efficiently than a chain of tubes. The water takes longer to reach plants furthest from the pump, so this is especially pertinent if you’re only using short watering times, when you might find plants furthest from the pump are hardly getting watered, and may not even get any water at all. A circular pattern of short tubes is the best for even watering. ..