From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Berlin, Ma

What do most growers use for a watering system? overhead, drip, tape??? I am looking to get away from my overhead system and move on to something new. Any suggestions appreciated.

12/5/2012 10:02:04 AM

Mnt.pleasant ,tennessee

Think im gona use overhead misters for midday cooling& pvc pipe with holes drilled faceing down& jus lay them on the ground to soak for the night.herd its not good to wet leaves at night on pumpkins.same with roses

12/5/2012 10:15:44 AM

Colorado

In mass. drip tape may be the way to go.

12/5/2012 12:47:19 PM

Sourthern Utah

we use overhead here ,, fer the most part ,, but going to try a bit more testing with drip hose ,, and under canopy systems this year, as we have a few large water tanks,, fer heating water thru the day,, maybe apply a few nutrients and teas thru that system,,

12/5/2012 2:45:25 PM

Merrimack NH

Drip tape is a bit of work to set up, but once it's all installed, it's effortless. You use less water and can easily water any time of day with no worries of wet leaves. It's an easy way to deliver your nutrients, etc. I started using it two seasons ago and will never go back to overhead.

12/5/2012 3:59:57 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Barry, are you able to get all your ferts through the tape without a clogging problem??

12/5/2012 4:53:56 PM

Mass

I'm in Mass, and I use Starr watering system with Dan Micro heads, Love it. Details can be seen at StarrFarms or Extreme Pumpkin store.

12/5/2012 5:39:25 PM

Mnt.pleasant ,tennessee

Never herd of drip tape.what is it a sorta wick system.i use ciggerrate butts for drip in 2 liter hose

12/5/2012 5:42:59 PM

Deerfield, Michigan

Where is the best place to get the drip tape? I would need about 1000 feet.

12/5/2012 11:01:20 PM

Hinckley MN

irrigationdirect.com has lots of irrigation supplies (go figure).
most horticultural supply catalogs carry drip tape or T-tape.

Because I make raised beds for drainage, I use drip irrigation in the "hill" and overhead for the rest of the plant. I can water through May and June with just the drip, then add the overhead for July to the end. May and June are also our wettest months (on average).

12/6/2012 9:51:00 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

With the Dan micro heads, does the water spray typically stay below the leaf canopy?

How far apart do you have each head?

12/6/2012 1:50:36 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

6 foot.... they throw out 12' so if patterned every 6' you get one heckZ of a coverage.

12/6/2012 2:50:39 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

I would really like to keep most water off the top surface of my leaves. I think the wet/dry/wet/dry cycles really wear them out.

12/6/2012 2:58:16 PM

The North Coast

I used a few different Dan sprinklers this last year and I did love the way they worked. They will get spray on some of the leaves that are hanging low but you can also send drenches through them with ease. If you do go with Dans I recommend that you run them on the 1/4 inch flexible black line and mount them on a steak. This allows you to move them as needed. In order to do this you will likely need a 3/4 distribution line on either side of your plant, then stem off of that with the 1/4 spaghetti line. Keep all 1/4 inch lines the same length and no longer than ten feet a piece. I used 17 in 750 square feet and being able to move them was really nice. Also if you go with Dans I recommend that you get a variety of replaceable nozzles. They are extremely cheap and you can fine tune the amount that different areas get by increasing or decreasing nozzle size. The main reason that I used Dans is because drip tape does not work as well on slopes (or at least it can be tricky to keep it from running down the line). Good luck

12/6/2012 4:16:43 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

Cool, I was already planning on building grids of PVC and just drilling holes in them to distribute water, but I really like the idea of the Dan micro sprinklers. The fact that I can use a smaller nozzle in the center heads is great idea.

12/6/2012 5:00:38 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

With the Dan Micros.....the PVC actZ aZ a wick...and one has dripZ from everywhere, leaveZ, stalkZ, PVC pipe, It saturateZ everywhereZ.......

12/6/2012 5:09:55 PM

The North Coast

If you decide to use the 1/4 inch irrigation lines so the sprinklers can be moved, I would also recommend using black irrigation line instead of PVC in the patch. The beauty of the black supply line is that the 1/4 inch lines connect directly to it with inexpensive barbs. My system last year was a large tank to temper the water. Next to it was a big blue drum that was used to mix ferts. I then used PVC to plumb the two tanks. With the use of a cheap (but good) irrigation pump I could pump regular water or ferts through the sprinklers. The plumbing also allowed me to fill the fert barrel from the main tank then by switching some valves over, recirculate (mix) fert barrel. The pump sucked the ferts out the bottom of the barrel and pumped it right back into the top, this is a very easy way to mix up the ferts. Finally opening another valve sent the mix out to the patch. In fact I rarely just watered, I always sent something out and it was very easy to do.

My plumbing system was all PVC near the tanks and so was the 1" main line running out to the patch. Once in the patch I tapped into the mainline with the 3/4" flexible irrigation line and cheap fittings (PVC to 3/4" irrigation line). Off these two trunk lines were the 1/4" lines and sprinklers.

Last year as I set a pumpkin I would either move the sprinkler out of that area or just put a blocker next to the sprinkler. This blocker would allow the sprinkler to stay in its location but not spray onto the pumpkin. Also, if you want to irrigate the stump area early in the year but not late, all you need to do is relocate the sprinkler.

12/7/2012 8:33:21 AM

The North Coast

If you go this route, make sure you get an in line filter with the largest mesh openings available. The sprinkler nozzles are rather large but you can plug them with some of the organic ferts if you get careless. Stupid me last year, I put in about a cup of dried blood into the fert barrel and I found out that that stuff doesn't dissolve! Very happy I had a filter.

12/7/2012 8:33:32 AM

Merrimack NH

So. Cal. Grower-yes you can get all your ferts through the drip tape. Many growers use an injector that distributes your ferts into your watering system. The thing I like about the drip tape is that you can add lines and expand the watering area as your plants grow, which is nice if you like to till ahead of your plants as they grow. You can do a complete system to cover approx 3000 square feet for an initial investment of about $300-$400 and have enough tape and supplies to last for years. One of the biggest benefits- no wet leaves!

12/7/2012 11:09:57 AM

Torrance, Ca.

Thanks so much Barry, just what I needed to know!!! I'll be chating with the "Dripworks" guys very soon!


Seems perfect for my small patch :)

12/7/2012 11:34:21 AM

Omaha, Ne.

I'll be switching to drip tape. Dan's worked good but. It would spray where I didn't want it to Like paths and on the pumpkin. I had to put up small walls to block the spray. Then if a leaf broke and fell over it would block the sprayer. Plus if your lazy at the end of the year (like me) weeds love to grow right on the sprayer.

12/7/2012 3:24:18 PM

Mass

Ok, lots of pros for the drip, I used it under my melon fabric. I will point out some pros of the Dan Micros. If its plugged, i can see it, change with spare head real quick, or use paperclip and clean head. I have no idea if a drip tape is clogged. I can run Tea and coarse drench through it without to much problem, no filter. with 6 ft spacing plenty of room to use stirrup hoe if needed, can lift up slightly to get weeds growing by it. Less to trip on, thats a quote from a former WR holder who is not going to use it again after 2 years. Another HH was all plumbed to install drip, and will be sticking with overhead, You have to do what works for you, I dont think there is any best way, all have advantages and disadvantages. just some of my facts and observations.
.

12/7/2012 6:14:45 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Good words Peter!

12/7/2012 6:44:56 PM

Omaha, Ne.

And I was thinking the tape would be easier. Thanks for helping me think this thru. Your right about ho ing I just push aside. how would that work with the tape especially if there staked down. Plus I didn't get many clogs. even without a screen. I just strained the tea threw some nylons. Now I'm soooo confused.

12/7/2012 6:54:35 PM

Upa Creek, MO

I was going to switch to drip, but after some emailing decided not to. Basically, I am clumsy and it's easy to pierce and break from what I heard, and can cause some major pooling. Just my personal input on why I went with something more durable.

12/7/2012 7:23:59 PM

Englehart, Ontario

I switched from overhead to drip this past season. I was happy. My pounds were way up. I am hoping that the drip had some to do with it. I didn't notice any plug ups. I used an injector system for ferts and had a filter. I bought hard walled drip line so that i could kick it around without any damage. It was really easy to move and put back since it was fairly rigid. Drip was quite a bit more work to set up and put away but i think worth the work. One of my problems that i had was when i used overhead in the past, i could hear them running. Using the drip was too quiet. Sometimes i would forget it was on and have a soggy patch in the morning. Might invest in a timer this year. Anyway, i am sticking with it. Thats just my thoughts.

12/7/2012 8:27:15 PM

Omaha, Ne.

http://www.starrfarms.net/sprinklerguide.htm

http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrigation_categories/144

If you decide to use Dan's Here where I go for the best prices. I'm still undecided thanks to this Discussion.Ha >_<

12/7/2012 10:01:53 PM

Mass

As Whiz said sound can be one of your best friends.. You get used to how your system should sound.. Once my drip filled up it was quiet, if I heard it running in lines longer than normal, or heard a gushing sound I knew there was a connection that came undone. Also with my Dan Micro systems, I know what it sounds like when it was running correctly. Twice I heard a varience in sound from lack of pressure to heads and found a connection came unglued (or might have never been glued) lol. and a break by valve that might have gotten stepped on. I had 6 different zones, with manual valves. Might expand to a box timer with celanoid valves. Little wind up timers restricted flow to much for Starr system, but worked fine for drip with the much lower pressure. I only had to run each zone 12-15 minutes to put out 90-100 gallons of water, and could run 2-3 at a time, so it wasnt to big a deal to hang around and switch valves. I had a bypass and gas powered pump to run mixes from 150 gallon tank through when I drenched.

12/8/2012 6:05:30 AM

Mass

When we got the real hot weather, I made some 3ft risers with Dan micro on top, unscrewed normal head in middle of plant, screwed in riser, and used that for cooling leaves, outer edges of plant with new lower growth got cooled from normal heads. 1/2 plugs can be put in instead of head near stump and Pumpkin(when you figure out where it will be to keep those areas dry. You can dig out a little and) run the rigid 1/2 line right under fruit with out worrying about it being crushed if it lines up that way. No need to plan a head or rerout. Put an extra shut off valve on end to flush out, and one on begining to be able to turn on each line as the plant grows, or to turn off certain section for repairs.

12/8/2012 6:14:11 AM

Muddy Waters

You can find drip tape at Columbus irrigation in Ohio works great for uniform coverage.

12/8/2012 6:40:14 AM

Muddy Waters

http://www.columbusirrigation.com/ Dan ships fast when parts are needed.

12/8/2012 6:42:54 AM

Massachusetts

Great discussion. I am learning a lot. I bought some Dan heads from Tom P. They all come with an orange nozzle. Given a 6 foot layout as suggested..is that all I need to get started for nozzles? I notice there are many different colors available.

12/8/2012 9:39:36 AM

Massachusetts

what pete said, dan micro's, ferts, sevin, everything goes through them, and if they plug up you can fix it, you can plug them up until needed, or when there is to much water spraying on your pumpkin, keeps the mites down, lots of pros, orange ones here,tom sells them assembled....

12/8/2012 11:26:33 AM

Omaha, Ne.

I've try different nozzles the orange ones was the best for most cases.

http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrigation_categories/144/drip_irrigation_parts/394 I also used the black one GO29 for 4' and under spray.

I would also get some of these http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrigation_categories/144/drip_irrigation_parts/387 their plugs so when the plant is small or to close to the kin you can just plug the sprayer.

12/8/2012 12:06:26 PM

Deerfield, Michigan

Last year I used soaker hose with dan micro for my overhead during the heat of the summer. Seemed to work good for me but did start to get holes and splits towards the end of the season.

12/8/2012 4:23:32 PM