Hello! I just learned about drip tape yesterday. I normally grow the same crops each year, but i change the rows around. I want to buy a system, and i am going to. I just can't figure out what setup i need. I know i will be getting the premium row kit. I will have to add to it. I have 10 100' rows currently. Three rows are kennebec potatoes. Three rows are peaches and cream corn. Three rows are volunteer half runner green beans. I have one row of peas. I doubt that i will need irrigation for the peas. Also, i have five or six shorter rows of various vegetables. Those rows start about 8' to 10' from the end of the potato rows and corn rows. I wanted to run the main line between the 100' rows and the shorter rows. It has been raining 4 to 5 days a week here in western, nc. That means weeds are constantly starting to grow everywhere. I tilled last saturday but it looks like it will have to be done again by monday. I may have to move the main line when i till. I am trying to plan this out to water everything without overwatering some rows. I already bought the 4 zone B Hive i think it is called. Orbit is the maker. And i purchased the wifi controller. I seriously thought that it would run 11 soaker hoses on 4 zones. That didn't end up well. So sorry for the massive comment! I am excited about buying the drip tape system!!
This is a great comment Mike, thank you! I suspect the timer will be able to run your tape as you need -- tape has the advantage in that the water release is controlled, so you don't end up with a ton of water coming out of the first part leaving none for the rest. I think you'll definitely prefer it over a soaker hose. And I hear you on the weeds! We had just gotten all our pulled, then rain came and you'd think we hadn't pulled a single weed lol
Interesting video. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. My questions is, if I want to do destination but with poultry manure, what's the best way to go about it without clogging neither the water tank not the emitters?
Good question! If particulates are getting into the lines, you do have it right and they're likely to clog -- the tank may not be as susceptible to clogging since the channel is larger (though it depends on the size of the particulates), but drip emitters have very small orifices. A filter at the outlet of the water would protect your emitters -- a fine mesh filter is great at capturing the particles large enough to clog drip emitters -- it could mean frequent cleaning of the filter element, but elements are pretty easy to clean (mostly consists of removing it from the filter housing and spraying it down). Mixing the manure with water and then filtering before it goes into the tank could also work -- it would remove of the benefit from the manure as some of the beneficial particles would be removed, but on the molecular level many of the elements would still make it through and be a benefit to the plants on the system. Very good question, thank you!
The root zone refers to the size of the root ball, one of the variables to consider when deciding on emitter spacing (and a lot of this is making sure to account for the eventual size of the root ball since it's going to grow larger as the plant matures) :)
Good education
As always, a sincere thank you to you for watching! If you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know, absolutely happy to assist.
Hello! I just learned about drip tape yesterday. I normally grow the same crops each year, but i change the rows around. I want to buy a system, and i am going to. I just can't figure out what setup i need. I know i will be getting the premium row kit. I will have to add to it. I have 10 100' rows currently. Three rows are kennebec potatoes. Three rows are peaches and cream corn. Three rows are volunteer half runner green beans. I have one row of peas. I doubt that i will need irrigation for the peas. Also, i have five or six shorter rows of various vegetables. Those rows start about 8' to 10' from the end of the potato rows and corn rows. I wanted to run the main line between the 100' rows and the shorter rows. It has been raining 4 to 5 days a week here in western, nc. That means weeds are constantly starting to grow everywhere. I tilled last saturday but it looks like it will have to be done again by monday. I may have to move the main line when i till. I am trying to plan this out to water everything without overwatering some rows. I already bought the 4 zone B Hive i think it is called. Orbit is the maker. And i purchased the wifi controller. I seriously thought that it would run 11 soaker hoses on 4 zones. That didn't end up well. So sorry for the massive comment! I am excited about buying the drip tape system!!
This is a great comment Mike, thank you!
I suspect the timer will be able to run your tape as you need -- tape has the advantage in that the water release is controlled, so you don't end up with a ton of water coming out of the first part leaving none for the rest. I think you'll definitely prefer it over a soaker hose.
And I hear you on the weeds! We had just gotten all our pulled, then rain came and you'd think we hadn't pulled a single weed lol
Interesting video. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
My questions is, if I want to do destination but with poultry manure, what's the best way to go about it without clogging neither the water tank not the emitters?
Good question! If particulates are getting into the lines, you do have it right and they're likely to clog -- the tank may not be as susceptible to clogging since the channel is larger (though it depends on the size of the particulates), but drip emitters have very small orifices.
A filter at the outlet of the water would protect your emitters -- a fine mesh filter is great at capturing the particles large enough to clog drip emitters -- it could mean frequent cleaning of the filter element, but elements are pretty easy to clean (mostly consists of removing it from the filter housing and spraying it down).
Mixing the manure with water and then filtering before it goes into the tank could also work -- it would remove of the benefit from the manure as some of the beneficial particles would be removed, but on the molecular level many of the elements would still make it through and be a benefit to the plants on the system.
Very good question, thank you!
Whats a Rue'zone?
The root zone refers to the size of the root ball, one of the variables to consider when deciding on emitter spacing (and a lot of this is making sure to account for the eventual size of the root ball since it's going to grow larger as the plant matures) :)