I want to set up a drip system

[rprimbs]

I want to set up a drip system. What type of emitters are the best? How many around each palm? How often do I water? Can I fertilize with the drip system?

And any recommendations for good books or manuals on the subject? I want to learn as much as I can about it.

[tinman10101]

richard

i set my whole drip system mysefl from scratch. i learned alot from this website: http://www.dripirrigation.com/ . I am in no way associated with this website but it does have alot of great information. my best recommendation is to use adjustable emitters. i use the adjustable ones that can easily be adjusted from 1-10gph so you would need just one emitter per specimen plant. if you have any questions feel free pm me privately.

cheers!

tin

[Sutter Bob]

I think you've definitely got the right idea to start working with drip systems.

They make great sense anywhere in inland California where we have hot, dry summers.

My wife's family is in north San Diego county so I know how high the water bills can get there.

In general I think you'll find these systems easy to work with.

Just reading the promotional materials put out by the manufacturer will get you off to a good start.

There will be some trial and error as you learn your individual conditions (temperature, humidity, soil drainage, and plant needs).

I haven't done enough with the variable emitters yet but will experiment more with those.

I have used the battery-operated timers which are handy but they tend to only last about one year in my experience.

They have proven helpful in my germination area under shade cloth where I use intermittent overhead misting.

For established plants in the ground continuous low-flow fixed drippers seem pretty reliable and low-maintenance.

Good luck and have fun.

[Dypsisdean]

You need to pick MattyB's brain. What ever it is that he's doing is working killer. And you probably have similar situations and suppliers available.

[sonoranfans]

  On 3/19/2011 at 2:03 AM, rprimbs said:

I want to set up a drip system. What type of emitters are the best? How many around each palm? How often do I water? Can I fertilize with the drip system?

And any recommendations for good books or manuals on the subject? I want to learn as much as I can about it.

I have set up drip systems in arizona for over 120 trees and shrubs and now here in florida. In arizona only drippers will keep your tree healthy as the soil has very low drainage and low flowrates with long watering times are needed to effectivelly water(unless your tree is in a depression and you flood irrigate). Soakers hoses would also work, but are less efficient and you would need alot of them. In florida with our high drainage sandy soils, its about water savings and effective watering without flooding the yard with pop up sprinklers that are really designed for grass, not trees. There is a huge difference in the most effctive/efficient design depending on soil drainage. Slow soil drainage would lead the design toward low output drippers(1-2gph) in multiples(3-4) around each tree. High drainage sand will first need soil modification with humus to limit the drainage rate and then more extensive use of drippers or preferably micro sprinklers. In low drainage soil the depth of water penetration depends on watering time, not dripper flowrate. Dripper flowrate will determine the radius of the wet zone in low drainage conditions. For this reason you would use a number of low flow rate pressure compensating button drippers in low drainage and water for 3-5 hours each watering to get a deep and broad wet zone int he root area without flooding your property and using excessive water that will run off anyway if you apply it at too high a flowrate. Button drippers have a nice design that prevents clogging by sediment that can get inot your drip system.

In high drainage soils a low gph dripper will just get you small wet spots(small wetting radius), and you will have dry zones that would be more effectively wetted with a micro sprinkler at say 14 gallon/hr. Watering depth will not be the problem in high drainage if you water for an hour or two . On drippers, the pressure compensating ones are best at delivering the rated flowrate when you expand a system and get pressure robbing increased fluid drag from all the piping. this will also ge the case when you have drippers at various elevations. MattyB ran his system downhill, which conserves pressure, which is clever mechanically speaking. Downhill conserves pressure at the dripper and uphill and length of pipe and tubing robs pressure. Adjustable emitters are not very reliable in terms of consistent flow rate as they are more susceptible to accumulations of hardness etc., that will alter flowrate. Adjustable drippers privide an easy way to be able to manipulate water output at the dripper for a seasonal adjustment. The better way would be to use a drip irrigation timer and just vary the length and frequency of watering schedule with fixed pressure compensating drippers. In winter I would greatly lengthen the interval and skip irrigation cycles when it rains.

Edited March 19, 2011 by sonoranfans

[doubravsky]

One question I would ask is are you starting from scratch or wanting to convert an existing sprinkler system to drip? Either way can be done ... and will be great for you. You can certainly fertilize through the drip- I use all 2gph drip emitters and use a fertilizer injection system. There are a large variety of options to choose from depending on the size of your yard, the setup of your main water line and how much you want to spend. I use the EZ-Flo which was the cheaper way to go because I had to use and existing sprinkler setup, and had to put the fertilizer in after the valves...

I've ordered stuff from www.dripworksusa.com .... but there are lots of options... a lot of the drip lines came from home depot/lowes/ wherever I was nearest at the time....

[Justin]

Go to Grangetto's and see what they have there. I highly recommend using a 3/4" line instead of the regular 1/2" line that you'll find most places. 3/4" is much less likely to get clogged. I use 1gph and 2gph emitters, but for some stuff I've started using the soaker hose that is the size of the spaghetti tubing. I wrap the soaker hose around the trunk, about a foot from the base of the palm. The Jubaeas in particular appreciate the soaker hose more than the emitter.

[BS Man about Palms]

I stumbled on my spit-stake drip system setup and have been very happy. But coastal conditions and medium clay means I don't need to water much anyway.

[richnorm]

I went for the lowest output I could find (2 litres per hour)and spent the extra for pressure compensated, low clog drippers. They just punch into the irrigation hose and you them add a thinner tube with a stake to get the exact position you want. With low output you can get hundreds on a single circuit and pressure compensation seems to cope really well with my sloping site and complex network of pipes. I just use multiple drippers on thrirsty plants. I found the set-up really fast and easy and as it's buried in mulch (or will be) it's not an eyesore. I'm on clay btw.

cheers

Richard

[Cycadcenter]

  On 3/19/2011 at 4:13 PM, Justin said:

Go to Grangetto's and see what they have there. I highly recommend using a 3/4" line instead of the regular 1/2" line that you'll find most places. 3/4" is much less likely to get clogged. I use 1gph and 2gph emitters, but for some stuff I've started using the soaker hose that is the size of the spaghetti tubing. I wrap the soaker hose around the trunk, about a foot from the base of the palm. The Jubaeas in particular appreciate the soaker hose more than the emitter.

I have been using the 1/4" emitter tubing (We use DIG MICROLINE) for a couple of years at the farm in Queensland and find it pretty fool proof. You can get it with 6" ir 12" spacings and it puts out .4 GPH at each emitter. Using the 12" spacing about a foot from the base you get 6-7 emitters around the plant with the water evenly distributed around the plant. We have seen that this cuts down the water usage compared to a single or couple of drippers on the plant. If using injector fertilizers it also distributes the fertilizer evenly around the plant.

It's very easy to install, simply cut the length you require, use a barbed T to make a circle around the plant and than use a leader to connect to the supply line. We use a barbed angle to connect to the supply line as it swivels in any direction and is much less prone to breakage if stepped on.

The other advantage in having it in a circle around the tree is that it doesn't get dislodged by animals.

We also try to have the supply line in a closed loop to achieve a constant pressure thoughout the system.

A 150 mesh filter and 25 psi pressure regulator should also be fitted.

When using electric valves make sure they are good quality and rated for low pressure and low volume use.

Bruce

The Cycad Center

Fallbrook CA

(760) 723-8092

[nkbish]

I put a system in with the adjustable flow nozzles. It worked well until I got a new puppy. I am now back to pop up sprinklers. Just letting you know if you have a dog that likes to chew good luck.