Drip Irrigation -- Deep Stakes

[JeskiM]

Has anyone used any deep watering spikes on their palms, trees, etc ?

Any recommendations, advice, (like how long is the stake that you used),etc would be appreciated.

I will be starting a new, very large bed, in the next few months and I am thinking about running a drip system for it. I have never built a Drip System before, so I am learning up on it now.

I am referring to something like what's in the pic below.

-Matt

[sonoranfans]

Will cause a more narrow watering radius  in clayish soil.  I would not use it on a wet loving palm as many of these grow roots near the surface anyway.   Then any tube below soil level with holes can and will clog in many soils.  Biggest mistake in deep watering with drip is to water at a lower gph((3-4) 2gph rippers) for a longer time(4-5 hours.  No problem deep watering when you know your soil.  I suspect texas is lots of clayish soil.  There are dripper stakes to hold the drippers above the soil that I recommend to prevent them from clogging.  

[JeskiM]

You did echo some concerns / suspicions I had about those in-ground spikes (clogging and only covering a small area). 

The native "soil" of this bed is a mix of limestone rocks with a thin layer of clay / loam (only a few inches thick) on top.

Ultimately the bed will be a large mound / raised bed that will sit on top of the natural soil, and mixed in only few inches down, as I will hit a solid shelf of limestone a few inches below that.

I will be mixing other genus in with the palms such as yucca, agave, nolina, cycads, cacti, and a few small flowing shrubs.  I suspect that the soil mix in the bed will be a mixture of ingredients and will be fast draining overall.  For a few of the palms I will mix in more richer ingredients around those specific palms. 

Some of my palms (Sabals, Washies, and Phoenix) right now get 4 gallons, every other day, from a watering can, and they seem to be loving that.  The Braheas only get once a week watering or what mother nature gives them.

-Matt

[ahosey01]

  On 7/2/2024 at 2:55 PM, JeskiM said:

Has anyone used any deep watering spikes on their palms, trees, etc ?

Any recommendations, advice, (like how long is the stake that you used),etc would be appreciated.

I will be starting a new, very large bed, in the next few months and I am thinking about running a drip system for it. I have never built a Drip System before, so I am learning up on it now.

I am referring to something like what's in the pic below.

-Matt

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I always think these are a gimmick.