|
Post by woodeye on Jul 8, 2022 20:53:22 GMT -6
Thank you for the info, bon.
I'm sorry that you have had to deal with 2 of my garden nemeses, but I appreciate that you provided helpful tips for eradicating them...
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Jul 25, 2022 7:34:37 GMT -6
I would like to use plasticulture mulch next year. I have used irrigation tubing with the emitters that pierce the tubing and stay above ground, but I have not used drip tape at all.
I know that drip tape goes under the plastic mulch, so if using it for tomatoes or okra, I can see how one drip tape would be fine for those.
But will there be some crops that need more than 1 drip tape, running side by side about 1 foot apart, in order to water everything? For instance, if I were to plant cowpeas randomly in a row using a dibble to poke holes in the plastic, would more than one drip tape be necessary if the random row of peas is say, 2 feet wide?
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jul 25, 2022 9:29:39 GMT -6
I would defer to Ron (Heavyhitter Okra) though I can say that I have only ever used a single drip tape. Seems to work alright, though it's important to double check that sufficient moisture is reaching the end of the line. This summer I put two rows of sweet potatoes on a single pressure regulator and ran both at the same time, when watering. After some weeks I realized that not enough water was getting through this way. Seem to have fixed the problem just by only watering one row at a time.
My set up is quite a bit more primitive than Ron's.
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Jul 25, 2022 9:54:54 GMT -6
Thanks, macmex. Mine is going to be primitive too. All manual labor on the plastic and drip line. I do have the row builder to make the ridges with. At least that's what I'm going to try to do. Then dress it up with a hoe and rake. I would only have one row that might need a double line.
This is a picture of my row builder, it adjustable so I can make the ridge whatever width I need. Then smooth it out for the drip line and plastic.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 25, 2022 10:08:56 GMT -6
I've never used more than one drip tape on my rows before, though they do sell an adaptor to make it possible to run two drip tapes at a time while laying plastic, so I suppose some people do use two rather than only one.
I've made it through some pretty bad droughts running just one. The other thing to consider is that during a drought, water is already in short supply. I water from a ground well, so I'm always wary of running my well dry, not to mention the extra wear and tear on my pump. If using city water during a drought, I don't imagine they would appreciate the extra burden. In years with no drought, one is plenty anyhow, so it would just be wasted money to run two lines. (Just my opinion).
In dry weather, I run my drip tape for about two hours per day, either two hours straight in the evening, or one hour in the early morning and one hour in the evening.
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Jul 25, 2022 10:25:41 GMT -6
Thanks, heavyhitterokra. I'll use one line on that row. I use well water here too, when I had 4 rows of sweet potatoes I used tees to make 4 lines come off the main line, then had a valve on each row so I could water one row at a time. They were longer rows than I'll have next year.
My rows rows next year will only be probably 60' to 65' feet long. I'll see how it does with watering 2 rows at the same time, but I'll put valves on the lines so I can water just one row at a time if necessary. Like you, I don't want to put undo strain on my well...
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 25, 2022 10:34:43 GMT -6
Valves are a good idea. I have 12 rows averaging 150' foot each. I also have valves, so I can cut back and only water the rows that are looking rough, or else if one row goes out of production, I can turn it off completely.
P.S. I like that hill building attachment. I wish I had one of those back in the days when we were building hills using a team of mules and a double shovel plow. Of course, without a tractor, that attachment would have done us no good. When making the decision of whether to buy a Plasticulture rig or a tractor first, I decided to buy the Plasticulture rig, figuring I could loan it out in exchange for the use of a tractor. Thank goodness, I only had to do that for a year or two before I was able to sell enough produce to buy my own tractor.
Equipment is expensive, but a guy can't do much without the right tools.
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Jul 25, 2022 19:59:45 GMT -6
Yes, that row builder has been really good to me. I've used it for planting all my row crops, and it is super for hilling potatoes. In this picture I furrowed the ridges so I could spread fertilizer. Then used a rake to smooth it out. In the picture of the tractor in my previous post, the furrower has not been installed, I bought the furrower later on. All it consists of is a single cultivator sweep attached to square tubing with a mounting bracket and set screws. It adjusts up and down to make the furrow as deep as you want it, or adjusts high enough that it is not used if desired. It should work well for the plasticulture mulch, just have to lay the plastic by hand. But with only 4 rows at the most, I know I can handle it. You can tell by the shade in this picture that I need to do some tree removal this winter. I'd like to remove that big blackjack at the far end of the garden spot too...
|
|