Using Plasticulture Mulch & Drip Irrigation

[heavyhitterokra]

I've been using plasticulture mulch and drip Irrigation with much success here, since Mich Anderson and the ODAFF introduced me to that method back in 2008.

The trouble with Plasticulture is that it's really hard to find those sort of supplies in small quantities for smaller gardens.  I buy plastic mulch in quantities of 4,000' feet and drip tape in quantities of 10,000' and store it year to year.

Today, I found a supplier quite by accident that sells Plastic mulch in much more manageable quantities, like rolls of 50' feet, 250' feet, on up to 4,000' feet.  FEDCO SEEDS is the name of that supplier.  Here's their URL, just in case that might help someone out there.

fedcoseeds.com/ogs/white-on-black-plastic-mulch-8412

Their prices seem very fair in comparison to the bigger suppliers I use, such as Irrigation Mart, Mogan County Seeds, and Drip Depot.  FEDCO SEEDS has a really interesting website, here's just one of the many pages there:

fedcoseeds.com/ogs/


Here's Irrigation Mart's URL: www.irrigation-mart.com/

Here's Drip Depot: www.dripdepot.com/

Here's Morgan County Seeds: www.morgancountyseeds.com/

Sometimes, just having a good lead is half the battle. 
Happy gardening,
Ron 

[macmex]

I haven't looked in on them for years but Fedco used to have a pretty good selection of economical seeds too.

[FrostyTurnip]

Mar 8, 2023 20:49:48 GMT -6 heavyhitterokra said:

Sometimes, just having a good lead is half the battle. 

Ain’t that the truth!  Thank you so much, Ron. 

[amyinowasso]

I usually buy some of my seeds from Fedco. I could buy their entire line of lettuce!

[heavyhitterokra]

I got 8 of 12 beds raised and covered with Plasticulture today! Woo-Hoo!

That has been super hard to get accomplished with so much rain last month, and so many family things going on lately. Just four more rows and I can finish the deer fence that I started last month.

Who knows, I might actually have my garden ready by gardening season! I've still got a lot of work left to do after the beds are laid. Installing the 1-1/2" header hose and punching the 12 gate valves will take some time and effort for sure, then putting on 12 stops, then there's the hose that leads from the wellhead to the header hose that will have to be replaced ... I'll have plenty to keep me busy next week, that's for sure!

My Daughter is getting married next weekend. My wife and I are doing all the cooking, decorating, and cake baking for that this week too.  Busy, busy, busy!

[heavyhitterokra]

Josh and I came up with a trick to help stretch 1-1/2" I.D. blue hose over 1-1/4" I.D. schedule 40 PVC. (Without a tool, it ain't easy). We used to do this by inserting a pair of Channellock pliers inside the blue tube and opening the jaws against the inside of the hose to stretch it out.

A few years ago, we bought a set of exhaust pipe flaring tools to do the trick a whole lot easier than it used to be done.


Here's the finished product.  We use a pipe cap glued onto a 1-1/4" PVC nipple as an end cap on our header hoses. We use hand sanitizer gel as lubricant to get the hose to slide over the pipe.  You can see by the bulged hose, just how tight a fit this is. Back in the olden days we stretched this hose using Channellock pliers opened up against the inside of the blue hose.  (That was quite a challenge, but it works).  So it can be done, it's just a whole lot easier to do with the exhaust pipe flaring tool.  

Here's the tool that we use to get that done now.  The tool is made of multiple steel wedges that slide up on a tapered bushing when you tighten the end nut.  The expanding wedges push against the inside of the blue hose, so that it will stretch to fit over the pipe nipple.  Then, we secure the blue hose in place, using hose clamps.

This is the exhaust pipe stretcher in use, stretching the blue hose.
(It helps to nick the blue hose at the gap between wedges, so that it creates a slight flare to get the PVC nipple started.  The blue hose is called, "Lay flat".  I think 1-1/2" inch discharge hose might be the same thing.
This is how we supply water from our well to our header hose.  We use 1-1/4" PVC reduced down to 3/4" with a pipe thread to hose thread adaptor screwed in.

[heavyhitterokra]

Here's another supplier of gardening and farming plastics that sells their products on a smaller scale if needed. (Believe me, that's hard to find nowadays). They'll accept custom orders by the square foot. The name of their company is, "Farm Plastic Supply". They sell plastic that's rated for 4 years in direct sunlight. (Another thing that is hard to find).

I used this plastic to build a temporary lawnmower shed that was set up in a shaded area at the edge of the woods. That temporary structure has lasted for at least 8 years without deterioration. (Using plastic sheeting is a lot cheaper than building with sheet metal). For hoops on this structure, I bent homemade greenhouse hoops made of repurposed chainlink fence top rails and sleeved them with repurposed 1-1/2" pipe, salvaged from tearing down an old clothesline pole. Any way to save a buck around here.

farmplasticsupply.com/4year-clear/4-year-10-mil-string-reinforced-greenhouse-plastic