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Re: automatic watering

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

At 1:21 PM -0500 11/1/98, Olin wrote:


> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> I use a 200 mesh filter.  The 13 gpm version runs about $25.00 and the 30
> gpm about $60.00.  Might be "cheapie" to some people but not to me!  But it
> is only a one-time expense.

I was using "cheapie" in comparison to the large agricultural filters
which seem to run over a thousand dollars.

> The clogging problem occurs when the water
> evaporates leaving the mineral deposits, which were dissolved in the water,
> to accumulate.  It is not due to particulate matter in the water.  Our
> irrigation water comes from runoff from the Salt River drainages and the
> Colorado River Plateau.  Haven't measured the specific gravity but suspect
> it is well above 1.00.  I suspect oldjohn's water is also runoff from the
> Eastern Sierra and Owens Valley, lots of alkaline minerals like ours.  One
> way to reduce these deposit is to keep emitters covered with mulch.  Or to
> use turbulent flow pressure compensating emitters like John recommends.  But
> if your water is pretty pure, all this may not be relevant.

It sounds like the water has to be fairly hard to be a big problem. My
city water is hard enough to require cleaning the lime deposits off the
faucets once every two or three months. It's not very scientific but
might be an indication to other square footers as to whether mineral
deposits might be a problem. The emitters for my containers are not
under mulch and show no signs of calcium deposits after 3 years of use
with the $15 filter.

> The pressure compensating emitters usually up to 70 psi and may not need a
> pressure regulator but may cause a garden hose to burst if left in the
> summer sun under this high pressure.

My pressure regulator ($7) is hooked up at the faucet. I just
add/subtract whatever is handy or strikes my fancy until the plants
seem happy. It works very well and, like the square foot approach,
makes gardening a great deal simpler, less work and a lot more fun.

---
Peggy Enes (peggy@unicom.net)   Zone 5/6    NE KS     AHS Heat Zone 7


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