Re: Pumpkinguy on drip irrigation

In a message dated 3/15/99 5:09:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, WBobier@aol.com
writes:

<< 
 You said you use overhead watering instead of drip irrigation. I'm curious to
 why you stopped using drip and prefer overhead. I am considering installing
an
 Irrigro drip system this spring. I used to do overhead, but have read that it
 can help promote disease especially bacteria wilt from cucumber beetles. Also
 it would make sense to reduce water loss due to evaporation. It would also
 help to keep a more uniform and constant soil moisture level. Just my
 thoughts. Anyway, just wondering why you switched.
 
 Thanks
 
 Bill
  >>
Bill,
   Some people prefer not to water their foliage. Others water the leaves on
purpose , to take advantage of the evaporative cooling to keep the plant
cooler. I need the evaporative cooling for the temperature in inland
Connecticut gets too hot. I usually grow 4 plants...1,000 square feet per
plant so that will take a few feet of drip tape. The spacing of the drip tape
will depend on soil type. A sandy soil will require closer spacing....the
water tends to go down and not far laterally. A heavy soil, you might spread
the tapes 2 or 3 feet apart. I might need 1,600 feet of tape for 4 plants.
It's easier for me to put out two netafim mini sprinklers to cover the entire
1,000 square feet. They use about one third of a gallon per minute each. Throw
on a fertilizer injector and a automatic valve and I'm under the tree drinking
iced tea. Well....maybe not that easy. Disease will not be a problem with
overhead watering if you have on/off cycles where the foliage is allowed to
dry out completely, in between watering cycles. Knock the beetles out once a
week and use a fungicide containing Chlorothalonil once a week. Note: I have a
good drip irrigation system that is free, that you can use when the plant is
small. Take a plastic, 1 gallon milk jug and prick it with a pin. If it
doesn't drip fast enough, use a bigger pin. Plant gets bigger ....use 4 of
them. Put a little peters or miracle grow in the milk jug,....now you have
fertigation.I do alot of high tech stuff, but you don't have to. I've been
overhead watering on time clocks for 15 years. Don't let anybody tell you that
the water droplets act like magnifying glasses and burn the plants....it's a
bunch of bull. To each his own.
                                         pumkinguy 

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