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Re: Potato torture update

On Wed 27 May, Ross E Stanford wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 27 May 1998 00:06:28 EDT Meconella <Meconella@aol.com> writes:
> >In a message dated 5/26/98 8:23:02 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> >stanford4334@juno.com writes:
> >
> ><<  I have a soaker hose watering the area
> ========================================================.  
> >Hi Laz,  I mean Stan,
> 
> >I too water my garden with soaker hoses.  These are covered with a 
> >thick layer
> >of mulch.    My soaker hoses are all attached together with shorter 
> >hoses and
> >Y joints and are fed by one garden hose attached to a faucet.  I have 
> >just
> >discovered a cool way of fertizing my whole garden very easily.  At 
> >the end of
> >my watering cycle,  I attach one of those Miracle Gro sprayers on the 
> >line,
> >put in an amount of water soluble fertilizer,  and turn on the water 
> >to my
> >system.  When the fertilizer is gone,  I turn off the water.  I havent 
> >yet
> >figured out a schedule for this,  but it offers great possibilities I 
> >think.
> >Maybe you could do this with your potatoes.
> >
> >Janet.
> >
> >
> Thanks Janet.  
>      That's the setup I have too.   I use a timer right off the spigot.
> I have one of the cheap ones, of course, which go on once a day.  This
> keeps my garden alive when I am gone for a while. (and when I forget).
>      My daughter gave me one of those Miracle Gro inline fertilizers but
> I haven't hooked it up yet.  Looks kinda small.  It also says that it
> must
> use the special Miracle Gro fertilizer made for that system.  Do you know
> if that really matters?  I am afraid that the normal Miracle Gro may
> clog my
> soaker hoses or something.  I can't see how though.  It does seem to
> dissolve completely.  
>      Anyway, I have a total of 440 feet of soaker hose on one line and I
> still get
> enough water pressure for the whole system.  Most
> of it is in parallel with a poly manifold.  I also use a number
> of Y connections and an inline plastic valves at each soaker hose to 
> try to balance the system and to allow me to use less water where I want
> to and increase the pressure to the rest of the system.  It also allow me
> to turn off all but one hose and run through a cycle a second time
> to an area which looks like it needs more water.
>      OK, tomorrow I will go out and hook it up.  (that is if I decide to
> get out of bed in the morning).  I also will take a look
> at drastically enlarging the container.  It  doesn't look like it would
> supply much fertilizer per plant in larger systems.
>      Some of my soaker hose just lays on the surface, and some is
> buried under about one to two inches of soil, and others are under
> plastic mulch.  
>      Thanks for your input Janet.  I was afraid that I might be the only
> one addicted to soaker hoses.  
> 
> Stan    (shortened from Stanislazy when my ancestors came to the
> new country).            The cheap and lazy gardener.
> 
Stan, how can you call yourself cheap and lazy after all that? And I
thought I was the mad one round these parts, with 8x 6-cycle water
computers, 2-way automatic switches (made in U.S.!), miles of leaky
pipes,drip nozzles, 2x6-way distributers, a misting chain for the
cucumbers/aubergines, 2000 gallons rainwater storage etc.

Janet, a very good wheeze to use that Miracle-Grow feeder at less than a
quarter of the price of the gadget I already use. It's the only make
that I'm aware of that has a standard 3/4" thread on the outlet. I can
now set up two lots of feed on the same day. I don't see why it should
matter what fertiliser you use if totally soluble as long as it is on
long enough to wash the whole lot out. I believe Miracle Grow do a
tomato feed now but I haven't tried it.

-- 
Allan Day  Hereford  allan@crwys.demon.co.uk
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