Small Garden Irragation Help/Advice .

deerhunterf350 · May 14, 2007

Hello All,

I have a couple of garden areas measuring approx. 100' x 150' , one has had Kandy Corn in it the past years. One year we got a bumper crop, the Water (RAIN) came at just the right time to make full juicy ears, every stalk had 2 - 8" or 9" ears, as big around as a wiffle ball bat ( NICE CORN )

. But all other years it has been rather a skimpy crop, almost disappointing , with all the work that goes into it, just to sit back and watch it wither in the June/July heat, and get nothing but half filled out ears. Soil Tests have been done, PH , Calcuim, Potassuim, Nitrogen all check high side of acceptable. Water was the issue behind the poor crop.

The areas are approx. 450' from a Well, which uses a 1.5 hp shallow well jet pump with a 25 gallon holding tank, I believe the well is 80' deep.

So My plans are :

Trench 1 1/4 100psi Black PVC pipe below ground from the Well House up to the furthest point ~450' . And put a Standard Hose bib in, for garden hoses to run off to sprinklers. I had looked at a Wayne portable Booster pump Pumphttp://http://www.waynepumps.com/prodlist.asp?pcode=PLS100
I was going to install this pump in the 1.25" pvc at about 180' from the Well House , as a Pressure Booster. I am going to put a Check Valve at the Well house so that the Well Pump will not be starting up under "Pressure" from the 450' of line which does have about 15-20' of elevation when it terminates at the Hose Bib by the Garden areas.

Question's are has anyone used this exact pump? If so +/- is it a good pump, or will a few dollars more get something more reliable?

Has anyone ran an irrigation system ?

If so how and what size supply line, how large of well pump?

How deep is your Well?

Did you use Pressure Booster Pump?

Any problems of pumping the Well Dry?

Any details is greatly appreciated.

Dan

randy41 · May 14, 2007

i irrigate using t-tapes. Sprinklers require some decent pressure and then you end up putting water where you don't really need it. i keep some of my t-tapes on a hose reel and wind them out when i need them. others i have under plastic mulch that the crop is planted in. i run a standard garden hose to them.
drip drip drip. limited to 10 lbs pressure. drip drip drip.

deerhunterf350 · May 15, 2007

randy41 said:
i irrigate using t-tapes.
drip drip drip. limited to 10 lbs pressure. drip drip drip.

RANDY41,

Sounds like a good system, I looked at their WebSite T-Tape , if this is the correct Site. It looks like this is a little more Advance irrigation system, advance meaning $$$$$ , than what I had thought about.

It takes specialized equipment to bury the tubing ??

Or do you just lay the drip tubs on top of the ground, close to the base of the plants? EDIT I see that you keep the tape on a Hose Reel and lay it as needed.

There was no pricing as to the cost , but it looks like a Professional System for big time farms.

What type ( there are many different Series ) and how much drip tubing,fittings have you used in your application and what was the approx. cost, if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks

Dan

randy41 · May 15, 2007

there are other brands of drip tape. try
Welcome to TRICKL-EEZ Company
i got my t tape many years ago and have kept it alive by using loc sleeve couplings at leaky places. i don't remember the cost or even how much i bought when i got it. it has 12" spacing.
many of my rows are 100' long so i have a lot of 100' pieces. on one end i have a 3/4" female swivel/loc sleeve to hook up to a garden hose. the other end is just folded over with a piece of t tape to keep the fold. i have a pressure limiter and it seems that these days they recommend a filter but i have never used one and am on a well and i haven't had any problems.
VA Drip Irrigation Tape Kit Garden Landscape Sprinkler Irrigation Hanna Products Virginia
theres another seller that may sell smaller size rolls.
i grow 2 acres of veggies.
any crop i plant in plastic has a t tape under the plastic. the crops planted without plastic mulch are irrigated using the hose reel system.

ToadHill · May 15, 2007

I use a soaker hose. Attached it to a 50 gal plastic drum, run the hose out the bottom, I fill the drum with a garden hose attached to an old sump pump sitting in the pond, run thru a filter at the top of the drum.

Toiyabe · May 15, 2007

T-tape is pretty cheap stuff - a 6,000' roll goes for about $250, a 100' roll goes for about $10. The fittings to attach it to the feed line are about $0.50 - $1.50 depending on the type. I like the barb fittings myself.

It doesn't need to be buried (although it can be). I just lay it out on the ground. Some folks mulch over the top. It lasts longer if it isn't exposed to UV, although the agricultural users treat it as disposable (one season only).

As mentioned, you need a 10 psi regulator, and also a #200 filter - it can plug pretty easy.

I buy from dripworks - Drip Irrigation Supply, Drip Emitters, Drip Irrigation Kits, Irrigation Misting, Drip Irrigation System.