Time to Put Down Plastic

[300UGUY]

Dude, your'e living my dream! Thanks for posting this, it gives me a lot of ideas.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Irv,

The dream may become a nightmare once harvest starts:laughing:

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Went down last night to plant 3 more rows of tomatoes and noticed the green beans were poking through the plastic. I planted them 5 days ago alone with okra and fordhook lima. The fordhooks should be through today and the okra today or tomorrow.

I think the plastic helped since it has been in the mid 50's, upper 40's at night this past week. The plastic seems to be holding the heat in.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the updates and pictures. That's really an impressive setup that you have and I'm dreaming of the day I get as good as you are!!!!

Eddie

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Finished setting tomatoes and peppers last night. I took a couple of pictures to compare from last week. First pic is last week beans and second in this week.

Third pic is a core before planting. The plastic is really helping hold the moisture in. The last time running the drip was Saturday morning. We have been in the high 80's this week so I was interested in what the soil looked like. I did run the drip for about one and a half hours last night.

Forth pic is more tomatoes planted last weekend, with the half row being what I finish planting after taking the picture. I have 6 full rows and a seventh going in around the end of June.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Your soil moisture will highest in afternoons and drier in the mornings. Looks good.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Jody,

Thanks for the info. I remembered I need to set out a few Red Bells and will do this Saturday morning. I will be able to check the moisture then.

How often and long do you run your drip? I am running on Saturday and Wednesday for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours at a time. Will increase as fruit starts to set and heat rises.

 

[Reyer Farms]

We water every other day. Duration varies from field to field. Usually at least an hour. It is good to have a wild end that drips on soil do you can see what is happening. I feel it keeps soil more consistent to water more frequently. Some farms water once a week.

 

[MossRoad]

I guess the theory is if you water for short periods too often it encourages short root growth because the plants don't have to strain to reach water. If the water system fails for a few days, some damage can be done.

On the other hand, watering for longer periods less often encourages the plants to strain their roots a bit to look for water deeper, so they are better able to withstand an interruption in irrigation...

At least that's what the "experts" told me. I'm still a novice on this and just a home gardener.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Moss- I think your logic is correct. My water is 2" below grade and goes into soil in root zone. Adequate moisture is critical in every aspect of growing crops from plow to harvest.