Windbreak watering / 3 point sprayer

[MinnesotaMorg]

I just had 3 rows of spruce put in, each row is about 1000 ft and I believe they did 8 or 10 foot spacing. They recommended I water the trees if we don't get consistent rain.

I am thinking of just purchasing a 3 point sprayer and straddling the middle row. I guess my question is this the best option of efficiently watering the trees? I imagine I need like a 20ft boom to get coverage over the 3 rows, alternatively EA sells a sprayer where you can get a nozzle that will spray a 50 ft swath. I'm not sure what would make the most sense in my case.

Can these be used to spray chemicals or are they typically just for water?

Here is what I was looking at : https://www.(Temporarily blocked du...-150-Gal-p/sou-sprayer-boom-100g11004-150.htm

 

[toolslinger]

Well, you can for sure use them for chemicals... That's the whole point.
If you could reach all the 3 rows at once, that would be nice, but that center row is going to get taller than you can straddle pretty quick I imagine. If you were to block off all but the 3 nozzles over the trees, and then let those three flow rather than spray, it might work ok. Full disclosure, the sprayers I've dealt with are all ancient, so things might have changed... Typically, they're not putting out a ton of volume, so getting enough water on the tree is going to be kinda slow.
Do you need a sprayer other than to water? You might be served just as well with a poly tank on a trailer with a couple hoses running to the drain, and let gravity do it for you. More on and off the tractor obviously, but probably a lot less cash out the door too. Plus, you're only going to have to manage their watering for a year or so.

 

[3Ts]

I'm not watering quite as many trees as you, but I put a poly tank in the back of my RTV with a gravity drain to water my trees. 3/4" bulkhead fitting to a shutoff valve to garden hose threads.

I don't think that sprayer will do what you want. (I have a similar type sprayer) The flow rates on sprayers aren't that high and are intended to put out a few gallons per acre of chemicals. I think you will want to put out a gallon or 3 per tree, and you have about 300 trees. I'd get a big poly tank on a wagon and use a free flowing gravity drain out the side as I drove slowly between the rows and make a pass for each row.

 

[Diggin It]

Those are intended for chemical spraying, not watering.

For watering trees, you do not want to spray, you want to flood the ground around the roots. Look at rigging a trailer with several 55 gallon barrels, as many as the trailer weight capacity will hold. For that kind of a line of trees, I'd think 2-300 gallons of water each day, making very slow passes to let water almost pool around each tree.

 

[MinnesotaMorg]

Yeah I kinda looked more closely at the sprayers. Def not what I am looking for. I think I was imagining a much more high volume attachment.

I think the better option is, get a big IBC tote and just do the gravity system with some PVC. I think I can get two totes for like $100 each and then fill one while I'm dumping one. I am guessing I should just throw on the front forks and pick it up with the valve facing me so I can watch the water drain out in front of my as I drive forward.

 

[toolslinger]

That sounds like the right direction.

 

[workinonit]

I ran a 3/4" line down my 2 rows of live oaks and put dribble irrigation on mine. Pretty easy to do. It's long been taken over by the tree roots but it saved my trees when they were small.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I did this quick and easy. It probably isn't he best option but can keep things from dying until you do get something else. I ended up attaching a piece of PVC supported by a rope to drive down next to the trees and reach over. I remote on/off would be great. I'm kind of considering building a small water tower to elevate the IBC to 5' or so and do some sort of drip.

Watering Trees with an IBC Tote

Quick and crude solution for watering newly planted pines. Just a 275 gallon IBC at 3/4 full was about the max for the MX5200 with ballast.

youtube.com

 

[bigtiller]

What type of spruce trees were planted? 8 to 10 ft spacing seams tight to me.
Black Hills, White, and Norway all grow 20ft wide or more.

I have four 600ft rows of spruce trees in my windbreak. I bought 1 gallon potted trees and planted them 16 ft apart. I wish I would have planted them at 25ft. I tried gravity watering but it was too slow. I wanted a gallon for each tree.

I put a 330 gallon tank in my pickup and dropped a 12 volt bilge pump in it and controlled it with a toggle switch. I sat in my truck with the hose in one hand and the toggle switch in the other hand.

It worked like a dream.

 

[MinnesotaMorg]

White spruce. Ill have to measure but I'm pretty sure its 8-10 between trees and 10 feet between the rows. This was under the recommendation of the local soil and water district. I honestly don't know much about windbreak or spacing but I trust them.

I did this quick and easy.

This looks like what I would like to do. did you have a fairly small valve on that tote? I am wanting to craft some pvc monstrosity so I would like to get triple that flow if possible to water 3 trees at once.