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Fertilizing and Watering

Subject:  Adding fertilizer to watering system

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bluesilver

Tasmania Australia

Hi, this might be a simple basic question but here goes.
Just using a figure, say i am watering my plants 30 gallons a day,(just straight normal water from a tap, not from a holding tank)
If say this 30 gallons takes an hour to put on and if i plan on fertilizing say every second or third day,
For those that use a fertilizer injection system, what systems are you using?
All the ones that i have seen you have to put an undiluted concentrate in and the system takes it from there, not much good if i plan on putting more than one fertilizer on at a time if the application tares are different.

Or am i better to look at a holding tank and just put the correct rations in there and feed it that way?

Hope that makes sense.

5/30/2015 11:51:19 PM

cntryboy

East Jordan, MI

for that low of a flow rate the ez flo injector would be my suggestion.

You want the small one or it will take days to empty at the rate you are talking (30 gallons a day over an hour each day) http://www.dripworks.com/product/Q_IEZH

And you will want one of these to replace the injector that comes with it (it will get the product out of the injector faster) http://www.dripworks.com/product/IEZIBVH

You can't leave it under pressure when not in use (it has to be after the timer.

As for mixing things with different rates. This isn't a high dollar dosatron that keeps a constant concentration. It is a low budget system that siphons the concentrate out as your water passes it. I just figure out how much product I want to put down total to the area being watered and add it to the injector. As long as the products are compatible (don't gel when mixed) it will work fine.

Another thing I've learned. If you are using drip tape, powders that don't COMPLETELY dissolve (they settle after sitting for a while -- most say agitate while spraying or something like that on the label) will not work in a low flow drip tape application. It just gets into the drip tape, settles and stays there.

5/31/2015 8:03:04 AM

bluesilver

Tasmania Australia

Cheers, thanks for the information, appreciated.
The 30 gallon per hour is only a number i picked, i will have to work out the correct numbers when i find what system i will go for.
Would using say a micro spray on the ground work ok compared to a drip tape?
Only reason i was thinking of this was, when i foliar feed, the spray will spray up under the leaves as well as around the roots, or would i be wasting my time with the micro spray idea and just go with a drip tape set up and foliar spray my hand?

5/31/2015 6:57:16 PM

cntryboy

East Jordan, MI

Many great growers use under the canopy watering, and they will be able to answer better than me, but I think micro spray heads would clog very easily with anything but water.

6/1/2015 5:31:58 PM

Ralph

Vernal, Ut

I use the micro sprinklers and use the same ez flo cntryboy was telling you about. I found if it flows through the ez flo then it will go through these without any problems. Each spray different distance by color. I prefer the green ones for pumpkins personally.

6/1/2015 6:05:10 PM

Ralph

Vernal, Ut

another thought, these rarely clog on me, but if something does get in them, they are easy to cleanout.

6/1/2015 6:06:19 PM

Ralph

Vernal, Ut

http://www.toro.com/en-us/agriculture/emission-devices/sprinklers/pages/default.aspx here is the link to what I use, forgot to post it.

6/1/2015 6:07:15 PM

bluesilver

Tasmania Australia

Cheers, the ez flo looks a good uni, but so far it looks like it can only be used with one fertilizer at a time if you have different concentrate levels.
Say one at 1:300 and one at 1:20, then it looks like it stays connected untill the fertilizer is all used up, a small patch could take a month to get through that much if the from what they say, you fill the tank completly full of concentrate.
Think i might need a unit that will just inject the concentrate or suck the concentrate from a container into the system without water being added to the container itself.
Hope that makes sense.

6/2/2015 12:26:01 AM

bluesilver

Tasmania Australia

Those micro sprinkles look to exactly the type of thing i am looking for .
Cheers.

6/2/2015 12:26:48 AM

ACpumpkin

Tasmania, Australia

Hey bluesilver, i got a fertilizer venturi from banggood, $16 AUD including postage. Just mix your liquid ferts in a bucket and let the venturi slowly suck it out. Only put in the bucket what you wish to feed out.

6/2/2015 5:05:47 AM

VTWilbur

Springfield, VT

How about using the item below. You will need to use a liquid in a bottle. A two liter soda bottle fits you need the plug in the top of the green bottle supplied.

http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Gro-Liquafeed-Universal-Feeder-Starter/dp/B00MKB6R0O/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1433249147&sr=8-8&keywords=miracle+grow

6/2/2015 8:47:26 AM

cntryboy

East Jordan, MI

blue silver

Even with the type that just suck the concentrate from the container, you can't mix two different concentrations at the same time

instead of worrying about 300:1 concentrations, look at the amount of product you want to put over the sq footage and put that amount of product in the ez flo. Then take the next item and decide how much you will put down in same area and then run it until empty, with the adjustable valve instead of the fixed injector, you can empty the 2/4 gallon jug with about 50 gallons of water. Like I said, this is a low cost injector, and yes the concentration will get weaker as time goes on, but thats ok because it is watering your fertilizer in deeper.

6/2/2015 8:23:03 PM

So.Cal.Grower

Torrance, Ca.

I use that one Wilbur with great success!

Just plug it in and spray, makes things so easy!

6/2/2015 9:46:37 PM

Big City Grower (Team coming out of retirement )

JACKSON, WISCONSIN. ; )

Miracle grow just came out with a cheap inline injector kinda check them out like 20 bucks

6/2/2015 9:54:25 PM

bluesilver

Tasmania Australia

Cheers, I like the idea of yours ACpumpkin, nice and easy.
Now all i have to do if find out the correct mix to make up a granular concentrate and should be all good.

6/2/2015 11:09:38 PM

Total Posts: 15 Current Server Time: 11/24/2024 5:28:35 AM
 
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