From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Madison, WI

I know this has been discussed but I’m considering drip tape this year. Can somebody tell me if it’s been useful? Is there a specific brand or type being used? Is an overhead sprinkler system just fine? I have 8-10 inches of silty loan soil with all clay below that. I’m trying to control the moisture. Thanks for any thoughts

3/9/2021 12:27:33 AM

Upper Strasburg, PA

I used this kit last year and was very happy with it.

https://hosstools.com/product/drip-tape-irrigation-kit/

I hooked an EZ-Flo fertilizer injector to it and the whole setup (including pressure regulator and vacuum breaker) cost less than $300. Best investment I have made in my patch so far and the kit comes with enough tape to replace the rows a couple of times.

3/9/2021 12:26:13 PM

Colorado

Drip tape is a great way to put down a even amount of water for the large square footage plots AG competitors use. I think its the way to go and also time saving in the long run.

3/9/2021 7:10:06 PM

South Dakota

I switched to drip two years ago. The first year there was a definite learning curve, I tended to overwater and ran into some problems. Last year the system worked great. I bought my supplies from DripWorks.

3/9/2021 8:36:26 PM

Centennial Colorado

drip is the way to go. I wish all of my gardens could be drip. I bought 1000 foot on amazon and "macgyvered" it to work. I think I have spent about $100 including pumps, 50 gallon barrels, and drip tape. My personal best goes up every year and drip is one of those reasons.

3/9/2021 10:06:26 PM

Madison, WI

Very helpful guys, thanks! LJ? What was the learning curve? I’m reading that water pressure needs to be at 15psi? Was getting the water pressure an issue?

3/10/2021 10:30:21 PM

South Dakota

A 20 lb pressure regulator is less than 10.00 and hooks up inline. My learning curve was how much and how long to run the drip tape. I bought a cheapo moisture probe that then gave me some actual data on how much moisture was in the ground. I was doing all sorts of math figuring out how many gallons equal how many inches of precipitation over a particular area. My biggest mistake was trying to go with an inch of water a week when the plant was small, and it was way too much. The moisture probe really gives direction on this, I would highly recommend getting the moisture probe right away. My tape is .5 gph/emitter with emitters every one foot. I space the drip lines 18 inches apart. I have rainwater collection set up to drain into two 300 gallon tanks. I power the system with a small diaphram pump. Don't forget to get the filter for the system or you will end up with plugged emitters. Once your mainline is installed, you can wait to connect the drip lines until that particular section of space needs watering. This conserves my rainwater supply to go further. If I run out of rainwater, I fill the tank with about 3 days of water and let it sit, gas off, and warm up before applying. I then alternate the tanks so one tank is warming, etc while I irrigate out of the other one. Get to know the texture of your soil, as that will dictate all the variables. Hope this helps a little, great luck in 2021 and grow um big.

3/11/2021 9:08:07 AM

Madison WI

So helpful there, thanks LJ and best of luck to you as well this year!

3/11/2021 1:37:12 PM

Madison WI

Are you guys burying the drip tape or keeping it above ground?

3/22/2021 9:49:26 PM

Central Illinois

Everyone I know keeps it above ground

3/23/2021 4:47:11 AM

(rocky) Bonney Lake Wa.

Laying tape above the soil. The water dispenses down in a pyramid type pattern in to the root zone. Burying the tape the water disperses out then down to the root zone. I learned this through a class at Western Labs. In my opinion either works but my preferred method is on top the the soil as the roots typically are not that close to the soil surface. I have tried both burying and on top in the same season but I did not pay close enough attention to see if there was any significant differences.

4/13/2021 11:24:41 PM

Nekoosa, Wisconsin

Hey Bauch are you growing in Madison? I live their too, but have 2 remote gardens in Pardeeville and Oregon. I am thinking about drip tape in my Pardeeville garden as it's very sandy and would work great.

4/14/2021 6:24:40 PM