Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Drip irrigation  (Read 2910 times)

S. cerevisiae

  • Guest
Drip irrigation
« on: July 26, 2014, 11:51:14 am »
Well, I finally got around to installing drip irrigation in my small hop yard.  The amount of rain that we receive each week is starting to taper off.   I used soaker hoses to water my last hop yard, but I was never happy with the fact that none of the soaker hoses that I tried weeped uniformly.  I decided to use a 1/2" main distribution line with 1/4" feeders and 2 gph spot emitters for the remainder of the season.   I managed to install 24 feeders and spot emitters while only using one goof plug (I punched the hole at too high of an angle to get the feeder line to lay flat). 

With that said, if I knew what I know now when I ordered my drip irrigation supplies, I would have gone with  drip tubing or tape with built-in emitters.  It is much easier to install at the beginning of the season and remove at the end of the season.  Drip tubing/tape is as simple to use as a soaker house, but it delivers water much more evenly.  They key is to align emitter spacing with hill spacing such that all hills and their root zones get watered uniformly.

Offline pete b

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4134
  • Barre, Ma
Re: Drip irrigation
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2014, 08:03:02 am »
Well, I finally got around to installing drip irrigation in my small hop yard.  The amount of rain that we receive each week is starting to taper off.   I used soaker hoses to water my last hop yard, but I was never happy with the fact that none of the soaker hoses that I tried weeped uniformly.  I decided to use a 1/2" main distribution line with 1/4" feeders and 2 gph spot emitters for the remainder of the season.   I managed to install 24 feeders and spot emitters while only using one goof plug (I punched the hole at too high of an angle to get the feeder line to lay flat). 

With that said, if I knew what I know now when I ordered my drip irrigation supplies, I would have gone with  drip tubing or tape with built-in emitters.  It is much easier to install at the beginning of the season and remove at the end of the season.  Drip tubing/tape is as simple to use as a soaker house, but it delivers water much more evenly.  They key is to align emitter spacing with hill spacing such that all hills and their root zones get watered uniformly.
My big project later this fall and next spring is to set up a drip irrigation system for my garden and hops yard. A really well respected organic farmer I know showed me his system. He has big plastic cubes about 6 feet off the ground that he pumps water into from a small pond then gravity does the rest. I'm looking into getting a solar powered pump to fill some type of containers from a pond behind our house and do the same system.
I agree about drip tape vs soaker hose, the soaker hose is very uneven.
Don't let the bastards cheer you up.