Most people forget that they have to use enough water to get through the mulch that they use. I fully expect that you are correct in your assumption that you are watering the mulch and not the soil.

I can't speak to the issue with the drip irrigation, since I don't use it (or any other kind of irrigation).

I used to get around the stabbing issue by using a little bit of fabric around the base of new plantings and the emitter goes under the fabric. When you hit the fabric, you stop.

Dan

30 minutes everyday sounds like a lot of water

The only sure way to know how much water is getting to the soil, and into the soil, is to dig in and look. Sometimes I have seen a new mulch repell the water applied for a time but it will soon let that water flow through and into the soil. Drip irrigation systems can be installed under a mulch, or layed on top, while a soaker hose would always be installed under the mulch. But you need to look at the soil, under the mulch, to see how well any of those installations are working.

30 minutes a day on a drip system is NOT very much water :-) Depending on the size and number of emitters, it is likely no more than a couple of gallons, if that. And that very likely is not enough. A good rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water weekly per inch of trunk diameter during the dry times in the growing season. It may take some time and experimentation to calculate how much water is getting to the trees, but I'd up the time and extend the period between waterings - longer watering at less frequent intervals. The water needs to penetrate down into the root zone - at least 12 inches - to be effective, so place the emitters (not necessarily the hose) under the mulch.

As has been said, the only way to know how much water is in the soil -- how deep and wide it went -- is to look.

If the drippers are half-gallon per hour, 30 minutes provides only 1/4 gallon.

That's a drop in the bucket when it comes to a tree's need for water during the summer.

Drippers go under the mulch, and instead of 30 minutes a night (too little, too often), do an hour every third night, and work your way up to 2-3 hour soaking every week to week and a half.

The whole idea is to water seldom and water deep, so the roots go deep and are less suceptible to surface water fluctuations.

It sounds like there's alot of difference between emitters and soaker hoses. When I turn on my soaker hoses they use most of the water pressure delivered to the hose and I have pretty good water pressure.

doh, in the above message I meant "house" instead of "hose"

Soaker hoses do not need much pressure. Mine require only that I turn the faucet 1/4 turn to function properly, but that faucet needs to be open several hours to get the amount of water to the area. I have seen the soaker hoses burst because someone has opened the faucet fully.

kimmsr is correct. Soaker hoses work best (and last the longest) with very low water pressure......somewhere around 10 psi. Most home water pressure is in the 50-70 psi range, often higher, so it is highly advisable to use a pressure regulator or turn on the hose just a quarter turn or so. Too high a pressure will weaken or blow out the hose. It should just barely ooze or 'sweat' moisture along its length, no fountaining or spraying.

The entire point of a soaker hose is the very slow, gradual delivery of water to the depth of the root zone. Running these under high pressure is counterproductive and negates their efficiency, not to mention shorten their lifespan.

Drip irrigation does fine under mulch. The water goes into the soil and the mulch keeps it there. You don't want to bury dripline or emitters under heavy soil, but mulch won't clog it.

Ditto to drip irrigation working just fine under mulch provided the emitter is under the mulch instead of sitting on top of it. I generally do 1.5 hours of drip time once a week in zone 7a and have no issues doing so. As for soaker hoses, I always turn my spigot wide open but then again the soaker hoses I purchase have a blue rubber circular inserts in them that have a very small hole in them that acts as a pressure regulator. Using this type of soaker hose has never lead to a blow out when the spigot is opened all the way possible and this is for hoses that have been in use for 10 years.

I believe my soaker hoses have those inserts I'll have to check. I have about 250 [4x50 ft + 2x25 ft] feet of soaker hose and 2 sprinkler heads running at the same time so the pressure is pretty well spread out.

If I put mulch over soaker hose whats best way to fertilize?