pots or in the ground?

ken

Inground. Everything is or will be planted shortly.

JC

The best thing I have found BY FAR is a system called Mister Landscaper. This is a mist / drip / mini-sprinkler system. It uses black plastic tubing ($12 for 100ft) that you stretch out on the ground (and later cover with mulch). Then you "plug in" different emitters, misters, spray heads - wherever you like - along the tube. There are dozens of choices. There's a little tool that lets you puncture the pipe and insert the emitters. Connects to an ordinary garden hose. Add an electronic timer and you're set. Very efficient, very inexpensive, very easy. I just did a bed that's about 50' long and 20' wide. The project took 1 roll of tubing ($12), about 16 emitters ($3.50 ea - $56). 16 mimi-spray heads with a radius of 9 feet ($16); a hose connector ($4), pressure regulator ($8) and a battery operated digital timer ($28). Total for the bed - $124. The total time to set up this bed from start to finish was 45 minutes.

What's great is that if you move plants or change the bed around, its easy to move the sprinklers too. You can add emitters at any time or take them away and plug the holes with "goof plugs". If one plant needs more water than another you can add emitters to that plant only. The mini-spray heads are amazing and come in 5 ft and 9 ft radius options. That's what I use mostly. Hope this helps. I'll try to take some pics tomorrow - its dark now!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that you get this stuff at Lowes in the plumbing department - not landscaping - plumbing! Go figure..

Here's a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mister Landscaper Irrigation Products

Ken,

What tubing are you using? Emitters every 12"?

JC

hey john... been pondering this one for a few days ....

first... your babes will only need water for a year or two .. so i dont understand the investment you would need to make ... with a short payoff ...

think cemetery .... with spigots all over the yard ....

from your spigot on the house.. one line right up the middle of the yard .... with 'T's' off toward the edges .... so you only have to pull short pieces of hose ...

the lines can be 'sliced' into the soil.. with little or no long term impact on the lawn ... and it is very easy to put it all together ....

you know .. kinda like my place ... you been here.. you recall .. yes?????

presuming you do not go down 4 feet to the frost line.. the pipe would need to be blown out in fall ...

ken

I am so excited to find this subject, because I am putting a Mister Landscape into beds around our house and yard. I apologize for starting this in the Florida forum, but this is a better fit, so I am switching.

I have already made one mistake in installation. I bought extra supply line from Lowes but it has a thicker wall than the Mister lines and the hose fitting doesn't fit. Anybody have any ideas how to make it work. (The hose adapter mail end doesn't fit inside the 1/2 inch supply. Wondered if there is another adapter?)

Can I leave the supply line just a few inches under the grass (instead of below the "frost line?" Do I have to have an air compressor to blow out the line in the fall? Is there a traditional way of marking where the lines are below the grass (in case of digging, etc.)

We have high lime content in our water. Any way to avoid having lime build up in the heads?

Am I being too ambitious to put a supply line 200 feet from our house going several directions, as in spokes from the faucet?

Thanks for your help. I so appreciate everyone's generosity in helping me.

This has been(and still is today) one of my biggest work projects for my conifer/maple/hosta gardens - watering all of them. Basically I've managed to landscape every square foot of an acre with very thirsty plants. Add in our desert-like Summers here in the Pacific Northwest and well, I begin to look like those crazy bucket-carrying broom guys from the Mickey Mouse scene of Fantasia. I use a host of things to get the mission down, but primarily I rely on the old tried and true oscilatting sprinkler head and hose. Lots of hose.

I know the sprinklers don't work as well as drip systems, etc but since it can be moved, covers a HUGE area and dumps a lot of water, it fits my needs for most of my plants.

I also have nearly 2,000 feet of drip line that I use if it's really hot or I want a deep watering. I have an automatic sprinkler system as well that I have set to run 2-3 times a week, for a thorough soaking of a few various beds.

Lastly, good old 3-gallon watering cans. Two of them. Glad I'm young and strong, there are some days where I have to fill 100 of them to cover all of the plants not easily accessible!

My advice for ease of watering? LESS plants LOL.

-Will

I find this irrigation subject very interesting, I am getting tired in lugging and setting up hoses, and carrying buckets. One question is for zone 5 winters with -10 to -20 F - how well does Mr. Landscaper handle such temperatures over more than 5 years?

How often do drip system emitters plug up and not being noticed immediately, how often will plants then not survive?

Probably 10 years ago I installed soaker hoses on 1/4 of my half acre property. I learned that it has too much upkeep in fixing leaks, probably after 10 years the soaker hoses get too brittle and should be replaced. I also forgot to blow out soaker hoses before the first hard frost, but the walls must have been porous enough.

For now I continue with hoses and sprinklers, but toy with the idea to have an automatic sprinkler system, for beds only, not for the lawn.
Bernd

Delta and Bernd,

Not sure how long the tubing will last, but I think it will last at least 5 years. Its so cheap replacing it should be fairly inexpensive (and easy).

Last year I did NOTHING to winterize my system, other than cover the hose-end of the pipes with a plastic bag to keep out critters. No damage. Every emitter worked perfectly this spring, and we were down to single digits this year in winter. Seems to be a pretty sturdy system. Saves an unbelievable amount of time as well. I'm sold on it.

Some times this place is funny.One time people want to grow conifers like in the forrest and next talk about watering them.There is no irrigation systems in the forrest. Joe

In the forest Joe the trees throw out a million attempts, in their endemic environment and a handful of them succeed. Not all of us can afford a million conifers!

The truth is that most of our plants we try aren't real happy critters, being moved around, often root-bound, usually in environments different or more harsh then their original range and frequently subjected to a number of other stresses.

The good news is that the majority of conifers are quite content once they become established and will thrive in a huge variety of environments. Getting them established is the hard part and watering to me is the most crucial element.

Also price is an issue. Since many conifers are quite an expensive investment, it makes sense to baby them and ensure the best chance of survival.

I rarely post anything but read every day:)
I just finished my 1.5 acre dripp irrigation system for about 160 conifers. Here in Great Plains is really hot and dry. This is my first months after buying a house on 5 acres:)English is not my first language, so sorry for eventual mistakes.
Anyway. I rather was byuing 1/2" poly pipes in Home Depot-difference about $3 on one roll. To connect you are using simple or T-connectors (in HD also much cheaper than Lowe's, but if you prefer option to disconnect them later instead of cutting, choose rather these from Lowe's). To cap the ends better are kinda 8-shaped end caps, you are just putting that on , bend over and put the end in the second hole. For long lines better use pressure compensating emitters. They come in usually 1/2 gph; 1 or 2 pph, it depends on the soil type. The half gallon are for clay soil. Emitters are attaches to 1/4" tubing , you also buy in rolls (pretty cheap) and with a connector (black, sharp on both ends) you are attaching them to your main watering line which is this 1/2" tube. I learnt that better to put several separate watering lines which can water plants at different times-my water pump is just 17 gpm. To connect to the faucet use : timer (not neccessary but useful); backflow device; filter; pressure regulator and swivel adapter.
Emmiters better is to put on stakes to keep them unclogged by the dirt. When cutting 1/4" tubing for the plant, use longer tube than you thing that you need, in heat they can work and won't be surprise if the emitter will end further from the tree, in extreme cases (two emitters today, temp 100F) two emitter got pulled off by stakes and I had a fountains.
BTW, both Lowe's and Home Depot carry free booklets how to do , with a list of parts on same shelf with the parts.
Good luck!

Will,i agree with you.You took my post the wrong way.I say if you want to grow something that is not native to your area then you must try to copy its enviorment the best you can.If just digging a hole is all you wish to do then good luck with that. Joe

Just like growing Orchids you have to try to create their enviorment for them to thrive.So if they come from a nursery them you should know how they were grown. Joe

Joe,
But Will writes that in the forest there are millions of attempts by trees to grow seedlings, only few will and need to survive. We here have expensive plants with small roots planted in full sun, and all have to survive. One plant in a 2-week heat wave without water will dry up or setting it back for years.
Bernd

Evidently no one listen to me.Lets try this once more.I agree wth Will.If the plant comes from a nursery then you should ask how it was grown i.e field grown,pot grown,sun, shade,greenhouse,hoophouse ect.No one said not to water a plant during a heat wave.The disscussion was on irrigation systems. The only time i water plants is if they are new and no rain for a week or 2.As every one here knows i do just about all my planting in the fall so i don,t worry about heat waves on new plants.Usually after one fall and one winter and one spring the plants are just about ready to go it alone.The following summer i water only if it is extremely dry see i belive in letting a plant dry some so the roots look for water lower in the soil.So plant in the fall and you might not have to water in the following summer.Also dont forget if you much right it keeps the ground moist for a long period.So plant in the spring and you will water un the summer.By the way it is 90 here today and will be so all week. Joe

By the way wet feet will also kill conifers especially Abies and the is always the chance for root rot when watering to much during hot weather.I don't know if conifers get Phytopethora but it runs rampant during hot weather. Joe

Plantagirl, thanks for the irrigation info. What kind of conifers are you growing?