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Eganville, Ontario

There's a lot of reading info online and I've watched a lot of videos on drip tape layout, but there's not much for pumpkin growing. I guess the big questions are:

-distance between rows of tape
-size of holes in tape (must be determined by row layout as well I guess), as in how much water released.

I'm leaning towards trying drip tape in 2016, but having trouble finding any pumpkin related info on the matter.

12/12/2015 11:10:54 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

I found the Toro Aqua Traxx to be the most durable tape and the easiest to lay out with no clogging issues. Tape and emitter spacing will be determined by your soil's drainage capability. I grew on gravel-based well-drained soil and spaced my tape 12" apart. Emitter spacing was 8". I laid it out with the main line tubing behind the stump, running parallel with the secondaries (x-mas tree pattern) and the tape parallel with the main. Many people put a shut-off valve on each strip, but I found this to be unnecessary.

12/13/2015 4:34:35 AM

Massachusetts

I used the Toro Aqua Traxx and laid mine out exactly like TruckTech said. I have sandy loam and used 12 inch spacing between. This is a good time to buy drip stuff. The entire dripworks.com site is 20% off through the 17th with code HLDY20
I bury each node like most people using a soil mix and I hand water that area until I think it has rooted. That little mound can dry out pretty easily with drip tape depending on the distance from the nearest line. Also I have had discussions with people who like to trench ahead of their vines. Those folks seem to find it easier to run the drip lines parallel to the secondary vines.
I suggest just doing the flowrate calculations to decide whether you want the higher flow or lower flow tape. This year I switched to low flow because I was more comfortable with watering a bit longer and felt I got more even distribution and had a bit more time to run soluble fertilizers through the tape. But I'm only irrigating 1700 SF so YMMV.

12/13/2015 9:28:20 AM

Hanson Ma

Check out my diary about July 1st there is a good picture of how I layed out my lines. I run the trunk line down the right side of the patch. And have it set up to gravity feed from up the hill behind the chicken coop. I also have it to run off house water if needed. They run parallel with the secondaries for burying. The tapes are 8" spaced emitters with tapes 18 inches apart. But after a while they move around a little so some get closer. I have 250 gal totes. I use one full tote for 2700 sqft I drip during the day and if I need more when I get home I hook up the faucet. I also have a sprinkler set up. I think it is worth it because the water is going directly into the soil with minimal evaporation and I can mix fertilizers in also.

12/13/2015 10:06:29 AM

Eganville, Ontario

I figured the spacing of emitters would be based on my soil. It is a fluffy black loam and it holds quite a lot of water. I did water retention tests on my garden soil this year that you can see in my diary. One plot was 84% field capacity and the other was 76%.

There is a drip tape store not that far from me, because with the CDN dollar at 10 year lows against the US dollar, the exchange hurts if I have to bring product out of the US.

12/13/2015 10:41:06 AM

Omaha, Ne.

i over watered last year useing tape for the first time and stunted the growth of my my young plant so be careful

12/13/2015 11:21:33 AM

South Hero, VT

Darren has a good point. Know how much water your soil can handle. If you have a clay based soil, you will stunt your plants with too much water.

12/13/2015 11:40:42 AM

Lebanon, Oregon

To help keep the stump area dry, I have the tape go around the stump by at least 2' on all sides. The stump roots grow out far and will find the water. I have the vines over the tape, not under. Whatever you can do to not have constant wet areas around the stump and vines to prevent rot. Also, I clean out the filter once a week to keep the flow rate good. At the end of each row I have an ending that I can unscrew and flush out each row every once in a while. There can be algae build up and emitted areas can get clogged. I am still experimenting with row distance. I have sandy loam and was 28" apart. I may go 24". I use a timer and adjust it based on how damp the soil is down several inches, in between the rows. Drip tape can make for very consistent watering. This is only my 3rd year so it is still evolving. I use Dripworks.com, but it is in the U.S. I ordered 1000ft. rolls and change them every year. A lot of work initially but they are new and clean every year. I find my leaves are healthier and more free of bugs when they are not wet from over head watering. We have a well that has limited water in the summer. Drip tape is less wasteful of water.

12/13/2015 1:55:21 PM

Lebanon, Oregon

I ordered a kit from Drip Works website. To walk into a drip tape store to pick up all the parts to a drip tape set up can be time consuming and overwhelming. These kits can give you a general idea of what you need if you were going to get all the individual parts. http://www.dripworks.com/category/row-crop-irrigation-kits
Good luck.

12/13/2015 2:04:51 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Nice Garden Rebel.

I do exactly that but have finally moved mt lines to 12" to 15" due to very sandy loam. I also water a couple times in 24 hours but only for 6 to 7 minutes per watering. My emitters are .24 so very little water comes out with each watering.

12/13/2015 3:26:24 PM

Eganville, Ontario

I'm hoping to come off of three hose bibs which I'll split. I have my garden set up for overhead. I have lots of water and I'm worried my pump is too big, but I guess with 2500 feet of garden, all of those little emitters will add up and release water.

I don't know my pressure as I didn't care with overhead. I had a 2HP pump working out of a pond, pumped up a 15 foot hill and into three hose bibs that had a hose connected to a standard heavy duty sprinkler on each of the three plots. There's a Dosatron tapped into the main line which can be opened and closed when I feed. All would stay the same expect I'd like to hook each drip zone up from the current hose bib if possible (With a splitter).

I'm hoping I don't have to restrict my pump too much to make it work with this system.

And good point on the time consuming store. I'm not that close, about an hour and a half away, so I'd like to send them a sketch of the gardens and have everything planned out and ordered over the phone for an easy pick-up. I think with costs, I have to stay in Canada.

12/13/2015 8:07:13 PM

Eganville, Ontario

I found this site that seems to have everything, and they have everything in Canada. They sell Netafim. Not sure what the prices look like when compared.

http://www.irrigationdirect.ca/Soaker-Hose-Dripline/

12/13/2015 8:34:52 PM

Roselle, IL GJGEM@sbcglobal.net

Does it work attached to a rain barrel?

12/14/2015 7:54:48 AM

aurora, IL

It could work, you need to have enough water pressure.

12/14/2015 9:20:11 AM

Lloydminster/AB

I bought some stuff from irrigationdirect.ca and I'll recomend them. I bought their 10 psi pressure regulators to use with my 1/2 horse pump. Their 15mil dripline seems very durable. I should have spaced my lines at 16" centres, it depends on soil type.

12/15/2015 1:27:11 AM

Eganville, Ontario

Thanks Don. I'll give them a call.

12/16/2015 3:09:09 PM