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Garden Gate:  Do you use sprinklers?  |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 09 2006 : 6:51:45 PM
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I am wondering if anybody has found a good, long-lasting oscillating sprinkler. I am going to need a couple, and the ones I bought last year didn't even last through the summer due to mechanical failures (except the one that I backed over ).
I've tried the K-Mart/Martha brand and the Ace Hardware - do any of you have some that you really like that are sturdy?
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Apr 10 2006 : 04:57:34 AM
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I bought one many years ago called The Raintower from Gardener's Supply, I believe. It's about five feet tall, and is great over taller crops like tomatoes and corn. It's all metal, and has held up very well. If I remember right, then it was about $50. I got it about ten or fifteen years ago. It sprays really far, covering a LOT of ground!
I know I've seen it in current catalogs, maybe Burpee's or Farmtek. If you have an interest, I can go get more specifics. |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 10 2006 : 07:08:15 AM
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Mary Ann - I'd love to take a look - I've really had some bad luck (or just bad purchases) with sprinklers over the past 5 years, and I sort of cringed when I was buying YET ANOTHER oscillating one last week...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 10 2006 : 2:42:37 PM
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I checked it out and it looks like it will be just perfect for the larger garden area of the "yard." Thank you so much for the info - I'll let you know how it goes during the hot, hot summer!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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HorseyNut
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
Allena
MO
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 06:59:16 AM
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Libbie,
I think if you just got one that was metal it would help, I got one at Lowes last year that had a garantee and it was great. Only 20 dollars and all metal. You can get them with timers and all sorts of cool stuff now. Be sure and use sprinklers in the morning as you can have problems with fungus and blight with evening use(I learned the hard way) Also I learned you can spray your stuff with a mixture of vinigar and water 1 part V to 3 parts water and this will keep fungus down.
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do...but how much love we put in that action. - Mother Teresa |
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LJRphoto
True Blue Farmgirl
760 Posts
Laura
Hickory Corners
MI
USA
760 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 07:03:51 AM
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Using soaker hoses on the ground instead of sprinklers helps with preventing fungus and blight too. You also lose less water to evaporation.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." -Mark Twain
http://ljrenterprises.blogspot.com/ |
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HERBMAN
Farmgirl in Training
20 Posts
ROGER
HARLAN
KY
USA
20 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2006 : 2:48:03 PM
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I agree watering around the plant next to the root system is far more effective
way of watering.Be careful not to water your plants in the heat of the day best time for watering is late evening after the sun goes down and early morning befor it gets too hot. |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2006 : 10:07:15 PM
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Thanks for the information - I do already use soaker hoses on all of the raised beds and the beds around the yard area, and a dripline in the vineyard - this is for a more densely planted, larger area that either driplines or soaker hoses I think wouldn't work well. They might, but this year I'll do the sprinkling and see how that goes. It's so hard to know what watering system will work the best and most efficiently for what area. It was such an eye-opener moving to our farm and learning about flood irrigation. Wow - talk about a mess the first time!!! Anyway, I do usually water in the early morning, but sometimes, due to spring winds, I just have to bite the bullet and water whenever the sprinkler water won't be blown into the fence - that's another thing I love about driplines/soaker hoses.
Do any of you do larger-scale waterings with soaker hoses? I don't think I want to even venture into the emitter issue with driplines on this large of an area, but how do the soaker hoses work? I'm definitely open to ideas and suggestions, I just am about ready to defer to the sprinkling option for the year.
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2006 : 03:11:18 AM
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I use soaker hoses only after planting is finished. My garden is an acre in size. It's much harder for the water to reach the ground before evaporating in dense plantings. There's a lot of water lost to evaporation in the time it takes 1" of water to get to the soil in a dense plantings. Sprinklers water paths instead of just the intended plants.
Can you explain flood irrigation please? I've heard of it but never seen it. I'm curious now that you mentioned the mess!
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 14 2006 : 08:01:14 AM
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I hadn't thought of using BOTH sprinklers and soaker hoses - I can tell I need to keep modifying my watering systems until I get the mix that works best. Thanks for all the information, and I'm so happy to hear of any ideas you all have.
Robin - flood irrigation is mostly for field crops, although it can be used (I'm not sure how successfully) on smaller areas. We irrigate around 15 acres this way. What happens is that there is a network of open canal systems around a farming community - pretty much all of Utah has them - and they have a system of "gates" that can be opened and closed to get water to individual farmers/fields when you "order" it from the watermaster. Eash person who has "shares" of water in a canal company is entitled to however many acre-feet per share are allocated for that water year depending on the fill levels of the reservoirs around the area...Okay, enough of the background...Anyway, when when you finally get water to your property, you funnel it through ditches or pipes to your open fields, which have been furrowed to allow the water to run down the slope of the field. You have to have your fields leveled every few years to keep the slope right. Most people with dirt ditches like we have use a double ditch and dam system to funnel water down maybe 10-20 furrows at a time, maybe more - and then you go out with a shovel and try to block off the furrows and secondary ditches with mud and then you slog around and try to open the next "section." ...and so on until the field is watered...
Wow - was that too long? It's not so much a complicated thing (like I am thinking I made it sound), as it is a lot of physical shovel and slog work...AND, the water never stays quite where it should, so that part of it can be frustrating.
The upside is that you get a really deep watering several times a year, rather than shallow waterings more often...
What kind of irrigation do you all use, if any?
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2006 : 2:54:12 PM
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Thanks! I'd heard of water shares, and now I understand what they are. That was very helpful. It wasn't too long. I'm a visual person so when I'm reading I need lots of info. Deep watering is much better for the plants' roots than shallow.
I water deeply when I plant, then water the plant/seed in, and mulch heavily. I try not to water most of the garden again. I'm very conservative on water after dealing with a two year drought a few years ago. I like soaker hoses for carrots because the seeds germinate better when kept moist. I also like it on greens because it doesn't splash dirt onto them. If I have to water something I carry a bucket from the end of the hose to the plant. A hose is difficult to maneuver through the plants so I leave one from the faucet to the center of the garden all summer. Between a lot of organic matter in the soil and usually enough rain I don't water much.
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com
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Garden Gate: Do you use sprinklers? |
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Do you use sprinklers?
