Double F
Member
What do you think is the best way to irrigate a large outdoor plant. For sake of argument, lets say the plant is approx 8 ft tall and 8ft across, in 2 yards of soil.
I have always used the standard pressure compensating drippers for my outdoor plants. I run a 1" mainline, either poly or PVC, with 1/2' poly tubing connecting to the plant. the 1/2' poly tubing is then connected to the 1/2' drip tubing. I use the one everyone else uses, basic 12" spacing, 1gph per emitter, and run it in a coil so that theres 30 emitters per plant. it works very easily but i have complaints about dry spots and sometimes the emitters clog, or kink up. its also hard to fertigate anything but synthetic fertilizers since its so prone to clogging.
But i want to go to sprayers, ive seen them used on a few friends farms and i want to try them out. Any cons for sprayers, what size GPH should i get. I am thinking of using 4 per plant, in a standard box setup. ive heard that sprayers clog too but at least its easier to visually check the lines. i also like how the water spray agitates things a bit and oxidates the water before going into the soil. they also look like they will cover a larger area of space. i see them in use in the commercial orchards and they seem to work great.
I have always used the standard pressure compensating drippers for my outdoor plants. I run a 1" mainline, either poly or PVC, with 1/2' poly tubing connecting to the plant. the 1/2' poly tubing is then connected to the 1/2' drip tubing. I use the one everyone else uses, basic 12" spacing, 1gph per emitter, and run it in a coil so that theres 30 emitters per plant. it works very easily but i have complaints about dry spots and sometimes the emitters clog, or kink up. its also hard to fertigate anything but synthetic fertilizers since its so prone to clogging.
But i want to go to sprayers, ive seen them used on a few friends farms and i want to try them out. Any cons for sprayers, what size GPH should i get. I am thinking of using 4 per plant, in a standard box setup. ive heard that sprayers clog too but at least its easier to visually check the lines. i also like how the water spray agitates things a bit and oxidates the water before going into the soil. they also look like they will cover a larger area of space. i see them in use in the commercial orchards and they seem to work great.