ISO Drip Irrigation System pictures

DCallahan said:
So pictures are hard to put a system into prospective when they can span such a large area.
My question for you is, How much time a day or week do you spend watering? Would you like that amount of time to do other things with your figs, garden, or life? That is the true value in an irrigation system. And when you get a system in, we can revisit the time and productivity question about whether you should add fertigation.
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I agree 100% with this. I water everyday by hose during the dry times. I split it into three sections. An hour a day per section.
For awhile I would water them all every other day. But 3 hours of watering after work gets old fast. :)
 
Kompakfigs said:
Everything and anything that will help me pull the trigger on a system sooner than later.
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If you are cool and calculating, design a system and get it from Drip Depot, and it will arrive in a few days or a week. If you are hands-on and impulsive, you can get most of a working system from Lowe's or Home Depot like, tonight.
 
Kompakfigs said:
Is it on a timer, 7 days a week? Im pro now so I need to level up as a grower...FigPro not Profig.:LOL:
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How many trees are you watering?
If you’re going 100 or less and have more than one zone to work with, 1/2” main line should be sufficient. If your going more than 100 and only one zone to work with definitely upgrade to 3/4” main like.
You can use drip rings or drippers. You can 1/4”
From main line or if you plan to make trellis rows,
You can hang the main line above the pots and add drippers directly to the main line!
 
JC Figgy said:
How many trees are you watering?
If you’re going 100 or less and have more than one zone to work with, 1/2” main line should be sufficient. If your going more than 100 and only one zone to work with definitely upgrade to 3/4” main like.
You can use drip rings or drippers. You can 1/4”
From main line or if you plan to make trellis rows,
You can hang the main line above the pots and add drippers directly to the main line!
Click to expand...
I will have 100 trees to deal with until Sept 12th. Im thinking 2 zones because the 10-15 gal pots are separate from the main grouping of trees.
 
I did a lot of research back in the day and settled on a system based on a 6-zone Hunter controller, 4 drip zone valves for now, but will be adding two more in the future, and a Dosatron.

I struggled a lot with my drip system in the past primarily because I never liked any of the emitters, bubblers, and drip tubes I was able to find... i never liked drip tube as it left a lot of dry pockets. Last summer I switched to adjustable brass emitters from Temu, I think they call them misters, and those work exceptionally well for practically everything I grow, with very even coverage of the pots and no dry pockets.... very reliable compared to plastic emitters and bubblers, and a very good flow rate for my needs... I am very happy with the perfromance now... The system has a lot of smart features, like adjusting irrigation based on your local precipitation, etc. My season is just starting, so I haven't put everything back, but here are some pics from today and a couple from earlier.

irrigation-5.jpg

irrigation-1.jpg

irrigation-3.jpg

irrigation.jpg


These are the emitters
irrigation-2.jpg

I have these also hanging over my fig pots, tomato containers, etc... I can adjust the spray cone to fit the diameter of the container, which is very helpful. The coverage is very even, which is what I've always struggled with with all other emitters I used in the past, as I previously mentioned...

I use quick connect fittings and can easily switch to manual watering / fertigation if needed, it literally takes a couple of minutes to switch, if needed.
 
@Kompakfigs

I can totally do this.... I'm cleaning mine up tomorrow. It may be a bit tough to show... it wraps way around the perimeter of my property. Is there some component in particular you want to see?

One thing that's really cool. I got my stuff through irrigationdirect.com in Canada which is on par with Drip Depot I think. Here's what I love about them

When first diving in, I sent them a rough sketch of my property with building and number of plants (potted figs, garden bed tomatoes... everyting) with some basic measurement. They sent back to me a professional drawing along with a complete parts list of everything I might need.

Now... you might think they push extra product, but they didn't. A few spare drippers etc where they know you need the odd replacement.

A proper irrigation shop is the way to go. Big box stores in my experience sell VERY inferior products at outrageous prices. With a proper shop you get better service and wisdom.

Finally, I've said this before. The drip system is the single, best investment I've ever made in my gardening..... PERIOD. The time savings is so substantial that once it's dialed in, you will feel lazy! You'll have so much time to do things in the garden that are so much more fun. Even my herbs are on micro-sprayers... I can go to Italy for a month and all the plants are just fine....

And, for very little more money.... you can automate all your seasonal fertilizing... with a $100 injector. It's amazing! @DCallahan .... I didn't add fertigation until maybe year 5. I totally regret not doing it much sooner... I had no idea what I was missing!

I can go in to more product specifics if you take the plunge... but only to say... I can't imagine living without it now.

My $0.02
 
DCallahan said:
So pictures are hard to put a system into prospective when they can span such a large area.
My question for you is,
Click to expand...
DCallahan said:
How much time a day or week do you spend watering?
Click to expand...
My work schedule only allows me to water the trees on the weekends and if the temps are in upper 80s, not watering for 5 days could be a problem.
DCallahan said:
Would you like that amount of time to do other things with your figs, garden, or life?
Click to expand...
Absolutely, especially when on I'm vacation. This summer, I will only have 1 weekend per month to focus on the trees and garden.
DCallahan said:
That is the true value in an irrigation system.
Click to expand...
I hope it is.
DCallahan said:
And when you get a system in, we can revisit the time and productivity question about whether you should add fertigation.
Click to expand...
Yes, I am looking forward to adding a fertigation system.
 
TorontoJoe said:
@Kompakfigs

I can totally do this.... I'm cleaning mine up tomorrow. It may be a bit tough to show... it wraps way around the perimeter of my property. Is there some component in particular you want to see?

One thing that's really cool. I got my stuff through irrigationdirect.com in Canada which is on par with Drip Depot I think. Here's what I love about them

When first diving in, I sent them a rough sketch of my property with building and number of plants (potted figs, garden bed tomatoes... everyting) with some basic measurement. They sent back to me a professional drawing along with a complete parts list of everything I might need.

Now... you might think they push extra product, but they didn't. A few spare drippers etc where they know you need the odd replacement.

A proper irrigation shop is the way to go. Big box stores in my experience sell VERY inferior products at outrageous prices. With a proper shop you get better service and wisdom.

Finally, I've said this before. The drip system is the single, best investment I've ever made in my gardening..... PERIOD. The time savings is so substantial that once it's dialed in, you will feel lazy! You'll have so much time to do things in the garden that are so much more fun. Even my herbs are on micro-sprayers... I can go to Italy for a month and all the plants are just fine....

And, for very little more money.... you can automate all your seasonal fertilizing... with a $100 injector. It's amazing! @DCallahan .... I didn't add fertigation until maybe year 5. I totally regret not doing it much sooner... I had no idea what I was missing!

I can go in to more product specifics if you take the plunge... but only to say... I can't imagine living without it now.

My $0.02
Click to expand...
If an online place will work with you on what you need based on your property, that's a huge plus.
 
TorontoJoe said:
@Kompakfigs

I can totally do this.... I'm cleaning mine up tomorrow. It may be a bit tough to show... it wraps way around the perimeter of my property. Is there some component in particular you want to see?

One thing that's really cool. I got my stuff through irrigationdirect.com in Canada which is on par with Drip Depot I think. Here's what I love about them

When first diving in, I sent them a rough sketch of my property with building and number of plants (potted figs, garden bed tomatoes... everyting) with some basic measurement. They sent back to me a professional drawing along with a complete parts list of everything I might need.

Now... you might think they push extra product, but they didn't. A few spare drippers etc where they know you need the odd replacement.

A proper irrigation shop is the way to go. Big box stores in my experience sell VERY inferior products at outrageous prices. With a proper shop you get better service and wisdom.

Finally, I've said this before. The drip system is the single, best investment I've ever made in my gardening..... PERIOD. The time savings is so substantial that once it's dialed in, you will feel lazy! You'll have so much time to do things in the garden that are so much more fun. Even my herbs are on micro-sprayers... I can go to Italy for a month and all the plants are just fine....
Click to expand...

TorontoJoe said:
And, for very little more money.... you can automate all your seasonal fertilizing... with a $100 injector. It's amazing! @DCallahan .... I didn't add fertigation until maybe year 5. I totally regret not doing it much sooner... I had no idea what I was missing!

I can go in to more product specifics if you take the plunge... but only to say... I can't imagine living without it now.

My $0.02
Click to expand...
Im looking at kits on drip depot. I have 2 groupings on opposite ends in my small sloped backyard and 2-3 trees in the front yard because they get sun from dawn to dusk. I might be moving more to the front yard.
I have to dial in my zones to determine what I really need.
 
cdh said:
If an online place will work with you on what you need based on your property, that's a huge plus.
Click to expand...

It's been years. I'm trying to find the old drawings. It was amazing.... I held off for so long because I was a bit intimidated but the initial setup... which did take me a good day to do.... but after that the investment paid off. It was total smooth sailing. Now all I do every spring is replace 1 or 2 emitters and program the timer... that's it, that's all.
 
Kompakfigs said:
Im looking at kits on drip depot. I have 2 groupings on opposite ends in my small sloped backyard and 2-3 trees in the front yard because they get sun from dawn to dusk. I might be moving more to the front yard.
I have to dial in my zones to determine what I really need.
Click to expand...

I have a 4-zone timer. This allows me to regulate different water amounts to figs and peppers in containers in pots and tomatoes in the ground. The sprayers are amazing for herb, onion and garlic beds.

Shut-off valves are huge. You need to be able to turn off zones, or specific beds when needed. Like my garlic is on a main tomato line.. but need the water shut off way earlier. Valves are mostly on the main lines..... but I do have 1/4" valves on the small nursery plants

This shouldn't put you off. It;ll all make total sense as you lay your system out.

I would strongly recommend getting a timer with more controllable zones than you need. Plans change.
 
I will add that i do not do fertigation. I make all my potting mix myself and I use slow release granular fertilizer when making the mix. I then will manually water with fish emulsion a few times a season. Mid summer ill add tomato feed (again a slow release granular fertilizer) to any fruit bearing plants such as peppers and tomatoes (and will do this for figs) once or twice. Everything else is just water from the drip emitters.

During early spring I refresh my pots by dumping them out into a wheelbarrow and mixing in compost and new granular fertilizer. In my raised beds I just scratch in the granular fertilizer and compost. So all in all a very small amount of time spent manually fertilizing though if you have a lot of grow bags like i do it is a very exhausting 1 or 2 days a year to refresh them.
 
paupau said:
I will add that i do not do fertigation. I make all my potting mix myself and I use slow release granular fertilizer when making the mix. I then will manually water with fish emulsion a few times a season. Mid summer ill add tomato feed (again a slow release granular fertilizer) to any fruit bearing plants such as peppers and tomatoes (and will do this for figs) once or twice. Everything else is just water from the drip emitters.

During early spring I refresh my pots by dumping them out into a wheelbarrow and mixing in compost and new granular fertilizer. In my raised beds I just scratch in the granular fertilizer and compost. So all in all a very small amount of time spent manually fertilizing though if you have a lot of grow bags like i do it is a very exhausting 1 or 2 days a year to refresh them.
Click to expand...

I dump most of my pots on my driveway... then add a bunch of compost, chicken poop and other amendments. I break my back mixing it back and forth to blend it... then refill the pots and put them back in their spots before planting in them. It's not the most fun work. I just spent the last 2 days doing this. I want to get back to food I can direct sow... but It'll never happen with tomatoes and peppers while I live here.
 
TorontoJoe said:
I dump most of my pots on my driveway... then add a bunch of compost, chicken poop and other amendments. I break my back mixing it back and forth to blend it... then refill the pots and put them back in their spots before planting in them. It's not the most fun work. I just spent the last 2 days doing this. I want to get back to food I can direct sow... but It'll never happen with tomatoes and peppers while I live here.
Click to expand...
Yeah ive heard of people mixing stuff up on a tarp in their yard. I opted for the wheelbarrow approach so I dont have to bed over as much
 
paupau said:
Yeah ive heard of people mixing stuff up on a tarp in their yard. I opted for the wheelbarrow approach so I dont have to bed over as much
Click to expand...


I tried tarps.... until I destroyed them with a shovel. I don't really like using my driveway, but it's the only hard surface i have where I won't destroy a lawn and not damage other stuff. .... Plus I can sweep it when I'm done
 
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