With this work well for fertilizer in my drip irrigation?

12 years ago

I fertilize through a drip system. There are separate lines for the vegetable garden and fruit trees. I have been using Peters 20-20-20 and Fertilome 20-20-20 for a couple of years now. Many farms and orchards use Potassium Nitrate for fertilizer. Currently I put fertilizer in two taped together 35mm film canisters with sixteenth in holes in them and put them in the drip system. Even so these fertilizers turn to liquid and run through the system pretty fast.

I'm looking for something that turns to liquid at a little slower rate. This Potassium Nitrate is in the form of pellets and should dissolve in water. If administered in the same way will this stuff work?

Here is a link that might be useful: 10 Lb Potassium Nitrate

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Comments (9)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
12 years ago
There are lots of fertilizer injectors out there, but I don't want to spent the money, so I just use this.

{{gwi:41346}}

I picked it up at Ace Hardware. You screw the hose to one end and then you can screw the other end to your header line. The sprayer comes off and you can attach a hose to it.

Just an option.

Jay
digdirt2
12 years ago
Your injector should control the application rate regardless of how quickly it dissolves in the tank. So what injector system are you using to feed your drip lines?

Dave
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mangledmind - I wasn't aware I had "ripped" anyone. My apologies if it seems I have. Nor is providing the specific name of a product - since the OP always asks for such info - out of line. I have no vested interest in either of the products I mentioned other than that I like the results from both and they have been recommended by several other regulars here as well but I pointed out that many others are available. I do however disagree with this statement the only way to fertilize without "chemicals" is with compost ("mature" manure, veggie compost, compost teas, etc.) and this one, compost tea is the same darn stuff they sell folks as 'liquid organic fertilizers' for tons of money that is unnecessary as it can be made at home for pennies. First there are many other ways to fertilize without chemicals and second I don't dispute that compost tea is an excellent source of nutrients and I make and use it by the barrel. But since I do not have access to all of the various ingredients that go into many of the commercial organic supplements - all good sources of important micro-nutrients - such as seaweed, kelp, bat guano, coconut oil, etc. - there is no way my or any one else's homemade compost tea is the same as those supplements. Not better or worse - just not the same. And, compost tea only works for fertigation after it is carefully and repeatedly strained to remove any particles that can plug the system. The commercial products are already well refined and ready to use. Whether the reader chooses to use just compost/manure tea or a commercial product or a mixture of both is their choice but it doesn't hurt to provide info on all the options available. Dave
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Feel the tube, it should be fairly hard. Also lift up on the tube so you can see if it is dripping. There should be a constant drip, drip drip. From the pic's it appears that there is plenty of drip line for that small area and the spacing of the lines is not stretched out. There should be plenty of water there. Rake back the mulch and see if the wetted area is spreading out under the mulch. The emitter spacing on the lines appears to be close (12"-18") so if designed properly that area should get wet in not too long of time. Is it wetter closer to the valve then at a more distant point, if so there just may be too much drip line (gpm) on the zone. That looks like Netafim drip with a check valve in the emmitter. If your lacking pressure they do not drip properly. 1 gph is a pretty fast application rate and unless it is a sandy soil that dirt should get pretty wet pretty quick. If the run is real long and you have, for example a 20 psi reg on it there may not be enough pressure at the far end to operate properly. We most often use .6 gphx18" spacing and in 2 hours time there is most definitely a visual wetted area. From your description and pic,s, if I had to guess,too many gpm, low pressure.
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fm, Thank you for providing that info. The info was very complete. It also serves to illustrate that you can take a simple process of fertilizing your lawn by hand and turn it into a complicated and costly process with any number of parts that can have problems and make it difficult to discern was fertilizer rate you are applying to the plants. Also over time will clog your drip irrigation system with precipitated salts. JMHO Aloha
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There are a lot of ways to make compost tea, and some are quite complicated with aerators and so forth. I just put about 4 inches of compost in a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with water, and let it sit for a day. I pour 1/2 or 1 quart at the base of the plants, depending on the size of the plant. I never tried foliar application. Apply every two weeks or when plants start to lose the dark green color. Some of my basil is wilting but I'm not sure if it's from the tea or something else. Everything else is doing great. Some flowers might grow a lot of leaves and not too many flowers if they get too much nitrogen.
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thisisme
Original Author
12 years ago
jrslick, there are multiple lines. All of them are fed through one hose though which leads to a manifold with on/pff valves for each line. If this can go from a standard hose to a standard hose I will buy one ASAP.

digdirt, I don't know what an injector control is. I use a Threaded Hose Filter/fertilizer applicator. There is no flow control that I'm aware of. To fertilize I take the filter out and put in the fertilizer holder that I made out of two 35mm film canisters full of 20-20-20.

Here is a link that might be useful: This is what I use but without the mesh.
digdirt2
12 years ago
Oh wow then even Jay's recommendation would be a BIG step up in improvement for you. And yes they will go hose to hose. Next step up

Next to consider

Meanwhile look into AgriTab.com AgSafe Compressed Fertilizer tabs. They can be used with many fertigation systems.

Dave
jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
12 years ago
Thisisme-

Yes it does go from hose connection to hose connection. I bought one about 12 years ago and about three years ago I hit it with a mower and I hunted for a new one and they weren't making them. Last spring, I saw them again and I bought two. I use one and keep the other in storage.

I use them with my drip lines in my high tunnels. I run the hose to my filter and pressure regulator, then connect it to the pressure regulator and backflow regulator then connect this whole think to the header line. It looks like a kid got loose in the plumbing department! Even better when I attach it to a timer, just to get another device in there. I did the math to calculate the fertilizer application, but most of the time it is an educated guess and what has worked before.

Go out and find on on Saturday.

Jay
thisisme
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks guys, I prefer to keep things simple and a small enclosed system is probably best. Given that I plan on buying the same one Jay is using from Amazon. I'm an Amazon Prime member so for just $ 13.00 it will be delivered for free in two days. Woohoo!!!

Now if I could only find an inexpensive high nitrogen fertilizer to put in it.
tn_gardening
12 years ago
Now if I could only find an inexpensive high nitrogen fertilizer to put in it.
==========================

Ammonium sulfate ought to be real cheap

I even think the MG folks make a lawn/turf fertilizer.

A couple other places to look:
ebay
sprinkler stores
nurseries
co-op
denninmi
12 years ago
I bought 3 of the EZ-Flo injectors a few years back. They're great. The first one I bought was the one pictured in the link, then when I found out how nice it was, I ordered two more with the larger jars -- definitely a plus, because when doing large areas, a lot of pots, or a drip system, you will use a LOT of fertilizer.
thisisme
Original Author
12 years ago
tn_gardening I just got off the phone with my local nursery. They said I should stay away from Ammonium sulfate in my raised garden beds. It may be OK for my fruit trees though.

denninmi I looked at those EZ-Flo injectors. A little pricey for me. I only have 550 square feet of raised beds and twenty something fruit trees. They look real nice. I just can't justify the cost given my budget and the size of my yard.

With this work well for fertilizer in my drip irrigation?

Comments (9)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)

digdirt2

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With this work well for fertilizer in my drip irrigation?

Comments (9)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)

digdirt2

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