I'm creating a gravity irrigation system for a backyard vegetable garden and have a question. The garden is made up of seven 24x4 raised beds being fed by a 300 gal water tank to each raised bed (PVC was used). Soaker hoses won't work because the water is so hard. I've decided to try running 3/4" PVC down the center (in a small trench, not buried) of each bed. I'll drill holes in the pvc every inch or so and offset them. I'll be able to unscrew the end of the pipe to bleed and flush the pipe of sediment etc from time to time. Then I'll just let the garden soak every couple of days. Any ideas? Does this seem like it will work? Thanks

Pauline At my old home I had a combination of Drippers and overhead sprinklers to accomodate the various conditions in my garden. Most of it was rose beds with small areas of lawn scattered here and there. I had noticed the roses near the areas of grass that were watered overhead tended to have cleaner foliage than areas with just drip irrigation. Here at my new home, I decided to just go with overhead sprinklers. The main reason was due to the stroke I had before the system was installed. The roses were not planted until after my stroke so for a few years my rose beds were a work in progress. Installing drip irrigation was beyond my scope of ability at the time. I could probably do it now but the system I have works. Due to my experience with the clean foliage from the overhead watering, I opted to just go that way. My stystem comes on at 4:00 A.M. and finishes by 11:00 A.M. By noon most foliage is dry. At this late date my roses are mostly blackspot free except for a few small areas that get little sun this late in the season. Most beds have good air circulation that helps things dry. A few dead air spaces have roses with blackspot. I'm working on moving roses from those areas. Due to the cool temps we've had all summer, I've not had to water as much as normal. Right now the system is turned off. When on, it waters each of 8 zones for one hour every other day. a rain shutoff keeps the system shut down on rainy days. My very sandy soil lets me water often and very wet soil is dry by late afternoon on hot sunny days. My water source is a four inch well with a one horsepower submersible pump. Our water table is high. Most in the area have wells only 20 feet deep. Mine is 40 feet deep. While a few in the area have pumped air during periods of drought, mine has never faltered. My sandy soil and proximity to Lake Michigan possibly helps keep our water table so high. We've all got septic systems so any water used stays here and doesn't run off into storm drains or sewers. By using mostly organic fertilizers and no pesticides, I avoid any chemical fertilizer or pesticide contamination in my water. All these factors must be considered or eventually one will run out of or begin to pump contaminated water.

raimeiken, you already have the solution to your problem- the reverse osmosis unit! That filter you have isn't made to remove salts. RO is the only practical way to lower the salt content of our crappy tap water. Filters won't do much except remove the chlorine and taste/odors from the water. The downside to RO is that it uses a lot of water and leaves you with a waste stream of higher salt content water that you can either put down the drain, or use it on some salt tolerant plants like bermuda grass or oleanders (some shade trees will accept it also.) I've recently started using an outside RO for my outside potted plants because, like you, I was having scorched leaf margins (leaching wasn't enough.) I'm seeing improvement in their health already. And I disagree with the other post- RO water won't leach away all the nutrients anymore than rain does. You'll still need to fertilizer on a regular basis of course. I hope that makes sense.

there is no guarantee that the 6 or 9 or 12 inch intervals will be near your plant's root zone. I'm probably going to have to look at different types of emitters. ===>> i am going to give you a duh on this one .. you run the water.. until the space between the emitters is wet ... you discover said time ... by digging hole between emitters.. until you know the time..and with a given time.. and a given amount out each emitter ... you can predict how much water is actually used ... at the link above i gave you it said: Techline EZ can be connected to a previously-installed 17mm Techline system and has the same dripper flow rates: 0.26, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.9 GPH. so if you put down a line with 100 emitters ... with a rate of .4 gal/min ... well.. you do the math.. and understand.. unlike an overhead system.. 99% of it.. will go into mother earth..a s compared to 50% of it.. drifting away ... and when you figure out.. how long it takes to go 6 inches [half the 12 inch space] ... get this.. you will also be watering SIX INCHES DOWN ... when it the last time.. you effectively watered to 6 inches deep??? and how often will you need to water.. if you can effectively put it into the middle of the root zone???? now cheap 'nure aside.. it only took me 2 years.. to figure out digging holes.. lol ... so double duh on me.. lol ...its all about your soil.. and how your soil drains.. you will NEVER get a direct answer.. until you try it ... BTW.. you can use a couple fittings.. and simply make a hose fit to the end of the techline .. as a starting point.. you can always connect it to a supply line later ... i truly do NOT know.. if the individual emitter thingees.. will work in ground freeze areas ... you need only drain the supply line ... and at that.. only enough to allow enough expansion so it wont crack.. MOSTLY LIKELY ... a drain/spigot at a low point.. might get most of it out.. if your whole yard leaned on way ... but yes.. i did buy a compressor ... the techline .. and tape.. drain themselves ... its only the supply line that needs encouragement ... and you can NOT use quick connects.. as they reduce pressure too much ... one would think a half inch pipe would deliver more pressure than a one inch pipe, at distance ... but thought the pressure is higher.. the sidewall resistance is higher.. effectively reducing the pressure at the far end ... [i now that isnt proper engineering terms.. its the idea i am trying to get across] try to find your mortgage map ... get it scanned.. enlarge it... make multiple copies .... and start drawing on your beds in general blobs .. and then use that.. to try to develop a supply route .... also.. techline can be buried in mulch.. but the downside to that.. is you get no ambient humidity.. which on conifers.. i find requisite ... its ugly in winter .. but i recommend it be on top ... and it effectively disappears.. as the hosta emerge ... ken BTW.. you will need a handheld torch.. for ease of installation ... to warm the tube.. for easy insertion of connectors ... NBD ... Here is a link that might be useful: connectors and such