container irrigation

9 years ago

Tomatoes are my cash crop, and I only have so much room to rotate plantings. After 3 years growing in basically the same spot, the disease buildup is becoming a problem. My solution is to grow all nightshades in containers next season. I have access to as many nursery containers as I need in any size. my plan is to roll out the black plastic, put the containers on that, fill with compost/media, and grow away.

My question comes down to irrigating the pots. Would t tape with pre-spaced emitters run along the top of the pots down the row work, or would it be better to run a distribution line with micro tubing to each individual pot? T tape would be easier/cheaper, but I wonder how hard it would be to secure it to the pots so it doesn't fall off. Plus, the per-spaced emitters may prove challenging to get the pot spacing to line up right so all the emitters are over a pot.

The rows are about 30-40 feet long, not sure of pot spacing yet, but will be about 50- 75 pots in production at any given time, with some succession planting through the season.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
9 years ago
I know a commercial tomato grower who started using these. He heats and grows tomatoes in a 26 by 198 foot high tunnel and outside. He had very good luck with them.

Jay

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenSoxx
randy41_1
9 years ago
microtubing would work best. you can just run a line to each pot. at the spacing you need. the t-tape doesn't have that flexibility.
Related Discussions
Thoughts on air porosity in container media.
Q
Comments (8)
Interesting post. Thanks Some additional thoughts as they relate to SWCs. Would the water holding porosity be a good indication of the mixes wicking ability? If so then by testing the porosity, both aeration and water-holding, you could determine whether your mix will work in a bottom fed self-watering container. If you know for instance your tomato will drink 3 gallons/day in August. How could one translate water-holding porosity to wicking rates? Now I'm encouraged to mix up some of the mix I'm using this year and test it out. Then at the end of the season test out the used mix and see the difference. Then determine whether the mix would last one more year (for veggies). Wouldn't it be great if you could just get rid of the soil and just have air and water -- oh that's aeroponics, another set of totally different challenges/possibilities. Cheers
...See More
is this a suitable all purpose liquid fertilizer...& how to use?!
Q
Comments (5)
thank you all for your replies. sub-irrigated container gardening is my best bet in the extremely hot and drought-prone climate in which i live. we also have dreadful soil conditions--a thick, impermeable layer of caliche underlies our thin, predominantly clay, alkaline topsoil. in addition, i have physical limitations that largely preclude in-ground gardening as a viable possibility for me (i have a bad back). regarding my potting mix composition and the necessary soil biology appropriate for granular fertilizer, i am doing a 2-2-1 mix of pine bark fines, sphagnum peat, and coarse perlite. i do believe it to have a suitable balance of wicking ability, drainage ability, and aeration for my purposes and in my climate. the granular fertilizer, espoma garden-tone, includes application instructions for containers on the packaging, so i probably wouldn't be the first person to use it in a container. as it relates to mineralization/"digestion", the fertilizer does contain "895 colony forming units" from a variety of microbe species. i do not know to what extent this promotes nutrient release/'digestion', but it certainly can't hurt. finally, i am inoculating my seeds with both endo- and ecto-mycorrhizal fungi prior to planting, which is good for soil chemistry and increases nutrient absorption by a symbiotic relationship. i think that is the most i can do to encourage a healthy growing environment without introducing compost or other dense organic matter that will weigh down the mix significantly and hold way too much water.
...See More
indoor drip irrigation for plants on shelves
Q
Comments (2)
Hi Shireen, Sorry about your back, but I would NOT do an automated system because you live in an apartment (rented I presume) with people below you which is even worse. I would make a system that you can turn on and off while you are watching the watering of your plants. Probably a five gallon bucket with a small submersible pump. If the pump puts out 10-15 psi of pressure that would be enough if it is higher then use a pressure regulator in-line to give that type of pressure. The line from the pump should be pvc (more secure lines and fittings)and run to the ends of the shelves. A small PVC line (can be painted any color) running along the shelves or even fastened under the shelves and if the shelves are away from the wall, a small poly-line from the pvc line can be taken to the pot and emitter fastened in place to water each plant. Fertilizer can be added or not to the 5 gallon bucket as needed. Emitters come in different volumes to vary water times. Each emitter used some pressure from your system. You can't put an unlimited number of emitters on your system. You have to balance the number of emitters to the psi of your system. The higher the psi the more water can be lost into your apartment from a break or pullout and the more likely a chance of a pullout occurrence. Mount the switch of the submersible pump at a convenient height. Aloha.
...See More
Incarnata expedition of doom
Q
Comments (27)
If it fruits this year, I'll be happy to give you some seeds. It's been more than 15 years since I saw this particular variety flower, but two years ago when my Incense first started flowering, I recognized the blossom instantly and assumed the two types were the same. Obviously, I know better now, but that leads me to believe that this incarnata has blossoms of the darker purple variety. One thing to keep in mind is that although incarnata as a species is winter hardy up through zone 6, those way south in zone 8B such as mine have evolved to adapt to regional characteristics. We don't have nearly as many days below freezing as you do in Pennsylvania, so offspring of this particular plant may not survive your winter as readily as, say, maypops collected from the Carolinas or Virginia. You may have to baby it more and mulch heavily to give it extra protection. But then again, it might retain all of its cold resistance. Impossible to tell until you have one in the ground for a full season. :-)
...See More
jnjfarm_gw
9 years ago
My suggestion is to look up larry hall on youtube. he recently started a company called grow bag garden systems. his youtube channel has a wealth of info: rain gutter system, kiddie pool systems etc. The grow bags he sells are wonderful and cheap for the quality.
jnjfarm_gw
9 years ago
A quick follow up to my previous post. I used some of his ideas this past year. I found 3 dirt cheap kiddie pools and used the blue walmart bags in them. I had 5 plants growing in a 3' circle (mainly peppers and some tomatoes) I couldn't believe how they grew. I had to water daily but I got good results. this fall I grew some cabbage and brocilia in one gallon grow bags placed in a 22 quart clear plastic container like is used to take produce to market. I started seeds in the grow bag and had excellent results. I still have a couple plants in my hoop house. I had 5 cabbages in 220 square inches.
I am going to try out growing in a kiddie pool in the hoop house this spring early and see what happens. I am expanding my market farm and this is one technique that doesn't require good soil. these can be setup on gravel or concrete. For best results, follow Larry Hall's directions and procedures. He invented the wheel and it doesn't need reinvented.
grow_life
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the advice. I figured tubing was probably the way to go for the pots. I may try a row of the garden socks. I have used those for mulch berms at work and they have held up along city sidewalks in full sun for 2 years now. FWIW, we used drain pipe sock which is the exact same thing as what gardensoxx sells, and you can get 100 feet of it for $30 from lowes vs. 50 feet for $50 from gardensoxx, it just doesn't come with the fancy cardboard ez filler you don't really need.

I've seen the self watering systems with the rain gutters, thats just a bit more engineering than I care to get into right now. Those systems are cool, but it seems to me that since they still require being hooked up to a waterline or hand watered to maintain the reservoir levels, they aren't much different than irrigation lines with timers. Factoring in the cost of gutters, lumber, fastners, float valves, and time putting all that together, I just can't swing it. I've got the free nursery containers so thats why I'm designing a sysetem around pot production...er...container production.
cole_robbie
9 years ago
What disease problems? I'm in a similar climate, and we are far enough north to avoid most tomato disease, other than blight and those spread by soil fungal spores, which can be largely prevented with mulch.
grow_life
Original Author
9 years ago
You name it, I've had it, even with a foot of straw mulch around the plants. The one I'm most trying to overcome is bacterial wilt. I lost a few plants last season, then this season I lost even more. I think I'm more or less out of luck in that garden for a while, because I lost a number of squash and some raspberries to what I think is Phythopthora, and my only area I can rotate to is right next to a Black Walnut. The whole area is ringed with other trees and the tree roots have realy enjoyed all the amendments, mulches, and irrigation I've been giving them over the years. I can hardly dig out there now from all the roots. My long term plan is trenching the perimeter to sever the roots, spend a few seasons growing in containers, and amending and cultivating the heck out of the soil to see If I can get ahead of things.
cole_robbie
9 years ago
Wow, sorry to hear that. I'm wondering if the tree roots are hosting the diseases for your plants.

The last time I planned a container garden, I had picked out Dramm dribble rings as what I wanted for irrigation, but I still have not tried them yet.
dale92539 Riverside Co SoCal
8 years ago
Irrigation Methods for Containers

Various methods are used for Irrigation of Containers from Handwatering, Micro Irrigation (drip,
Plastic Bottles, Wicks etc) , Capillary methods (Sub Irrigation, Controlled
Water Tables,Wick, Capillary Mat, Rain Gutter Wicking, Ollas, Methods based on
Ollas Plant Nanny etc). Misc Article
Links.

https://ucanr.edu/repositoryfiles/ca1905p2-59128.pdf

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/greenhouse/nursery/environ/wmprinc.html

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/three-easy-low-tech-ways-to-keep-container-gardens-watered.html

http://tipnut.com/garden-irrigation/

http://basicgreen.osu.edu/sites/default/files/BG-140.pdf

container irrigation

Comments (9)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)

randy41_1

Related Discussions

jnjfarm_gw

jnjfarm_gw

grow_life
Original Author

cole_robbie

grow_life
Original Author

cole_robbie

dale92539 Riverside Co SoCal

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

container irrigation

Comments (9)

jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)

randy41_1

Related Discussions

jnjfarm_gw

jnjfarm_gw

grow_lifeOriginal Author

cole_robbie

grow_lifeOriginal Author

cole_robbie

dale92539 Riverside Co SoCal

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

grow_life
Original Author

grow_life
Original Author