Hi, I want to set up a couple of water barrel, gravity fed drip irrigation systems for a large food and herb garden. We have a gentle slope with raised beds (about 120X100 feet total). The raised beds aren't all in the same place thus the need to set up at least four of these systems. The barrels will look something like the ones in this article http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/adams/audrey/water_barrel.htm We have no power on this site, thus the need to set it up via gravity. As far as controlling flow I'm hoping to find the proper valve that can be set accordingly so it drips slowly around the clock (and can be turned off in case of rain). I know very little about drip irrigation, what kinds are available, materials and such. So far it seems drip tape is a good way to go however. I don't know if I'll need a regulator valve since this will be gravity-fed (will I have enough or too much pressure?) Any suggestions, advice and/or sources of good information for a beginner? Low cost but good value is desired. I've been reading various sites on line, including this one: http://dripworksusa.com/index.html, also visiting a local garden/farm supply that specializes in organic and sustainable gardening/farming for ideas. The local supply has rows of materials but not many employees who know what it does and how to put it together. I'm on a tight budget so any $ needs to be spent wisely. Thanks very much!

rm, I don't know how much you want to spend on this system. It will be hard to answer your questions with asking more questions to get a better picture of what you are doing and how much knowledge and experience you have. My $0.02 is to hire a local irrigation or landscape expert to come up with a design to meet your needs. Then you can decide to DIY or hire a contractor. Do not hire the same guy that does your design. Always get three quotes to obtain a reasonable price for your area. If you are operating a greenhouse it would be a good idea to go with the profession licensed route. You can always go back to them if something isn't right. Otherwise you are climbing the learning curve on your own nickel. Aloha

My light set-up is similar to those that others here have described except my shelves are white plastic. I have two shop lights hanging above each shelf, and each fixture holds 2 fluorescent bulbs. They are on chains with hooks so we can raise them and lower them as needed. This is important because plants growing too far from the lights stretch and get leggy. Leggy plants are weaker and harder to harden off to outdoor conditions than shorter, stockier plants. We put hooks in the ceiling above the uppermost shelf so we could hang two fixtures above the top shelf and raise seedlings there too. My shelves easily hold three flats per shelf but with creative placement and squeezing flats in tightly, I can get 4 flats per shelf for a total of 20 flats of seedlings on the shelves at one time. It is really easy to over-think this and to spend way too much money on some fancy and expensive lights that you don't need. That just isn't necessary. Simple shop lights with the cheapest bulbs you can buy have worked just as well for me as more expensive bulbs designed specifically for growing plants indoors under lights. I used those more expensive Grow Lights on one shelf one year and its plants didn't grow as well as the ones growing under cheaper shop light bulbs. All my light fixtures are plugged into power strips so they are easy to turn on and off. You can use a timer to turn them on and off if your schedule is erratic. I used to start seedlings in standard black flats, but several years ago I switched over to aluminum roasting pans....like turkey pans or lasagna pans. Since they are shiny metal, they reflect more light and heat onto the plants. I buy them in packages of anywhere from 12 to 20 at Sam's or CostCo. There really isn't a right or wrong way to set up your seed-starting shelf as long as you have it in an area that doesn't freeze, that has good air flow and that is easily accessible so you can pop in and check on the plants and pop back out again. You just have to figure out what works for you in whatever space you have available. If you have indoor dogs or cats who might enjoy sleeping on your seedlings, eating them, tearing them to shreds, etc., keep that in mind when you chose a place to put your shelf. My cats are totally banned from the room with the light shelf because they like to eat plants, but our large dogs (a Rottweiler mix and a Lab mix) sleep in the room with the light shelf and have for several years and they don't bother the plants at all. Be careful when putting it in a garage. Even if you think there are not any mice in your garage, you might find out you have them the hard way....when you walk into the garage one day and discover your plants have been used as Mice Chow. This is a fairly common issue for folks who start plants in a garage or some other sort of out-of-the-way area where humans spend little time in general. Starting seeds indoors is so very simple despite the fact that we humans sometimes over-think things and make it harder (and fancier and pricier) than it has to be. Just keep it simple and I think you'll be delighted with your set-up and your home-grown seedlings. Dawn

Sounds like they may be dry. Stick your finger into the top of the original rootball to know for certain. Try again to pot your pictures.