I did the whole automated rain water thing for a year before I had to rip it all out because of moving to temporary house. I did learn that the best spray heads were the ones that send out 8 streams water in a circular direction and each head can be adjusted for optimal flow. On 15 gallon pots and smaller 1 spray head was plenty but needed to be adjusted depending on how big the pot was. On my big 30 gallon pots I used 3 spray heads and dialed them back to achieve the desired wetting pattern. I got a 2.5 hp pump to run it and it did fine for 10 plants at a time. My timer was set up on 3 zones, 10 plants at a time. I had to run the discharge pressure at 40-50 psi to get enough flow to the plants. To achieve the desired pressure I had to install circulation line with a valve coming of the discharge back to the rain tank and adjust the valve position to get 40-50 psi going to the plants. After toying with it a while and getting all the spray heads adjusted properly it was very nice!!!!!!!! I will never go back to hand watering again once our new house is built and every things automated again. One suggestion is to have a manifold with a 200 micron screen/filter for every zone. I had to clean the screens once every couple months with a tooth brush. I hand watered 50 something plants every day for several years and I'm here to tell you that automation is the way to go!!! I will never look back. Stay away from drip. Rain water is too dirty and you will have nothing but problems with drip. 1/2 inch Polly tube and the little 1/8 hose to a spray head that adjusts flow on a stick is the only way to go. The spray heads need to be the ones that send 8 individual streams. I can't stress that enough as all the other fan heads and bubbler heads clog up all the time.

Arghh! The chipmunk(s) discovered the bed, I put netting up (hoops closer this year) and 1 strangled himself trying to fit through 1" mesh. But something (squirrels?) is still getting in and eating literally half the berries (I find the other halves). Pulling pegs out of soft ground and going back out the same way? B/c only a few pulled, haven't found a critter trapped. Put heavy stones on those places and I plan to make the bed narrower next year so we can get pegs in better. Someone mentioned pipe - that sounds good, go the full length, easy for me to move, but how heavy so squirrel doesn't move it? Would they just dig under? Thinking a 2x4 frame with chicken wire, but would have to re-do the bed to make it a series of beds with lids since current bed is so long. And how to keep them from digging under? I just can't think of anything that would be easy for me to (re)move to pick, but keep the rodents out. Help!

I've had some luck with using a pretty small twist of a cotton ball, dunked quickly in water and then compressed to fit into the hollow stem. First I cut the stem, hold it under the water faucet to try to get a trickle of water into the stem, and then I stop the stem with the wet cotton twist. Then I put the delph back into water or wet foam. If I use the small side stems, I don't do this, because they don't seem hollow. It doesn't work with every stem, but it does help. I read this in a flower arranging book, written by an author the National Federated Garden Club recommends. Good luck!

My garage is detached from the house. It is set into the ground in the back, but on grade in the front. The doors are half glass and get morning sun which warms up the inside a bit. The top floor is heated at times by a wood stove, but the top floor is fully insulated so it shouldn't heat up the ground floor much. I plan to plant them when they begin showing signs of life in the spring. If I set them outside and cover them, I am sure that critters will get at them. One of the reasons I ran out of time this year is because planing bulbs here is a big task involving two types of chicken wire. I have the wire cut and I will cage them when I plant them in the early spring Right now I have the pots on top of my potting bench a couple of feet from the one garage door. There is no space along the perimeter of the garage on the floor and I am afraid that I will forget about them if they are out of sight. Now I am afraid that the sun will thaw the black pots too much. I am thinking a light colored drop cloth spread over the pots and a check now and then for dryness might be a good strategy. Thanks for your input!