weird, I thought i posted, but i guess it didnt go through! here's the info from the bottle, I'd really appreciate an opinion. I'm a very enthusiastic newbie! In case anyone is thinking of trying this, I just ran a successful test: I'm going to be using the filter reservoir to hold the fertilizer. I just tried putting food coloring in, and I watched it get to all of the plants, so it looks like I'm in good shape. Now I just need to know if the fertilizer will work ok on the soil. Here's the composition nitrogen 9% phosphorous 6.6% potassium 5% magnesium 210 ppm Calcium 276 ppm Zinc 710 ppm Sulfur 1100 ppm Magnesium 326ppm Iron 420ppm Copper 330 ppm

I just switched over to a drip system away from a SWC system. One issue not discussed yet is that when you use one dripper for a container with a fast draining mix, much of the container soil will stay completely dry, even after watering. The water drains down from the drip emitter and doesn't spread out much. You won't even know this unless you dig up the soil after a watering to check it out. Your plant will probably look fine, but in effect it will be growing in much less soil volume than it could be, like growing in a smaller pot. This isn't a problem in peat mixes, where the water spreads out easily. I used a drip line segment with 5 emitters in it for each container and this still wasn't enough to fully wet the 18" diameter containers I use. I'll be switching to 12 emitters per container next season. To determine the number of emitters you need for "full mix wetting". Take a container with just your mix in it. Start with the mix dry, then water it using just one drip emitter. Use the emitter that you've chosen for your system. Wait awhile (hour or so) so that the water has a chance to spread out. Then by carefully digging down in layers, determine the diameter of the area that is wet. Then you figure out how many emitters are needed and how they should be spaced in the container. For my mix I determined the water spread out in a circle "one finger length" in diameter. Then just by moving my finger around the pot I could see I'd need 12 of them for complete wetting. Some people use micro sprayers or a coil of mini soaker hose in a container to get a full wetting, haven't tried these myself. With emitters I get more control over how much and where the water goes.

I think feeding it on every watering is fine--as long as you make sure to dilute the plant food concentration appropriately. Since the plant food is normally only given once every 7-14 days, make sure to dilute it in the feeder down to only 10-15% of its normal strength if you plan on applying it for each feeding. For example, my own plant food that I use says to give 1 tablespoon per gallon every 7-14 days. Since I like to water each day and spread out the plant food evenly, I give 1 tablespoon for every 7 to 14 gallons of water, but water my plants with it daily. I'm sure with a little scribbling on a notepad and a cheap calculator, you can figure out the right ratio to give for your watering rate. It's actually been said that this method is even better for the plant, since it avoids those "feast or famine" periods between giving it good dose of plant food one day followed by nothing but normal water for the next 7-14 days. Also, if you are looking for a fertilizer injector, be sure to check that you are able to acheive the minimum volume of water needed to activate the injector. Most "water pressure operated" fertilizer injectors that I have seen need a minimum of 30 gallons per hour (1/2 gal/minute) of water flowing through it in order to inject the accurate ratio of plant food into the outgoing water stream. Any less than that and it may likely just sit there spitting out plain "unfertilized" water. You might not have enough plants and enough water flow to be able to use a fertilizer injector properly. Since you mentioned that your drippers were 1/2 gph drippers, then I would figure that you would need at least 60 drippers going simultaneously in order to meet the 30 gph minimum. Just my humble opinion...

I've put down drip systems in my garden by simply laying out the tubing and punching in the emitters. It works well and was easy to install. Now I'm thinking of running a drip system to group of large containers planted with roses, but am not sure what to use for emmiters and am hoping someone on here can help me out. I've been looking at the Dripworks site and have watched their videos. They have a kit for containers, but I'd rather buy the parts separately to fit my needs. Here's their kit: http://www.dripworksusa.com/kits/_khdeck.php My containers are anywhere from a 18" to 30" diameter across the top. I'm thinking the 'drip line' (shown on the link above) formed into a circle might work well for the 30" and perhaps the 'C Frame down flow mister' for the smaller containers. The down flow misters are shown about halfway down on this page: http://www.dripworksusa.com/store/misters.php#MM Or maybe the drip line would be better to use in all the pots since I keep some thick mulch on top of the soil. Perhaps you know of other online or local (San Antonio) sources that might be better than Dripworks. I used the locally available Submatic brand for the yard, but that source dried up, so to speak. Here's a post on the Gallery which shows the containers. Many of you have seen it already. Much appreciation for any pointers you might be able to offer, or ideas where I might be able to go for advice. Here is a link that might be useful: Only the bare bones so far ...