CMV
Platinum Member
For our pumpkin patches, doing a drip line type deal made from mostly 1/2" schedule 40 PVC. No utilities at out property, so transporting water in IBC totes. Got the first one (smallest) done today and tested it out. Works pretty well, but place the pipe is just slightly out of level means too much or too little water in low/high spots. Will work on that.
This area I planted in rows. Just made a trench with rake, dropped seeds, and covered back over with rake. While that was real fast and 0 bending to plant, it left me not knowing where the seeds actually are. For the others, I started same way with the trench, then dropped the seeds, then covered each with a small scoop of topsoil. When I do those, I can drill the drip line to hit precisely at the base of the plant and not just random holes trying to soak whole row.
I think I would have come out a lot cheaper and possibly less work using drip line tubing or some type of tubing like PEX sold in a long roll. Joining a zillion 10' sections was slow work. But I figured once the season is over and there are pumpkin tendrils all over the line, this will be easier to reclaim and use again next year. Video to follow once it uploads. Any ideas how to do it more efficiently for next areas? I wanted to do smaller holes and have some micro bits but neither of my cordless drill chucks would clamp down on them. A #80 drill is smallest I have that I can use which is about 2 thou smaller than the .4mm bit I used today. But fewer holes or valves to only runs some lines at a time are probably going to be necessary for the longer runs.
Was really surprised at how well the Harbor Freight 12V DC water pump worked. No problem lifting from the tote and giving good pressure on this whole run. Before capping the ends of the runs I let it flow for about 5 min just to flush dirt and drill shavings out of the lines. All 4 had a lot of water pouring out at once. So that little pump really does a good job. We have fairly high water pressure at the house and this pump with a 100' of garden hose seems to give almost the same pressure. Haven't decided if I want to dedicate this trailer to nothing but a water hauler/watering system for the summer. I have a 100W solar kit so would be nice to set that up and run the pump off w/ 2 deep cycle batteries that instead of idling a vehicle the whole time. I tried first using a large garden tractor battery (around 400 CCA) but it killed it in half hour or less.
Pumpkin Watering System - YouTube
This area I planted in rows. Just made a trench with rake, dropped seeds, and covered back over with rake. While that was real fast and 0 bending to plant, it left me not knowing where the seeds actually are. For the others, I started same way with the trench, then dropped the seeds, then covered each with a small scoop of topsoil. When I do those, I can drill the drip line to hit precisely at the base of the plant and not just random holes trying to soak whole row.
I think I would have come out a lot cheaper and possibly less work using drip line tubing or some type of tubing like PEX sold in a long roll. Joining a zillion 10' sections was slow work. But I figured once the season is over and there are pumpkin tendrils all over the line, this will be easier to reclaim and use again next year. Video to follow once it uploads. Any ideas how to do it more efficiently for next areas? I wanted to do smaller holes and have some micro bits but neither of my cordless drill chucks would clamp down on them. A #80 drill is smallest I have that I can use which is about 2 thou smaller than the .4mm bit I used today. But fewer holes or valves to only runs some lines at a time are probably going to be necessary for the longer runs.
Was really surprised at how well the Harbor Freight 12V DC water pump worked. No problem lifting from the tote and giving good pressure on this whole run. Before capping the ends of the runs I let it flow for about 5 min just to flush dirt and drill shavings out of the lines. All 4 had a lot of water pouring out at once. So that little pump really does a good job. We have fairly high water pressure at the house and this pump with a 100' of garden hose seems to give almost the same pressure. Haven't decided if I want to dedicate this trailer to nothing but a water hauler/watering system for the summer. I have a 100W solar kit so would be nice to set that up and run the pump off w/ 2 deep cycle batteries that instead of idling a vehicle the whole time. I tried first using a large garden tractor battery (around 400 CCA) but it killed it in half hour or less.
Pumpkin Watering System - YouTube
