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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Travellers vs. stationary guns

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  • From: Home Grown Kansas! <hgkansas AT sbcglobal.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Travellers vs. stationary guns
  • Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 06:17:25 -0800 (PST)

I am curious why you are not using a drip system to irrigate?  Have you considered a sub-surface irrigation system?  One fellow was using overhead watering for pumpkins and sweetcorn - crops that we choose to use a drip line with.  What other crops are you irrigating from above and why?  We irrigate leaf crops such as lettuce from above, but switch over to drip lines for the summer crops.  We find the drip lines don't promote as much weed growth as the overhead watering and take much less time.  One grower that we work with has a field where he grows potatoes that has a sub-surface irrigation system that works great.  I'm not trying to be a wise guy - I am truly curious why you choose to water overhead verses using a drip system.  We are considering the purchase of a larger plot of land for growing and as you folks have said, "a well thought out irrigation system is important."   Thanks for your input.
 
Thanks,
Elzie
Home Grown Kansas! LLC
Wichita, Kansas      

Paul Bucciaglia <pbucciaglia AT yahoo.com> wrote:
A vote here for travellers--I really like the labor savings over hand set systems like pipe/risers (which we still use for smaller plantings) or stationary guns, and have had good wetting results.  I need to run my traveler overnight, and my pipes/risers in teh early mrning/late evenign or I do have wind losses and pattern disruption.  We drip during the afternoon. 
 
Irrigation demands labor at a time when you have so little to spare, and it causes enormous losses in crop yield and quantity if you don't do it right. So I no longer look at it as a "how many hours in labor will this save X $12/hr. labor cost vs. what is the capital cost" analysis, like I do with many other equipment decisions.   A well thought out irrigation system can pay for itself in a season or two, if it is a "rate limiting factor" or bottleneck in your farm system. 
 
Paul Bucciaglia

 


Paul Bucciaglia
Fort Hill Farm
Organic Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers
18 Fort Hill Rd.
New Milford CT 06776
(860) 350-3158
www.forthillfarm.com_______________________________________________
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