Market Farming

[Shawnee Flowerfarmer <farmingflowers AT hotmail.com>]

Yes, hand watering is the most expensive way to water anything, ever.  But having worked with various watering systems in all sorts of greenhouses, I can also assure you that overhead sprinkling systems are troublesome.  Large growers usually add a fungicide to the irrigation water and attend closely to hygiene in the house.   The sprinkler heads are frequently on timers to insure that foliage is dry before the temperatures drop.  (Adding expensive fungicides also adds to the bottomline)
 
Drip emitters-all of them-are preferable and waste less water.  Also, you can design and build many kinds of ebb and flow systems. I once toured a greenhouse in Buffalo Grove, Ill where the bench surfaces were framed with 1x4's, lined with plastic and flooded by a central valve that also fed individual emitters to hanging baskets over a 100,000 sq foot area.  The benches drained excess water into tubs and this water was returned to the system by small aquarium pumps. The floors in this house were as dry as old bones.  Not a drop of water wasted, no fungicides added, no disease problems; the entire structure thoroughly watered in 30 minutes by the twist of a valve.  I was mightily impressed by the designer.
 
I may be a bit  paranoid about overhead watering systems....I have had a nightmare struggle with botrytis blight in the past..(botrytis is sometimes referred to as grey mold) and wet foliage is the beginning of the problem.  Also, in an organically certified greenhouse, good hygiene is the key to limiting-not eliminating-disease problems, and sprinkler systems just aggravate the potential problems.  Plus, the most economical way to grow anything whatsoever is to direct the resources efficiently....meaning that irrigation goes to the roots directly.  And even if your greenhouse is not organic, every single input picks your pocket. 
 
Remember too, that your irrigation system should fit your soil media.  Some soil mixtures hold more water than others. 
Shawnee, zone 5, patchy frost predicted for tonight and my Kale plants are giggling.

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In the past drip tape was used to grow greens in the ground. Last year I started growing herb and bedding plants. They are started in 50 to 250 cell trays then moved into 3.5” to 7” pot depending on the plant. It took 3 hrs to hand water and since I am doubling my production this year, I need a faster way to water. Ebb and Flow bench irrigation would be great but I can not afford it at this time.

 

 

Why do you want to use overhead watering in a greenhouse?  Overhead watering be the least efficient way to water.  Ebb and Flow bench irrigation is preferable.  What are you growing?
 
Shawnee, zone 5 and still no frost in North Central Illinois which I would feel better about if I'd anticipated this earlier.

I am about to buy and install an overhead sprinkler system in my greenhouse. Can anyone out there give me any advice? Are there any good web sites that show how to install a sprinkler system?

 

 

 

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