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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Irrigation Systems

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  • From: "Allan.Balliett" <allan.balliett AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Irrigation Systems
  • Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 06:49:14 -0400

I've talked with a well driller who has drilled wells for most of the neighboring dairies and other farms. He is confident that he can easily get at least 20 gpm and may get 40-60 gpm.

Sounds like the well driller I worked with.

We wound up going 1000ft down before we ran out of money. We never did get enough water to run sprinklers like we wanted to, so we had to fall back to drip on everything.

After this season, I hope to replace the standard t-tape with orchard line. Either that or run more than t-tape than we did this year in each bed because, in our season long drought, I feel we just weren't getting enough water out to the plants with t-tape, a fear I substantiate earlier this week when I read a university paper on how drip lines concentrate plant roots and root activity under the drip, reducing the availability of soil nutrients, particularly broadcast fertilizers, to the plants. It was the case for us that we saw little 'mushrooming' of the t-tape irrigation water during the drought and, rather, deep narrow mud areas under the tape. (I'm talking about first year beds that lacked much soil structure and probably lost any they had as they became more dry.)

Except for the lettuce and seedlings, overhead isn't a good choice for us in this very humid area.

-Allan in WV




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