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Thu, May 3, 12 at 18:22
| I have a home made irrigation system of pvc pipes that we drilled holes in so that I can water more easily. I have done a lot of reading trying to figure out how long I need to run my system in order to get the required 1" of water per week for my vegetable plants. But it's all Greek to me! Help an amateur out please!
I placed a large container under the pipe and ran it for 15 minutes. I averaged 7 gallons in a 1 foot space per 15 minutes. Is 15 minutes too long, too short, or just right? Thank you so much in advance! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| No one can answer your question because it all depends upon your soil. To determine if it ran too long or for too short a time, you need to look at the soil. How deeply did the water go? Now compare that to the average depth of a veggie root system -- 12 to 15 inches. How did you do? Next step is to adjust the length of time you run your very primitive system. |
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| That 1 inch of water per week is for a lawn under optimal growing conditions, not a vegetable garden which will most likely require more. Since the plants growing in your garden cannot uptake soil nutrients in the absence of soil moisture you need to be sure the soil is evenly moist. How much water that takes, and how long you need to run your irrigation system, depends on your soil and your weather. If your soil is properly mulched it would need less water then if the soil was not mulched. |
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| Thank you both for your responses. I will check how far down/sideways the water goes and will adjust from there to keep it evenly moist. And I do mulch with chopped up leaves which has done well keeping the moisture in. Thanks again! |
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