Drip Irrigation in Mexico

Bienvenidos from sunny Mexico! I'm writing from our vacation home near the southern tip of the Baja peninsula, where my wife, Nancy, and I were recently fortunate enough to have a guided tour through Wirikuta, a dazzling cactus theme park located nearby. 

Gravity Fed Low pressure Systems? 

No Problem!

Do you garden at a location where there is very low water pressure (less than 10 PSI)? Is your water source a tank that is 20 feet or less above the surface of your garden? Do you collect rain water off your roof and store it?
Then DripWorks has several products that can help you put together an effective gravity-fed toolkit.

Irrigation in a High Tunnel

Depending on what you are growing in your high tunnel, there are a good number of ways to effectively supply the right amount of water to your plants.

Time to Plant Garlic Again

Few items we grow in the garden are surrounded by such a colorful history as the humble garlic. Cultures worldwide have long held garlic in high esteem, attributing it with powers both to heal and repel that which would do us harm. Sanskrit records dating back 5,000 years name it a medicine, and the Chinese have been using it as such for at least 3,000 years. Hippocrates, he of the famed Hippocratic Oath still sworn to by doctors today, prescribed garlic for everything from infections to leprosy as far back as 300 BC. Even Louis Pasteur, one of the founders of modern bacteriology, noted garlic’s antibacterial properties. More recent studies indicate garlic is efficient in the prevention of heart disease and cancer and can even help eliminate heavy metals from the body. Of course this time of year, on the cusp of Halloween, the association between garlic and vampires is unavoidable. Although many cultures, including the ancient Greeks, held the belief that garlic could ward off evil, it is central Europe we most often associate with this myth.  But all legend, myths, and superstitions aside, it’s garlic's unique flavor that keeps us coming back for more.

Freeze Protection

Here's a big one to put on your 'To Do' list: Winterize Drip System. Water expands when it freezes. Winter happens. It doesn't matter if your water lines are made of PVC, poly, copper, or steel, they can burst or crack. Be proactive. Don't waste time and money on needless repairs.

In most parts of the country there is real concern about freezing during the winter months, and that includes frost damage to your drip irrigation system. When winterizing, there are mainly two areas to consider: the system start (timer, valves, and filter) and any low spots in the lines where water may settle. The elements of the system start can be seen in the photo at the left. Whether or not you have low spots to deal with depends on the presence of elevation changes in your terrain.

Rose Propagation and Watering

Photo credit: T. Kiya from Flickr via creative commons license 

I’ve been growing rose bushes for many years now and I find that the longest living, most productive and fragrant roses are those grown and propagated from their own roots. If you propagate your own cuttings from heirlooms varieties, you'll be waking up to the most wonderful fragrance every morning. Below you'll find a short list of tips aimed to help you start propagating your own roses, and for those with experience please feel free to add to this list in the comments below.

Fall Gardening: Extending the Gardening Season

Agribon in a Commercial Application

Want tasty veggies throughout the year? Here are some Tips.  

  Agribon™ row cover is a non-woven, spun polypropylene material that enables our DripWorks demonstration garden to remain productive year round. Primarily used to get the gardening season off to an early start, this gauze-like material also prolongs our growing season well into autumn.

The National Heirloom Exposition

A small portion of the incredible gourd collection

The 'World's Fair' of the heirloom seed industry (over 10,000 attended in 2012) is taking place next week in Santa Rosa, California. On September 10, 11, and 12, this huge event will show off more than 4,000 varieties of gorgeous, scrumptious, sometimes strange, fruits and awe-inspiring vegetables, grown from heirloom seed. DripWorks is excited for this opportunity to see our customers and display our incredible water-saving products on a national stage.

Dahlias in the Botanical Gardens

Recently I visited the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens with my wife and friends. We left our inland homes and drove through the redwood forests to spend the afternoon surrounded by 47 acres of spectacular beauty. The riotous colors displayed from over 450 dahlias during late summer are a very special sight to see.

The Value of a Pond

Vineyard ponds are an increasingly smart way to irrigate

Installing your own water collection pond is a great way to irrigate smart, conserve water, save money, or simply create an impressive aesthetic in your life. With farmers and gardeners facing challenging drought conditions and increasing government regulations, Dripworks offers a solution with a great line of pond products to make your dream pond a reality.

Chard: Growing It and Enjoying It

Everyone has heard of chard but how many of us are growing it? Chard (aka Swiss or Rainbow) is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables (second only to spinach), and a gorgeous addition to any vegetable garden. Moderately rich, well drained soil forms the foundation from which this beautiful and delicious plant can be grown.

Vacations and Drip Irrigation

Credit: jeremiah.andrick from Flickr via creative commons license

Summer is here and it's high time for vacations and weekend getaways! You're ready to throw on some sandals and head for the beach, or lace up your hiking boots for a trip to the great outdoors, either way summer is the perfect time to escape from our homes--and unfortunately from our gardens too! To help prepare for this moment, you bought a drip irrigation system to ensure your garden is well irrigated while away. You've spent precious time this spring setting up a garden and now, more than ever, it's vital to keep it healthy with the summer heat. To make sure your drip system is continuing to work hard while your away, we've put together some helpful tips to keep your system working flawlessly.

Growing and Harvesting Garlic in Dripworks' Garden

At Dripworks we grow a variety of flowers and veggies in order to show customers what can be grown with Drip Irrigation. One of our favorite veggies is the garlic we grow every year; Garlic is the perfect crop to display inside our garden, as it is planted in October and harvested each June (see picture above). Now in our third season, we find growing garlic with Drip Irrigation a snap, if given the right soil conditions and preparation.

Preparation

To prepare our garlic bed we utilize two of our wonderful products: Agribon and Emitter Tubing (or Soaker Dripline). In the Fall and Winter months we cover the garlic bed with Agribon (a fabric that raises the temperature by 4-6 degrees) in order to protect the plants from frost. The Agribon material is supported by bent wire fencing inside the wooden beds, which makes a "tunnel" shape to provide warmth and growth space for the garlic during colder months. Loop Hoops are another way to support Agribon. In addition to using Agribon, each year we irrigate the garlic with our Emitter Tubing, which delivers water directly to the roots of each plant. Soaker Dripline also works very well. Together, these products are key to a successful harvest.

Getting Started with Drip Irrigation

Summer is just around the corner and ensuring your plants are properly irrigated is more important than ever. Annually summer weather demands us to pay more attention to the health of our gardens or landscapes, and this year proves to be even more challenging with nearly half the country experiencing drought. According to the latest report by NOAA nearly 45% of the United States is experiencing drought-like conditions and there's speculation for the Pacific and Mid-West regions to see little improvement over the next three months. In order to combat these conditions and ensure your garden or landscape is properly irrigated, we would like to present you with some of our NEW Complete Drip Irrigation Kits to help you beat the drought!

First time drip irrigation users can get started quickly and easily with one of DripWorks' NEW Complete Irrigation Kits. Out NEW kits come with easy to follow instructions that will make the assembly and installation of your drip irrigation quick and painless. By adding a battery timer (take 10% off a timer using promo code TIMER10 when purchasing any of our available kits) your plants will thrive from direct irrigation on a precise watering schedule. At last, you'll have time to relax and enjoy your garden!

How to Use Soaker Dripline

At DripWorks we're passionate about creating beauty and bounty through gardening. Drip irrigation allows one to grow high quality foods, beautiful flowers, and decorative plants, while lowering our water bill and saving precious time. 

Soaker Dripline is one of DripWorks' all-time favorite product.

Soaker Dripline is a Dripworks' favorite! We love using Soaker Dripline and think you will too! We recommend Soaker Dripline because it's easy to use and immensely versatile. We use it in our raised vegetable garden beds, both at home and in the demo garden here at DripWorks. Soaker Dripline is perfect for irrigating small plots such as flower and strawberry beds, and works great inside containers on patios or along walkways (due to its incredible flexibility). Compliment your drip system with a Battery Timer, and you'll be able to automate your garden's irrigation needs to achieve reliable results wherever you grow.

Easy Loc Fittings are Truly Easy

Remember when setting up a drip irrigation system was a struggle? Not any more. Setting up your new drip system is a snap with Easy Loc Fittings. No more sore hands or wrists, and Easy Locs hold very well at higher pressures--up to 50 PSI. Plus, Easy Loc Fittings are faster and easier to use than compression or barbed fittings too!

Making changes or adding to your drip system is a breeze when using Easy Loc Fittings. Start each drip line with an Easy Loc Female Hose Beginning connected to your faucet assembly. Then use an Easy Loc coupler or Easy Loc Tee to increase the size of your irrigation system. Always get a few extras for expanding your drip system in the future--you can even reuse them!

Container Gardening with Drip Irrigation

Container and potted plants can benefit from drip irrigation year-round.
Credit: Robert Nunnally
 from Flickr via Creative Commons License

If you enjoy gardening with containers around your deck, patio or yard, drip irrigation will prove to be a perfect addition to your portable garden. You may already know some of the advantages container gardening offers, including but not limited to:

    1. Portability = containers can be moved to the best spots

    2. Container gardens are great for beginners 

    3. Less bending over = less back pain
    4. Vegetables can be grown next to the kitchen

By combining these benefits with drip irrigation's root targeting technology you'll save time and worry about hand watering your plants, and will have more time to enjoy your decorative and delicious plants looking beautiful month after month. 

In the following post we'll explain how to setup your container onto a drip system, and will offer our recommendations for which emitter products work best and why.

Clay, Loam, or Sandy Soil: What Drip Should I Use?

T-Tape works great in heavy clay soil.

Varying soil types need specific drip emitters or sprayers to put out water at precise rates for proper watering patterns. In order to help our fellow drip irrigation enthusiasts, and those interested to learn more about drip irrigation techniques, we've gone ahead and listed our recommendations for the best drip emitters, sprayers, and tubing to use for your irrigation needs based on soil types.

Heavy Clay Soil

Clay soil absorbs water slowly and spreads the water laterally, therefore we recommend low flow emitters to give the water time to spread out. For individual plants use emitters with a low ½ gallon per hour rating such as the the Woodpecker PC (DNPC12) emitter, the Woodpecker JR (DNJR12) emitter, or the Pinch Drip Emitter (DPCH12). For row crops, low flow T-Tape, Aqua-Traxx, or Emitter Tubing (DET125) works well.

Gardening and Baseball – Our National Pastimes

Driving to Dripworks today I was thinking of the work (dedication and sweat), thought (planning and strategy), and emotion (the thrill when the work pays off) that comes into play in both Gardening and Baseball. Touching the soul of an avid gardener and a real baseball fan are their gardens, landscapes, and the ball fields. Walking into a beautiful flower or vegetable garden is a breathtaking experience. A baseball stadium is similarly awesome. In baseball the venue is a "ballpark" and the grass is called the "outfield," and the "infield"...a natural setting, an area tended with care, a magnificent site, and a joy to the senses. Gardening and baseball…I contemplate the similarities.

The High Price of Water How Drip Irrigation Can Help

The worst American drought in more than half a century is driving up grain prices and deepening worries about global food shortages. In the spring of 2012 corn farmers in the U.S. planted the most acreage in 75 years hoping to replenish the global food stockpile. Those hopes were soon dashed.
Have you looked at your water bill lately? When I got my mine last spring, I just went right outside and shortened the length of the watering schedule on my timers. Most farmers must think about drip irrigation as a solution. It saves water and produces bountiful harvests. T-Tape for row crops and emitter tubing for orchards and hilly terrain can help tremendously.