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peatpod

Irrigation system

peatpod
17 years ago

I spent the weekend attempting to set up an irrigation system. I purchased several kits from Lee Valley  most of it consisted of soaker hoses but I thought I would also set up a drip system in the narrower beds around the house.

So after puttering about .. Poking holes and wrapping hoses I turned it on. It worked!!! Yahoo!!! No more lugging the darn hose around the yard!!! I will finally be able to set a timer and poof it will be done for me.

Does anyone else have this type of set up?? I tend to be a worry wart and I do realize that although the adjacent soil appears to be dry the water from the soaker hoses will disperse under the soil .. Correct?? I had them on for about two hours today but still I worry that my babies didnÂt get enough water. Because my garden is a mix of annuals (tropical) and perennials I didnÂt want to bury the hoses underground .. I really donÂt want to dig them up in the fall :o) Is there anyway of checking to see just how much water is being dispersed?? I might put a layer of mulch around to cover them up as right now my garden looks like a maze of little hoses :o) Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Laura

Comments (8)

  • ianna
    17 years ago

    I had a Lee Valley drip irrigation system set up last year. (and had to take them in during winter) Mine was a sprinkler types and I set it up in the grass, in different elevations so the water reaches far and wide, I also had it on timer for a few minutes a day only. That was more than enough for my yard.

    Ianna

  • krystine
    17 years ago

    I just ordered some soaker hose kits from Lee Valley for my raised veggie beds and can't wait to install them! I plan on mulching on top of them so they don't take a beating from the sun/elements.

    Glad to hear yours works well! :)

  • robertak
    17 years ago

    I have the shrubbler system from Lee Valley for my roses. I have a head underneath each rose bush (14) and it works great.

    I have had mine for 4 years now. I cover it with mulch as much as I can as well as drain it and store it in the garage over winter. Well worth the money!!

  • peatpod
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    How long and how often do you have your systems running??? I put some drippers in some of my potted plants .. experimented with some soaker hoses in pots and also a variable mister .. boy they all let out a ton of water!! I am going to have to put a pressure regulator on the sections of hose that I have the pots running off of other wise everything is going to get root rot :o) Any suggestions for the pots??

    Laura

  • treemedic
    17 years ago

    I have a system with "shrubblers" from Lee Valley. Works great. I really like them because you can easily turn the head to adjust from a two foot spray down to a drip so for pots it would be easy to adjust for differing amounts of water.

  • green_thumb_guy
    17 years ago

    Hi Peatpod,

    I've had a similar system in place for approx. 4 years. I originally bought my starter stuff at the Building box (before they were bought out by Rona). I didn't buy any kits because they give alot of peices that I figured I wouldn't need or use. I bought 3/4" black waterpipe so that the system would move more water. I wanted to run a lot of sprinkler heads. The best part about this type of system is that you have the flexibility to move the heads around as the plants grow.

    My best advice to you is to run it for varying times and dig down in the soil to see how moist the soil is. I've had to install some shut off valves to give my the ability to trun off certain areas that don't need as much water as others. That's easy. I have about half of my yard irrigated. I'm hoping this year to finish the rest. Lee Valley will nowbe my source for parts.

    Just remeber to blow out the system with an air source to remove all the water before things freeze. This will prevent splitting of hoses.

    Green Thumb Guy

  • trish_ns_z5
    17 years ago

    I have an irrigation system from Lee Valley that I'm also planning to install this month. Happy to hear that it works well. I installed a LV shrubbler system on my roses last summer and it works great. I didn't take it in for the winter though. We just let the hoses drain and covered the shrubblers with a plastic sandwich bag tied on tight with an elastic band :-) It seemed to work fine, although last winter was unsually mild for us. My brother's done the same thing for 2 winters. The hoses are/will be covered by bark mulch. Do you really need to take up the hoses?

    Trish, Halifax

  • mandyy12
    17 years ago

    (I have the shrubbler system from Lee Valley for my roses. I have a head underneath each rose bush (14) and it works great.) Could you explain the set up a little more for me please?
    I have about 70 roses in pots(various size pots from 2 gal for some mini's to 25 gallon for some HT's.)

    Thanks
    Bill

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