Greetings from Pennsylvania

[quote="AnnaK"]We've had our raised-bed garden for about 15 years.

Anna:

Welcome to the Square Foot Gardening forum and family. It looks like you have a wonderful garden planted and ready to go. You have more experience with raised bed gardens then many people on the forum and I hope you will post of your experiences and answer questions that others have. If you have questions please ask them. Also check out the regional forums at the bottom of the page on the opening screen of the forum.

God Bless and again

Ward and Mary.

AnnaK, I see that you are in eastern PA -- I grew up in NJ, went to summer camp in Dingman's Ferry, and lived for a while in Lambertville, just across the river from New Hope. It's such a great area for gardening and wildlife. Welcome to the Forum!

Are you using soaker hose or actual drip lines? I'm trying to decide if I want to install irrigation in my new beds.

Hi Junequilt,

Boy! You know the choice spots in this part of Pennsylvania. Dingman's Ferry and New Hope are great places whether you're a kid or a grownup. Thank you for the welcome message.

We us actual drip lines and a Rainbird timer. We buy the lines and seasonal replacement parts and/or additions from http://www.dripworksusa.com/. Those folks have been very helpful in assisting us with layout and supplies. To the standpipe we attach a brass multi-outlet valve which allows us to attach two different drip line setups, the timer, and still have a hose available for filling the pool and all the other stuff you need a hose for.

We adjust the timer depending on the stage of the garden. Once the seeds are in we keep it more moist until they sprout. Then we reduce the run time for a bit until it gets hot outside at which point we crank it back up. This is all done by feel. If the soil feels right, and by that I mean, it feels the same way it would if I were watering by hand, all is well. If it doesn't feel right, we change the drip time.

The system comes on very early in the morning, before sunrise, and runs for X number of hours, all depending on temperature and the stage of growth. It takes a little fiddling with the initial installation but once it's done, it's done. I have three long rows in my bed and run the lines inside the rows. The second system waters the holes in the cinderblocks. This year we'll install a third system to water the pots in which we grow cucumbers on trellises.

Drip irrigation is fantastic! Sort of "set it and forget it". We go away on two week camping vacations without having to worry about the garden or hire a water boy (or girl). It provides constant moisture and uses very little water. There's no overspray, no loss of water, something that matters to us since we're on a well.

We tried the soaker hoses but got really tired of making the placement adjustments, and the amount of water never seemed to be right.

Anna

Wow, thanks for all the info! I haven't used a system like this in years, and gave up on them because I could never find replacement parts -- none of the retail stores sold the same brand two years in a row, and the parts they did carry weren't interchangeable. But if Dripworks is reliable, that would be wonderful! No one down here in SC wants to say the D-word because that would make it too real -- I'm sure you understand -- but I fear we are heading into _rought conditions again, so we've got to be prepared.

Take a look at the Dripworks site. We bought our original lines from them 8 years ago and are still getting replacement plugs and fittings. Supplies have not been a problem at all.

I can definitely relate to your D-word concerns. That's another reason we like the drip irrigation: the water usage is minimal.

AnnaK