Newbie with watering question

peoriagrammy 1/22/2012, 12:29 am

Hi All,

I live in central AZ and am converting existing beds over to sfg beds. I'm currently building the grids...really easy. But I do have a question about watering. Definitely want a watering system...that hand watering is just not my thing...especially when it gets hot! I looked on this website and saw what appears to be 1/2" tubing every six inches. Is that what I need to look for or how do you water your plants? Thanks in advance for your help!

Sally Very Happy

**llama momma** 1/22/2012, 12:38 am

Someone will come along and answer. I sit down at my beds and hand water. Up in the green bar is Website, and from there you can go to the website store and at least take a look at supplies to get an idea what they have.

duhh 1/25/2012, 2:26 am

Can't help you with automatic watering. I hand water mine. Even when it gets hot in the summer. It forces me to go out and look at my plants everyday. That way I can tell right away if there are anyproblems in the garden.

UnderTheBlackWalnut 1/25/2012, 10:55 am

I hand water as well. I've seen people use soaker type hoses in their boxes, and I've seen them use drip irrigation as well. If you search the forum for "irrigation", you should come upon some threads with pics of what some gardeners have used. Smile

martha 1/25/2012, 3:01 pm

Just today, while browsing through old stuff, I came across a photo that finally clarified the whole drip irrigation thing to me.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-HawaiiAl/again-pic_144.htm

I haven't figured out how to make soaker hoses work in my SFG. Maybe others have, but me + SFG + soaker hoses = Newbie with watering question 601593

me + this photo = Newbie with watering question 728280

to HawaiiAl

Squat_Johnson 1/25/2012, 5:06 pm

Here's what I have made use of that seems to work for me...

I have a 4 way on/off hose splitter that feeds all the big boxes. During the hottest times of the year, I run it for an hour or so couple times a week for the plants that have established roots. New plants still get watered with a wand.
Newbie with watering question Hose_b10

I cut up water hoses using the repair male/female ends and run it under mulch. This attaches near the red tape measure in the photo. I use soaker hoses that run lengthwise at the 1', 2' and 3' lines (see below. I put a trellis every other 4' section so I can reach around them to plant & weed.
Newbie with watering question Dsc03510

tomperrin 1/25/2012, 7:19 pm

The advantages to using soaker hoses are that they can be put on a timer, run at night without being present, and making vacations from the garden a possibility. If you're paying high prices for water, or in a drought situation, the soaker hoses save a lot of water, and a lot of time.

With Mel's Mix, it's impossible to over water, so if it rains while the soaker is on, it's no biggie.

**RoOsTeR** 1/25/2012, 7:42 pm

This topic would actually be a great one for our gallery crew to look at Very Happy

I know Acara has some really good pics out there of his set up.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t4459-ribbon-drip-systems

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t4859-pvc-grid-and-drip-system-all-in-one

Squat, you have a nice set up going on too Newbie with watering question 3170584802

Newbie with watering question 3170584802

peoriagrammy 1/26/2012, 8:35 pm

I really appreciate everyone's replies to my question. I would love to handwater; however we have over 400 sf of garden space and hand watering, especially in the summer is out of the question. I do harvest and talk to my crops Laughing

every day so that is not an issue. I love the pictures that some of you posted. They really help me to visualize what I need to do. This is a very helpful forum. I'm so glad to be here and to be doing sfg!

Sally

**RoOsTeR** 1/26/2012, 8:43 pm

And we are happy to have you Newbie with watering question 3170584802

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Newbie with watering question

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Soaker hoses

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So many thanks!

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	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.