My spool of drip line is now all used up. For that inevitable clogged-
line replacement, I'll be needing to get more. I've used four kinds
of drip line so far {all 1/4" diameter}:
* an impermeable line with manually installed emitters (RainDrip - these
seemed to clog fairly quickly, and AFAIK are no longer sold);
* soaker hose - uniformly permeable line. These are cheap but fall apart
relatively quickly, and emit more near the water-source end than the
distal end if the length is much over 6' or so;
* "laser drilled" line {clogs fairly quickly, probably worse than the
RainDrip}; and
* impermeable line with preinstalled emitters, e.g. Agrifim Dura-Flo line.
This last has seemed to hold up the best, if not perfectly.

I've never tried the "drip tape" line. Has anyone tried this, and can
compare with any of the types above? Especially over multiple years of
use...

THANKS!

On 5/14/2016 4:35 PM, Frank Miles wrote:
My spool of drip line is now all used up. For that inevitable clogged-
line replacement, I'll be needing to get more. I've used four kinds
of drip line so far {all 1/4" diameter}:
* an impermeable line with manually installed emitters (RainDrip - these
seemed to clog fairly quickly, and AFAIK are no longer sold);
* soaker hose - uniformly permeable line. These are cheap but fall apart
relatively quickly, and emit more near the water-source end than the
distal end if the length is much over 6' or so;
In our heat the soaker hose doesn't last past about three months at most
* "laser drilled" line {clogs fairly quickly, probably worse than the
RainDrip}; and
* impermeable line with preinstalled emitters, e.g. Agrifim Dura-Flo line.
This last has seemed to hold up the best, if not perfectly.

I've never tried the "drip tape" line. Has anyone tried this, and can
compare with any of the types above? Especially over multiple years of
use...

THANKS!

We have two sections of 20 feet of flat drip tape, works fairly well.
They were gifted to us as brand new by a neighbor who quit gardening.
One of them had not been pierced at all. I used a small ice pick just on
one side. Both of them work pretty good.

We garden in two 4X8 raised beds plus a 4X16 raised bed. Plus in ground
gardens around the back fence line. Luckily we got about a half inch of
rain today and it was a gentle rain at that. I use the soaker hose
around the fence line because the overflow will also water the grass.

Sometimes we just use a hose with a spray nozzle to just give everything
a quick drink. We're looking at rain for the next several days,
hopefully not heavy. Mainly we're heavy watering the fig, pear, and
kumquat trees to keep the fruit going.

On Sat, 14 May 2016 19:19:17 -0500, George Shirley wrote:

On 5/14/2016 4:35 PM, Frank Miles wrote:
My spool of drip line is now all used up. For that inevitable clogged-
line replacement, I'll be needing to get more. I've used four kinds of
drip line so far {all 1/4" diameter}:
* an impermeable line with manually installed emitters (RainDrip -
these
seemed to clog fairly quickly, and AFAIK are no longer sold);
* soaker hose - uniformly permeable line. These are cheap but fall
apart
relatively quickly, and emit more near the water-source end than the
distal end if the length is much over 6' or so;
In our heat the soaker hose doesn't last past about three months at most
* "laser drilled" line {clogs fairly quickly, probably worse than the
RainDrip}; and * impermeable line with preinstalled emitters, e.g.
Agrifim Dura-Flo line.
This last has seemed to hold up the best, if not perfectly.

I've never tried the "drip tape" line. Has anyone tried this, and can
compare with any of the types above? Especially over multiple years of
use...

THANKS!

We have two sections of 20 feet of flat drip tape, works fairly well.
They were gifted to us as brand new by a neighbor who quit gardening.
One of them had not been pierced at all. I used a small ice pick just on
one side. Both of them work pretty good.

We garden in two 4X8 raised beds plus a 4X16 raised bed. Plus in ground
gardens around the back fence line. Luckily we got about a half inch of
rain today and it was a gentle rain at that. I use the soaker hose
around the fence line because the overflow will also water the grass.

Sometimes we just use a hose with a spray nozzle to just give everything
a quick drink. We're looking at rain for the next several days,
hopefully not heavy. Mainly we're heavy watering the fig, pear, and
kumquat trees to keep the fruit going.

Thanks, George. We have nearly 800 sq ft of garden (not counting
walkways), plus a half-dozen dwarf fruit trees. In combination with the
dry Seattle summer this means a serious watering challenge {its only
those other months in which Seattle earns its wet reputation}. This year
the dry season seems to have started early {July 4 is the usual start}.
Even with judicious use of drip systems the water bill gets steep.

-F

On 5/15/2016 4:58 PM, Frank Miles wrote:
On Sat, 14 May 2016 19:19:17 -0500, George Shirley wrote:

On 5/14/2016 4:35 PM, Frank Miles wrote:
My spool of drip line is now all used up. For that inevitable clogged-
line replacement, I'll be needing to get more. I've used four kinds of
drip line so far {all 1/4" diameter}:
* an impermeable line with manually installed emitters (RainDrip -
these
seemed to clog fairly quickly, and AFAIK are no longer sold);
* soaker hose - uniformly permeable line. These are cheap but fall
apart
relatively quickly, and emit more near the water-source end than the
distal end if the length is much over 6' or so;
In our heat the soaker hose doesn't last past about three months at most
* "laser drilled" line {clogs fairly quickly, probably worse than the
RainDrip}; and * impermeable line with preinstalled emitters, e.g.
Agrifim Dura-Flo line.
This last has seemed to hold up the best, if not perfectly.

I've never tried the "drip tape" line. Has anyone tried this, and can
compare with any of the types above? Especially over multiple years of
use...

THANKS!

We have two sections of 20 feet of flat drip tape, works fairly well.
They were gifted to us as brand new by a neighbor who quit gardening.
One of them had not been pierced at all. I used a small ice pick just on
one side. Both of them work pretty good.

We garden in two 4X8 raised beds plus a 4X16 raised bed. Plus in ground
gardens around the back fence line. Luckily we got about a half inch of
rain today and it was a gentle rain at that. I use the soaker hose
around the fence line because the overflow will also water the grass.

Sometimes we just use a hose with a spray nozzle to just give everything
a quick drink. We're looking at rain for the next several days,
hopefully not heavy. Mainly we're heavy watering the fig, pear, and
kumquat trees to keep the fruit going.

Thanks, George. We have nearly 800 sq ft of garden (not counting
walkways), plus a half-dozen dwarf fruit trees. In combination with the
dry Seattle summer this means a serious watering challenge {its only
those other months in which Seattle earns its wet reputation}. This year
the dry season seems to have started early {July 4 is the usual start}.
Even with judicious use of drip systems the water bill gets steep.

-F

We've gotten a little over half an inch of rain since about 1300 CST,
still coming down in short spurts, supposed to go on next week. Parts of
Houston have flooded again and the idiots are still driving off into
under passes. We have long time friends in Seattle, worked together in
the eighties in Saudi Arabia and have been friends since. Visited them
back in the early nineties and liked the area except for the winters.
I'll stay in Texas. One thing this part of Texas has is rain with the
odd drought occasionally. I was eighteen years old before I ever saw
snow and had to join the Navy to see it then. G

At our age we are happy to have downsized, our kids, grands, and great
grands are within ten miles of our home now and they're still a pain
occasionally. We will keep them though.

George