Steve wrote:

I need to find a way to keep the young plants well watered in much
less
time. I have never used soaker or drip arrangements and such and I'm
lookin
for info. I would like this year to setup say the soaker arrangment
to loop
around and water the perimeter of the house.

to continue my previous post: the other thing about soakers is that
their jets
spread water a bit more than drip but will wet leaves as well. soakers
and tomatoes, for example, won't mix (same for squash). and of course
they tend to use more water.
The cons of drip are that they tend to deposit water in a very
concentrated way, basically a narrow cone under each hole. It is a
problem with sandy soil, much less so with clay.



How well do these work? How much lenght can I do? Pressure concerns?
Can one
splice in non-soaker type tubing when running across areas that need
no
water? I'd like to bury it under my mulch and leave it. Is this
problematic
or generally ok? Will these things survive well over a winter?

in winter any leftover water will freeze. If the pipe is full anywhere,
it may shatter. I take out the end plug of the drip lines, run water
for a minute or so through each (secret is to open only one at a time,
so all flow goes down that line)to clean them for the season, then
replace the plug, hold it high while coiling it (to empty the water
back into the main line). I have a gently undulating yard, and I placed
a valve at the lowest point in the main line (within a concrete housing
to allow easy access, I should have just used a single cinder block). I
purge the main line there for the winter.

Two more things. The first is backpressure. If you run the water, then
turn it off, the line will develop a backpressure and will suck air and
debris through the pinholes, contributing (a lot) to clogging - more so
if line is buried in mulch. Two ways to eliminate it: use a backflow
preventer, which I have but no longer use, or make it a point, as I do,
to open another of the four spigots when you turn off the water. Air
will then come in through the other spigot and quickly balance
pressure.

The other thing to watch for are rodents. I have wrapped my main line
in chicken wire in two places with high rodent activity. I also cover
my drip lines with mulch to eliminate UV ageing.

So, a good preparation makes for a fairly maintenance free system.
prevent clogging, prevent freezing.

I'm willing
to take the time to install a proper system that works well and looks
good
while not shifting my time effort into having to maintain the water
lines
and connections. I would either via timer or personal effort turn on
the
water flow and let it water the perimeter of the house while I water
other
areas. I do not want to extend the system to other areas beyond the
perimeter of the house at least for another two to three years. I
enjoy
tending to the other areas, just can't handle it all time wise due to

circumstances. Can anyone point me to resources or websites that
might help
me learn, install, and answer questions on this? Any good pointers or
bad
experiences?

thanks!