"jeff" wrote in message
...

I suppose since the backbone runs along the garden path also, I'll tap off
for a few other plants, the roses have taken a beating...

Might as well. It's just a couple of extra lines and drippers. You may
find that you start to go a little crazy once you get into it. More lines!
More emitters! What else can I water??

I have a hard time believing that those 1/4" taps on the 1/2" line don't
leak. Everything I've ever done with plumbing leaked! That's why I'm
trying to minimize the taps.

By "taps" are you talking about the holes and the connectors that go in
them? I've had a few leaks among my 50 or so holes, but for the most part
they stay pretty tight. They might deteriorate after a few years; I haven't
had them long enough to know.

OK, I'll do the hand watering here. I pulled a carrot from the edge of the
garden a while back. Although it was almost an 1" in diameter, it wasn't
much longer!

If you have clayey soil, that'll be pretty common. I always try to grow
long ones, and they just look stupid. It's best to plant the shorter
varieties--that way all the energy can go into filling them out rather than
making them long. Next year mix a little sand in with the carrot soil--that
might loosen it up a bit.

I've shopped at 4 different Home Depots and a Lowes looking at drip
supplies. Amazingly none of them had the same parts. It's almost like one
shipment got divided between 5 stores!

I've noticed that too! Seems like I have to go to two different stores to
get the full range of what I need. Weird.
--S.