fertilizer Drip Irrigation Fertilizer Injection

[NorTexChiliJs]

Hello pepperheads!

I installed drip irrigation in my garden this year, and need to find a method of fertilizing that will work with what I have or with minimal changes. Top dressing no longer works because the emitters are buried under cedar mulch.
I would like to use some sort of siphon injector to siphon a liquid fertilizer from a 55 gallon barrel, or possibly a 300 gallon water storage tote.
I prefer to stay away from the common EZ-Flow units, because I dont want to be locked into using that type of powder fertilizer; EZ-Flow, MG, Vigoro, etc. I plan on using home brewed compost tea....
I think a venturi type injector may be the answer, but I haven't been too succesful in finding enough info online to decide what size injector to use....or if it will even work with my system...

I will try to describe my system to the best of my ability because I'm not too good at making a diagram on the computer. (I'm fairly computer incompetent!!)
The dripline I installed is DIG brand brown dripline. It is 1/2" line with 1gph pressure compensating emitters spaced every 18".

I have 4 garden areas and I run a 3/4" commercial garden hose to each area.

Area #1 has 9 zones which are linked together with a 1 1/2" PVC header, each with an on/off valve. The header is probably overkill for now, but I plan on running a section of 1 1/2" PVC to the mainline at the house. Area #1 has 529 total emitters:

Zone 1 thru 3 have 58 1gph emmiters per zone.
Zone 4 has 54 1gph emitters.
Zone 5 has 76 1gph emitters.
Zone 6 has 96 1gph emitters.
Zone 7 has 58 1gph emitters
Zone 8 has 38 1gph emitters.
Zone 9 has 33 1gph emitters.


The other 3 areas are independent.

Area #2 has 65 1gph emitters.
Area #3 has 100 1gph emitters.
Area #4 has 126 1gph emitters.

I would prefer to link each area together so I can feed everything all at once, but I could run each area seperately if I have to. However, running each area seperately may require different size injectors since the main garden has 529 emitters and the other areas are so much smaller. I could also possibly modify my header in the main garden to have multiple headers. I could make each header have around 100-120 emitters, which would give me similar sized areas.

The garden is a total of about 3500 square feet so foliar feeding is pretty time consuming, but I know it has its perks.

Does anyone on this forum use a venturi type injector or have any knowledge of them?
Or does anyone have a better idea??

I am very open to opinions......

 

[queequeg152]

wow man so you have a lot of drippers id like to see pics of that!

anyway, i dont know much about the typical fertilizer injectors or how well they work, but i know tons about anything that pumps fluids.

imo you would do well with a pair of simple diaphragm/solenoid pumps. these pumps are often used to pump sodium hypocrite(bleach) from 55gallon drums into water systems. some models even push up too 200psi.i have a pair of pulsatron c series pumps... they pump anywhere from 0-12 gpd. they are basically infinatly adjustable, one nob controls stroke intervals, and another controls stroke depth.
you would simply wire these pumps such that they are on when ever your solenoids are open.

you could use a pump with dual heads, but this would limit your flexibility... with two pumps you can pump different volume ratios, ie 2 parts a 1 part B.
if thats not a concern you could even look at twin bellows pumps.. although that would be towards the end of what a typical bellows pump could supply.

if you want to peruse that i could help you out.

http://www.pulsatron.ca/pulsatron_series_c.htm

http://www.bluwhite.com/support/injectionfitting_details.htm

 

[FarmerGuy]

Hi,
I've used various fertigation units for over 15 years. Usually, the simplest design is best, but you can't use a Mazzei injector since all your branches have different flow, so injection rate would vary from branch to branch (maybe zone 1 ends up at eC 1.2 mS and zone 6 ends up at 0.8 mS). I've only had true success using the simple Mazzei units when branches are balanced and run with a pressure regulator, usually 20 or so psi with most drip tape.

EZ Flos are somewhat OK, but by the time you end up with all the peripherals, you end up with something that is pricey and does an "eh" job of consistent fertigation. I find the EZ's work best with a pressure regulator.

My choice would be a Dosatron D14. Make sure you use the one that is for plant use that can adjust from 1:50 to 1:500. Really the easiest way to go. It's always consistent even if the pressure moves around on you and it doesn't matter if what the flow rate of the branch is. Just make sure that you bleed the pressure in the unit before adjusting the injection ratio.

I used a pair of Dosatrons for seven years with zero problems back when I ran my greenhouses. The only other type of injector I've had zero problems with is the Mazzei venturi setup, but you really have to run it under very consistent conditions for it to work properly. I think the new D14's are around $400 delivered or so.

Good luck!

Also, you every use Techline? I'm imagining your setup has staggered drippers over pots. Can't use "regular" drip tape like that because it will kink, but Techlinebends nicely and takes like 1/10th of the time to setup. Just a thought if you haven't already done it.

With drippers on spaghetti lines definitely run a 200 mesh or smaller filter on the inlet, preferably with a cleanable disc filter upstream - those little nozzles like to clog up, particularly if you are running organic nutrients. If running organics, I find it's best to push a couple gallons of 3% hydrogen peroxide through the system once a month if using individual drippers. It's cheaper to buy the bottle-blond 40% H2O2 from the beauty supply shop and dilute it down but don't spill any in places you don't want it to go since at that concentration (40%) it's quite destructive and oxidizes the bejesus out of anything it touches instantly.

 

[Hot Pooper]

The person you need to speak with is AlabamaJack. I use drip, but not to THAT extent. HE does. PM him. Im sure he'll help you figure something out.

 

[queequeg152]

that dosatron looks neat, are those the industry standard with greenhouses?

 

[AlabamaJack]

that dosatron looks neat, are those the industry standard with greenhouses?

what he is in is way above my head...I use the EZ Flow and limit myself to 40 1 GPH in a zone...

 

[FarmerGuy]

that dosatron looks neat, are those the industry standard with greenhouses?

They're pretty common in the greenhosue industry. I saw a lot of folks use them with good success. The reason they're so popular is you don't have to worry so much about variables like fluctuating pressure and different injection rates on branches with different flows. One really nice feature is the ability to adjust nutrients far faster than other products with fixed injection ratios (usually 1:100 or 1:150 like the Chemilizer I used to own years ago). When I refill the nutrient concentrate stock tank, I just dump the nutes in, add R/O water, mix it up and let it sit for about an hour. Then I just run it for a couple minutes and check eC/ppm. If it's too low or high, I just cut the water with a ball valve, bleed the pressure from the unit, adjust the injection ratio with no tools, turn it back on and take a reading. Takes no more than 60 seconds, whereas with the fixed injection ratios I'd have to add more nutes to the stock tank and let it sit, or add more water and re-agitate it. So it saves a bunch of time.

Every 3-4 years I replace the seals on the unit - If my memory serves me, it was around $20 for the seal kit and ~20 minutes of my time, so I think that's pretty reasonable. They are a little more pricey up front, but they cost me less in the long run (>3 years) and save a bunch of time, which is priceless IMO.

 

[SuperHot]

My drip tape irrigation system is simple.

I have a 500 gallon water tank with a ½ HP pool pump to maintain 20 psi throughout the grid. I run a circulating loop back into the tank to mix ferts as needed. With my system there is no need for an automatic feeder, just do the math and poor it into the tank. Last year I through it together out of desperation to escape five hours a night watering. I learned a lot last year and in the mist of installing many new features. I have pics of last year's setup on my home page and will be updating it as soon as I finish putting it together.

My growing area is 4.6k^2 and use 1" PVC as the main feed lines which works great. I will be exploring different liquid ferts until I find something that excites me. I would love to find what I'm using now in a bottle, so the search is on.

The person you want to talk to is Silver_Surfer who inspired me to switch over to drip tapes.

 

[NorTexChiliJs]

wow man so you have a lot of drippers id like to see pics of that!

anyway, i dont know much about the typical fertilizer injectors or how well they work, but i know tons about anything that pumps fluids.

imo you would do well with a pair of simple diaphragm/solenoid pumps. these pumps are often used to pump sodium hypocrite(bleach) from 55gallon drums into water systems. some models even push up too 200psi.i have a pair of pulsatron c series pumps... they pump anywhere from 0-12 gpd. they are basically infinatly adjustable, one nob controls stroke intervals, and another controls stroke depth.
you would simply wire these pumps such that they are on when ever your solenoids are open.

you could use a pump with dual heads, but this would limit your flexibility... with two pumps you can pump different volume ratios, ie 2 parts a 1 part B.
if thats not a concern you could even look at twin bellows pumps.. although that would be towards the end of what a typical bellows pump could supply.

if you want to peruse that i could help you out.

http://www.pulsatron...on_series_c.htm

http://www.bluwhite....ing_details.htm

queequeg152, I am hoping to stay away from usung any pumps or selenoids if possible. I am pumping about 820 or so gallons per hour into this garden when everything is linked together. For me to accomodate that, I'm thinking I would need to be mixing my nutes into something around 1500 gallons and watering straight from that. I have hella' pressure from my mainline and think things would be simpler of I could use a concentrate from a 55gal barrel and syphon from that into my mainline.
Thanks for the input tho....no decisions are final at this point.

Hi,
I've used various fertigation units for over 15 years. Usually, the simplest design is best, but you can't use a Mazzei injector since all your branches have different flow, so injection rate would vary from branch to branch (maybe zone 1 ends up at eC 1.2 mS and zone 6 ends up at 0.8 mS). I've only had true success using the simple Mazzei units when branches are balanced and run with a pressure regulator, usually 20 or so psi with most drip tape.

EZ Flos are somewhat OK, but by the time you end up with all the peripherals, you end up with something that is pricey and does an "eh" job of consistent fertigation. I find the EZ's work best with a pressure regulator.

My choice would be a Dosatron D14. Make sure you use the one that is for plant use that can adjust from 1:50 to 1:500. Really the easiest way to go. It's always consistent even if the pressure moves around on you and it doesn't matter if what the flow rate of the branch is. Just make sure that you bleed the pressure in the unit before adjusting the injection ratio.

I used a pair of Dosatrons for seven years with zero problems back when I ran my greenhouses. The only other type of injector I've had zero problems with is the Mazzei venturi setup, but you really have to run it under very consistent conditions for it to work properly. I think the new D14's are around $400 delivered or so.

Good luck!

Also, you every use Techline? I'm imagining your setup has staggered drippers over pots. Can't use "regular" drip tape like that because it will kink, but Techlinebends nicely and takes like 1/10th of the time to setup. Just a thought if you haven't already done it.

With drippers on spaghetti lines definitely run a 200 mesh or smaller filter on the inlet, preferably with a cleanable disc filter upstream - those little nozzles like to clog up, particularly if you are running organic nutrients. If running organics, I find it's best to push a couple gallons of 3% hydrogen peroxide through the system once a month if using individual drippers. It's cheaper to buy the bottle-blond 40% H2O2 from the beauty supply shop and dilute it down but don't spill any in places you don't want it to go since at that concentration (40%) it's quite destructive and oxidizes the bejesus out of anything it touches instantly.

Hey farmerguy, thanks for the reply. Would you help me understand your ideas on the Mazzei. I understand each branch will have a different flow rate. Would it make any difference if the mixing is being done close to 100 feet from the garden?? I was hoping to install whatever mixing device at the spigot on the house. I have about 50 psi at the 3/4" valve so I don't think pressure is a problem. At the moment I can run everything in the garden and I don't notice any variations of flow from one side of the garden to the next. I believe the pressure compensating emitters help with that. I was assuming if I mix everything at the house spigot, then run it to the garden thru a 100' line, everything would be mixed before it hit the garden, making the nutrient strength stable before actually entering the garden.

Looking forward to your comments!!

what he is in is way above my head...I use the EZ Flow and limit myself to 40 1 GPH in a zone...

Hey AJ, Im always in awe at your setup. Beetween you and SilverSurfer, I was convinced drip is the way to go. I know you both use the EZ units. I really have nothing against them other than thinking I would prefer to make my own nutrient regimen and not be stuck with using powders. Does your EZ unit limit you to running 40gph, or can you run multiple zones at the same time?? I saw SilverSurfer's setup but don't remember him saying anything about not being able to run his whole garden all at once?? Your plants are looking great, good sir!

My drip tape irrigation system is simple.

I have a 500 gallon water tank with a ½ HP pool pump to maintain 20 psi throughout the grid. I run a circulating loop back into the tank to mix ferts as needed. With my system there is no need for an automatic feeder, just do the math and poor it into the tank. Last year I through it together out of desperation to escape five hours a night watering. I learned a lot last year and in the mist of installing many new features. I have pics of last year's setup on my home page and will be updating it as soon as I finish putting it together.

My growing area is 4.6k^2 and use 1" PVC as the main feed lines which works great. I will be exploring different liquid ferts until I find something that excites me. I would love to find what I'm using now in a bottle, so the search is on.

The person you want to talk to is Silver_Surfer who inspired me to switch over to drip tapes.

If I have to go with a pump, I will. But don't know where to put a huge tank to mix my nutes. I feel like the pressure from my mainline at the house is all the energy I need. If I can mix a concentrate in a smaller tank and siphon from that, it may be a little easier for me.

Am I reading that you only use 500 gallons to water 4600sqft??

Sorry for this small picture, I used my phone camera and can't figure out how to resize it(again with my computer incompetence)
These two rows are 75 feet long and now have 50 plants per row. The drip spacing is 18" which was great for my plant spacing.

This bed, and the bed to the left, show the drip setup before mulching. There are three rows of tubing. I staggered the emitters in the middle row so they are offset from the outside rows.
Looking to the right of the potted plants on blocks, you can see an on off valve. This center bed is linked to the blue buckets. Each blue bucket has spagetti tubing with two 1gph pc emitters (next year there will be four in each bucket).

Here is my corn bed. 81 plants, 4 types. Corn seems to want alot more water than the rest of the garden, so this bed gets watered twice as often as the other beds.

And here are my container plants. I had the soil and the pots, so I figured, why not make use of them. The rows are spaced just wide enough for me to run a push mower between them. Again. the 18" emitter spacing was ideal for plant spacing.



Here ya go queequeg152....some pics as requested!

These pictures are fairly old. Most were taken at or shortly after plantout. I guess I need to start a Glog. Hopefully these pics will help with the idea of what I need!!

I am using a 150 micron mesh filter, a 25 psi pressure regulator, and a backfow preventer, which I didn't have a picture of. Every area of my garden can be watered all at the same time with the 25 psi regulator. However, each area usually uses water at different rates, especially the containers.

 

[SuperHot]

The main growing area is 100 ft x 40 ft spaced on 24" centers and the soil composition is sandy loam/cow compost. The drainage is excellent. The black storage tank offers many benefits. It allows the water to warm up and the chlorine to dissipate. I averaged about 350 gallons a day and everything is done in 30 mins evenly. I will hook it up to the pots this year as well.

These are a few upgrades being currently installed.

• Hi/Low level sensors
• Solenoid valve to the filler line
• Integrating a Solid-state digital timer

 

[NorTexChiliJs]

The main growing area is 100 ft x 40 ft spaced on 24" centers and the soil composition is sandy loam/cow compost. The drainage is excellent. The black storage tank offers many benefits. It allows the water to warm up and the chlorine to dissipate. I averaged about 350 gallons a day and everything is done in 30 mins evenly. I will hook it up to the pots this year as well.

These are a few upgrades being currently installed.

• Hi/Low level sensors
• Solenoid valve to the filler line
• Integrating a Solid-state digital timer

I was under the impression that it is best to do a deep watering every few days rather than a light watering daily....
My soil is pretty heavy in the beds and hilled rows....
Do you prefer a light watering daily, or does your tank limit you to doing so?

 

[queequeg152]

queequeg152, I am hoping to stay away from usung any pumps or selenoids if possible. I am pumping about 820 or so gallons per hour into this garden when everything is linked together. For me to accomodate that, I'm thinking I would need to be mixing my nutes into something around 1500 gallons and watering straight from that. I have hella' pressure from my mainline and think things would be simpler of I could use a concentrate from a 55gal barrel and syphon from that into my mainline.
Thanks for the input tho....no decisions are final at this point.



Hey farmerguy, thanks for the reply. Would you help me understand your ideas on the Mazzei. I understand each branch will have a different flow rate. Would it make any difference if the mixing is being done close to 100 feet from the garden?? I was hoping to install whatever mixing device at the spigot on the house. I have about 50 psi at the 3/4" valve so I don't think pressure is a problem. At the moment I can run everything in the garden and I don't notice any variations of flow from one side of the garden to the next. I believe the pressure compensating emitters help with that. I was assuming if I mix everything at the house spigot, then run it to the garden thru a 100' line, everything would be mixed before it hit the garden, making the nutrient strength stable before actually entering the garden.

Looking forward to your comments!!

Im not farmerguy, but i understand what hes saying.

hes saying the venturi type are not truely porportional. by that i mean when for example you are flowing 100gph, the venturi may flow 1gph. so you have 1:100 fertilizer to water at this point
however when you are flowing like 500gph to a larger zone with more drippers your venturi will be flowing 7 or 8 gph. 500/7.5 = 1:67 not 1:100.

so unless you are flowing at the same rate to each zone, the ratio of fertilizer to water will change.

it sounds like the dosatron is truely porportional however, so it should flow 1:100 no mater the flow rate.

different legnths of hose and elevations and fittings will all effect head loss as well, so if some zones are more distant or on a higher elevation they will have different flows.


edit:
if you want to go another way, you could pump liquids from a premixed reservoir. at that point you would be simply pumping fertilizer at w/e ec you wish.
to acomplish this you would need to automate the filling of the tank such that as the tank drains to a certain level, a solenoid opens and well regulated water flows across one of those venturies untill a sensor closes the solenoid. this would allow your venturi to only operate on a set flow rate and hence have a constant dosing rate.
this however requires a pump for your drippers and solenoids which you are trying to avoid.

fwiw im guessing a 400 dosatron would be cheeper thant the aformentioned setup, and way simpler.

 

[NorTexChiliJs]

Ok queequeg152...

I have a much better understanding of the Mazzei now. If I am watering each of the 4 areas of my garden seperately, due to the different emitter count, elevation, and length of line, there will be differing pressures. Differing pressures will cause the Mazzei to siphon at different rates, right???

So I basically have two options at this point;

1) Use a Dosatron because it will maintain constant dosage no matter what pressure it is operating at....

2) Use a large tank. Premix the nutes in the tank and bring it to whatever ec I desire. Then use an electric pump to pump the mix to whatever area of the garden I need to water.

I am beginning to think I went a little too far with my plan this year. I think I would have been better off making each zone of the garden close to the same emitter count. The garden is fairly level, so elevation wouldn't be much of an issue. However since my beds are different sizes here and there, I would still end up with differing length of tubing. So a Mazzei would still have some inconsistency.

The dosatron is a bit pricey for my pocketbook. But It will probably be a time saver over mixing a large tank every time I need to water. And by the time I buy a pump and tank, I will probably be in the same ballpark on cost.

What ec do you make your mix?

 

[queequeg152]

Ok queequeg152...

I have a much better understanding of the Mazzei now. If I am watering each of the 4 areas of my garden seperately, due to the different emitter count, elevation, and length of line, there will be differing pressures. Differing pressures will cause the Mazzei to siphon at different rates, right???

So I basically have two options at this point;

1) Use a Dosatron because it will maintain constant dosage no matter what pressure it is operating at....

2) Use a large tank. Premix the nutes in the tank and bring it to whatever ec I desire. Then use an electric pump to pump the mix to whatever area of the garden I need to water.

I am beginning to think I went a little too far with my plan this year. I think I would have been better off making each zone of the garden close to the same emitter count. The garden is fairly level, so elevation wouldn't be much of an issue. However since my beds are different sizes here and there, I would still end up with differing length of tubing. So a Mazzei would still have some inconsistency.

The dosatron is a bit pricey for my pocketbook. But It will probably be a time saver over mixing a large tank every time I need to water. And by the time I buy a pump and tank, I will probably be in the same ballpark on cost.

What ec do you make your mix?

i dont think those are your ONLY choices, maby some others will chime in with other solutions.

if you are lucky you might be able to score a decent pump used on the cheep. and if you strategically time your zone watering allowing like 30 minutes in between cycles, you might be able to get away with a small and cheep reservoir they just cycles more often... i

i wouldn't be surprised if you could do it for less then 400... but not by much. if the dosatron works as advertized... it soulds like a better option in your situation, it would probably take like 20 hours to build a pump and res system, and how much do you think your time is worth?

 

[SuperHot]

I was under the impression that it is best to do a deep watering every few days rather than a light watering daily....
My soil is pretty heavy in the beds and hilled rows....
Do you prefer a light watering daily, or does your tank limit you to doing so?

I forgot to mention that last season I had only about 60% of the growing area setup with drip tape, because I row planted and my better half scatter planted. She had to use the sprinklers and my supers had the benefit of the drip tape system.

Drainage – Drainage – Drainage
If it's a sunny rain free hot day I give them a drink. The plant will take what it needs and the rest will drain away. The roots don't like to sit in water, but do enjoy a nice drink mid day. I had no problems growing monster pods. Can't wait to see how big they'll grow this year, I may even hit the 6 ft mark. Note that I grow in Vermont – not too far from the frozen tundra my Mediterranean lovely tells me.

 

[FarmerGuy]

Hey farmerguy, thanks for the reply. Would you help me understand your ideas on the Mazzei. I understand each branch will have a different flow rate. Would it make any difference if the mixing is being done close to 100 feet from the garden?? I was hoping to install whatever mixing device at the spigot on the house. I have about 50 psi at the 3/4" valve so I don't think pressure is a problem. At the moment I can run everything in the garden and I don't notice any variations of flow from one side of the garden to the next. I believe the pressure compensating emitters help with that. I was assuming if I mix everything at the house spigot, then run it to the garden thru a 100' line, everything would be mixed before it hit the garden, making the nutrient strength stable before actually entering the garden.

Looking forward to your comments!!

Really nice garden! Queequeg nailed it with his comment. The Mazzei is a straight differential pressure/venturi injector so it is non-adjustable. With a straight venturi injector, even if you maintain a constant pressure like 20 psi, the differential pressure achieved through the "pickup" (place where it sucks up the nutrient concentrate) varies alot with the flow and not in a linear manner. This means that an injection rate of 1:100 @ 5 GPM might end up being 1:60 @ 7 GPM, they're that sensitive to flow. Here's a chart I had layin' around on my computer that shows it probably a lot better than I can explain it:

So in the end, I'd definitely get the Dosatron since it holds the same injection ratio, no matter what the flow (I think it's 0.2 - 14 GPM) or the pressure (up to 85 psi I believe). This also means you can change up your garden's irrigation system from year to year and not have to worry about replacing the physical injector unit, even though the peripheral plumbing would still stay the same. Just makes like easier.

One other tip for using any nutrient injector: If you are measuring TDS/eC and aren't doing it at the drip emitter site (i.e. doing it right after the injector), it's good to using a "mixing chamber" with is just something to add turbulence to the water stream immediately after ferts are injected. Particularly in the newer units touting "fewer moving parts", the passages bend so smoothly and are so efficient that they don't do a good job of inducing turbulence and mixing it all up - that mostly happens in the plumbing to the drip tape in the garden or field. A mixing chamber can literally just be a water housing filter with a pipe instead of a filter that extends to the bottom of the container. I'll take a picture of mine and post it up here when I get a chance.

The reason being that if you take measurements immediately after the fert injector, you'll get wild readings that swing up or down. When it first happened to me I thought "what the hell is going on - this is a brand new unit". Then I checked it at the drip tape site and collected solution from the emitter and it was 100% consistent +/- 0.05 mS. However, I don't like walking back and forth to the garden (it's way outside and the injector is actually indoors down a flight of stairs) a bunch of times when I refill my stock tank every 2-3 weeks and I really, really like plumbing fittings like Tees and nifty ball valves.

The dosatron is a bit pricey for my pocketbook. But It will probably be a time saver over mixing a large tank every time I need to water. And by the time I buy a pump and tank, I will probably be in the same ballpark on cost.

What ec do you make your mix?

From what you're talking about, the Dosatron may actually be cheaper since you don't need all those peripherals to run it. As far as eC goes, I really hesitate to give advice since so many factors come into play. I've had peppers that were totally happy at 0.8 mS and grew nicely, even during heavy fruiting, and one year I got away with a ridiculous 3.3 mS (!!!!) with no ill effects, though I had to build them up to it. Those peppers were pretty freakin' hot as well, but didn't taste quite as good (I'm being picky here) as the lower-eC ones. Right now I'm getting away feeding 2.0 eC on a variety of plants ranging from 10" - 24" in height. As a caveat, I did start these off as clones (tissue culture) and they were exposed to pretty high level of nutrients from the get-go.

One of the biggest pitfalls in misdiagnosis for has been: reading too much on the internet. I've found that if I have a problem with nutrients and read too many opinions on it, I have a higher probability of making the wrong call. The last few years, I've just put the computer away and really observed what the plants are telling me, looking at different leaf angles during different times of the day, the color (too green is an early warning sign) and even behavior of the insects on or around the plants. Just start at a lower level and sloooooowly work your way up - always best to give 'em a bit too few nutrients than a bit too much. I usually increase by 0.1 - 0.15 at a time, giving at least 3 days of non-rainy weather to observe what the plants are telling me.

I know that last part probably sounds completely abstract, but it has worked for me - the plants tell us more than any book, college course, etc. if we are listening to them.

Take care,
FarmerGuy

 

[queequeg152]

what nutrient profile are you following?
im on the resh pepper profile

 

[FarmerGuy]

what nutrient profile are you following?
im on the resh pepper profile

Actually using homemade nutrients - I mix 'em myself and it seems to work a lot better than the "bought" ones I've used in the past. It has all the usual suspect components like nitrates, phosphates, FeEDTA, etc. along with some biocomponents like cytokinins and some others. It ends up being right about 7-13-28 on the nose and I use it for all stages of growth, indoors and outdoors. For injection purposes I use 6 lbs per 4 gallons, set the injector about 130:1 and it ends up spitting out 1.7-2.0 eC at the drippers at that injection rate.

I'll post a couple pictures tomorrow of how my superhot tissue stock plants are doing. They're doing really well and I even thought it would be fun to hand pollinate a couple of the flowers on the indoor ones to get really early Butch-T's using a wet Q-tip. Generally don't want the "tissue farm plants" to produce fruit since it alters hormone concentrations where I pull barely differentiated cells off the tips of new growing shoots for cloning, but they're big enough now where it doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

[AlabamaJack]

be stuck with using powders.

as long as your "stuff" is clean (read no lumps/chunks), the EZ works...you are Not limited to powders...you can use anything you want as long as it results in a "clean" liquid when it mixes in the tank...

Does your EZ unit limit you to running 40gph, or can you run multiple zones at the same time??

I do this because I seem to remember reading about pressure losses in the lines and length of runs...

Your plants are looking great, good sir!

TY

let me add that each irrigation system you develop has different needs....your main concern should be your GPH water flow and pressure...my flow is about 300 GPH so, the more emitters you have on a line, the less your pressure and flow will be...I use pressure compensated drippers and don't know if the drip tape emitters are pressure compensated or simply drippers that depend on your pressure/flow...trial and error is the best way...I designed mine on paper and worked out all the flow/pressures for each zone before I ever started building my setup (an advantage for me since fluid flow was one of my main interest in engineering school)...

I looked at the dosatron and a bunch of other injector systems but was not satisfied with the price nor performance during pressure/flow fluctuations...that's why I went EZ Flow...

 

[scratchzilla]

Superhot, you're down in southern VT yeah? Try living near barre. That place gets cold.