From:
Kate Daniel
Date:
May 10 14:01 UTC
Short link
Hello, everyone -
The name of the company and its product is "Irrigro." They are Canadian. The
guy who runs the company (I think he's also the inventor) seems to be a retired
engineer. Extremely nice and helpful, but he requires patience during a
conversation because he speaks very haltingly and slowly. Worth it, though;
he's extremely knowledgeable. We use this system for our food gardens and
water them from our rainwater cisterns, using only the head pressure. I have
several recommendations: 1) if you want to 'snake' the line through your
beds, pay a little extra for the jacketed version. The basic line is great for
straight runs, but we wanted to snake it and you get sharp bends when you do
that. We had to use pins to keep the bends gradual, and even then, it's still
a small problem. 2) install flow controllers from the get-go. They're cheap
and will prevent the mishap that we experienced: draining our 2500 gallon tank
in 4 days, when the flow should have been only around 350
gallons. Too much head, therefore way too much pressure through the lines,
therefore way too much flow. You'll also need the controllers if you're using
well or city water. 3) If you have a hilly site (like we do), the drip lines
must be installed on contour, since they are not pressure compensating. The
header line can run downhill. The lines must be covered with soil or mulch as
they are UV-sensitive. The system is designed to be left on 24/7 with a flow
rate of 1-quart/linear foot/24 hours. We turn ours on for ~2 days, then off
for one, then on for 2, then off for one, etc. The garden maintains a lovely
moisture level - just right. This system is also designed for, and works best
when, the inside of the lines gets a bit gunked up. You can put manure tea in
your gravity feed, for example, and it actually helps the system perform
better. There are diagrams on the website that show how to hook it up to a
gravity feed bucket system if you don't have a cistern, or
if the cistern is below your garden site. The owner told me that most of his
clients are commercial growers since he can't afford to advertise and relies on
word-of-mouth. He said his commercial growers report earlier and significantly
larger yields with fewer disease and pest problems. He says this is because
the soil maintains a constant moisture level that is close to ideal, therefore
relieving the plants of any water-related stress. According to him, even
frequent irrigation puts plants through the "it's too wet - now it's just right
- now it's too dry - now it's too wet again...." cycle. He said this system
always ensures that the plants have the ideal moisture level for whatever
process they're in. We couldn't be more pleased with its performance.
The website is www.irrigro.com
I'll be happy to answer any questions, if I can. The documentation was a
little difficult for me to understand, so feel free to contact me if you'd like
input...
Ganga
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