DIY Watering System

[BlackThumb]

Greetings! I am fairly new to posting here, but have been reading for a while and find myself in awe on a regular basis.

This spring I will plant my first garden. I spent last summer taking out trees, digging out bermuda, composting, and then covering my 25x35 foot area with black plastic to kill the remaining Bermuda as best I can.

Here in Zone 9, I will soon be forming my beds, testing and augmenting the soil as needed. Wish I could afford raised beds, but that will have to wait.

My question is about watering. But if you see problems with anything in my post, please correct me. I am VERY interested in success. I am also VERY limited by finances, so I am not able to really buy the perfect system. I have to construct it.

I plan one 3' wide east/west row of corn along the north edge of the garden, next to the fence.

Then I plan five 3' wide north/south rows with 2' cardboard paths between each row.

I thought I was a genius to come up with a plan for an underground drip system, only to realize really quickly that there is nothing new under the sun, and I am maybe 50 years too late. My inexperience showing...

I have collected about 200 feet of 1/2 and 3/4" garden hose from FreeCycle. I want to run a 3/4" from the faucet to the southern edge of the garden, dividing it at every row, attaching T connectors to lengths of 1/2" hose into which I have poked holes with a heated awl. Then the north end of each hose will be capped, and all 1/2" hoses will be buried. The corn will be watered by hand.

Does that sound workable so far? Has anyone done this before, and are there things I need to know about?

I have one concern, that being that the water requirement may be different for different plants. Is that a reasonable concern? If so, can the amount of water supply be regulated by the number of holes in the hose?

Basically, am I nuts? Is this an efficient system?

 

[lesa]

Hey blackthumb, welcome! I am not an expert on watering, but your plan sounds well thought out. Good for you, for using freecycle!! Just so you are not disappointed- remember you cannot plant one row of corn. It would be better if you planted the same amount in a square. You will not get any corn otherwise...Keep planning and keep growing. I envy you in zone 9, my spring garden plans are still months and months away! Enjoy and keep us posted on your progress...

 

[BlackThumb]

Thanks, Lesa !

I had thought about almost doing square foot gardening with the corn, a square yard with nine plants. What do you think? I actually have three varieties to plant, one each month for three months, just to play with them in comparison. Whether in square feet or whether in blocks of like varieties, I hope to remember to plant them appropriately.

I feel very blessed to live where it warms up early. Actually, it was 54 today, but will be 20 degrees cooler tonight, so the ground really doesn't warm up for a while. But I am setting up a seedling center in the house in the next few weeks, just to get a nice head start.

Thanks again for the encouragement! I thought I might be a little nuts....