Can anyone give me an idea how long to water with drip irrigation?

[snarf7]

I have 8 plants ready to go and I'm just getting my watering system setup. I bought one of those Rain Bird kits to setup automatic drip irrigation, the emitters on it are rated for 1 gph. Assuming I have one emitter per plant, approximately how long and how often should I be watering? I'm in central PA so we get quite a bit of rain naturally so the timer I got has a 'rain delay' feature that will postpone the normal schedule when it rains. Soil is loose down to about a foot then you start to hit clay so I want to be sure I'm not over-watering.

Thanks!

 

[brewcat]

What plants? Not all watering fits all plants.

You'll have to do your own testing. Turn it on for 15 minutes. See how the water is soaking in. Buy a moisture meter and check the soil around all the plants.

Your soil moisture and weather conditions will guide you in how often you should be watering.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I have 8 plants ready to go and I'm just getting my watering system setup. I bought one of those Rain Bird kits to setup automatic drip irrigation, the emitters on it are rated for 1 gph. Assuming I have one emitter per plant, approximately how long and how often should I be watering? I'm in central PA so we get quite a bit of rain naturally so the timer I got has a 'rain delay' feature that will postpone the normal schedule when it rains. Soil is loose down to about a foot then you start to hit clay so I want to be sure I'm not over-watering.

Thanks!

1 Are they plants or rhizomes?
2 Are they in pots or in the ground?
3 If they're in the ground, what type of soil texture are you dealing with (sand/silt/clay %).

 

[snarf7]

1 Are they plants or rhizomes?
2 Are they in pots or in the ground?
3 If they're in the ground, what type of soil texture are you dealing with (sand/silt/clay %).

They are being planted from rhizomes in the ground. I dug down about a foot and put in a wooden box frame to keep em from spreading too crazy. Once you get down 1ft - 1 1/2 ft you hit a layer of clay, but everything above that is nice pasture topsoil (a little sandy, not much) mixed in with some potting mix and compost.

Obviously I'm going to test it and do some trial and error to get it right but I'm trying to get a good starting point to target right off the bat so I'm not shooting in the dark

 

[Summers]

Growing up out west we used the deficit irrigation method for our crops, but for central pa you are either zone 6a or 5b, find out what the total rain fall for your zone and just watch the soil moisture.

PA zone map
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-pennsylvania-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deficit_irrigation

Or just go buy a cheap soil moisture meter and always know. Giving you water durations for your control wont help you because we don't know how dry/moist the soil is currently. Some of the new rain bird models have sensors that determines the water deficit for you based on your zone location so the unit is contently adjusting the water times to help conserve water and not over water your plants which can lead to fungus growth.

 

[B-Hoppy]

They are being planted from rhizomes in the ground. I dug down about a foot and put in a wooden box frame to keep em from spreading too crazy. Once you get down 1ft - 1 1/2 ft you hit a layer of clay, but everything above that is nice pasture topsoil (a little sandy, not much) mixed in with some potting mix and compost.

Obviously I'm going to test it and do some trial and error to get it right but I'm trying to get a good starting point to target right off the bat so I'm not shooting in the dark

First off, understand that when it's said that hops need lots of water, that's pretty much directed towards a mature plant that's growing a foot a day relative to most other crops. Most of the failures with rhizomes I've seen over the years have been due to drowning them. All they need is to be kept from drying out until they have some roots established and have sent up some shoots.

Once things are progressing, think about the old average of about 1 inch per week during the growing season. If it doesn't rain for a week, you'll have to supplement with your irrigation but how much is another question. Mature plants are said to require something like 3 gal per day which is way more than you'll need. I would suggest maybe 3 gal per week during their establishment year. They put really deep tap roots down so if you can water very slow and long you'll be encouraging that deep rooting to take place and will have less to worry about if you ever miss a watering in the future. Like others have mentioned, it's a learning process due to the factors unique to your own growing situation. Just don't overthink it and they'll grow fine for you.

 

[snarf7]

First off, understand that when it's said that hops need lots of water, that's pretty much directed towards a mature plant that's growing a foot a day relative to most other crops. Most of the failures with rhizomes I've seen over the years have been due to drowning them. All they need is to be kept from drying out until they have some roots established and have sent up some shoots.

Once things are progressing, think about the old average of about 1 inch per week during the growing season. If it doesn't rain for a week, you'll have to supplement with your irrigation but how much is another question. Mature plants are said to require something like 3 gal per day which is way more than you'll need. I would suggest maybe 3 gal per week during their establishment year. They put really deep tap roots down so if you can water very slow and long you'll be encouraging that deep rooting to take place and will have less to worry about if you ever miss a watering in the future. Like others have mentioned, it's a learning process due to the factors unique to your own growing situation. Just don't overthink it and they'll grow fine for you.

That's all good info, I appreciate it. That gives me a baseline to start from and tweak as my conditions dictate. I'll start em off watering manually and just ensuring the soil around the rhizomes is moist but not soaked. I'll also be prepared to cover them if we get a big t-storm (we get a couple a month here) so they don't get drenched to the point they're sitting in water rotting. Once they get going I'm sure they'll be more hands-off.

 

[corkybstewart]

I live in the desert, summertime temps average 100+, and we count on zero rainfall, unless we're having a good monsoon season. My mature hops get 2 gallons twice a week(Monday morning and Thursday morning, 1Am until 2AM). If the plants look bad I may bump that to 3 times per week.