I Ditched Drip Irrigation And Replaced It With This AMAZING Watering Solution!
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
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Say goodbye to drip irrigation and revolutionize your watering system with an overhead sprinkler setup! In this video, Curtis Stone shows you how to install an efficient and effective sprinkler system that will transform your gardening experience!
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About Curtis Stone:
Curtis is one of the world’s most highly sought-after small farming educators. His book, The Urban Farmer, offers a new way to think about farming𑁋 one where quality of life and profitability coexist. Today, Curtis spends most of his time building his 40-acre off-grid homestead in British Columbia. He leverages his relationships with other experts to bring diverse content into the homes of gardeners and aspiring small farmers from around the world. Learn more at FromTheField.TV.
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Just a gardener here but I agree. Changed from drip to overhead and just way more productive on our homestead. No clogs or lost plants etc due to maintenance.
I live in the high desert. I find above ground watering useless. I have buried soaker hoses and have had great results. I do not have a farm like you, but it works very well for the home gardener. Love the channel. Great information in this and your other videos.
Right? Wasn't drip irrigation discovered in a desert climate (Israel).
Thanks man! Setting up my irrigation here in Missoula Montana, you just answered a lot of the obstacles I was working through plus some.
This is AWESOME! Curtis - I used sprinklers in Central Valley Cali - 2000 ft in arid mediterranean with decomposed granite (though some folks here have the heavy clay and more). It works SO well! Awesome!! Everyone thought I was crazy haha ;)
Hi Mr. Stone, thanks so much for your videos. I enjoy the homesteading and also permaculture. I've also dabbled in aquaponics and decorative fountains. I appreciate all the plumbing you have done.
Sometime I had difficulty with equalizing the water pressure throughout. How ever, if you you make a complete circle with your tubing and plug your sprinkler heads into the circle then all the water sprayers will have equal pressure. Thanks again. I look forward to learning more from your channel. Cheers.
Thanks Curtis , you're bang on. I'm overhead watering for the first time this year (it's a band aid set up right now , proper install is I/P) and the difference with direct seed crops is amazing. If your doing direct seed anything it's the only way to go.
I've tried drip so I'm really glad to see you go to overhead. I really enjoy your videos.
When at scale...the details matter. Great video...overhead is my go to for larger, more uniform watering.
This is a great idea! We only get 9 inches of rain per year (if we are lucky), and I didn't want to go through setting up a drip system everywhere. I think this would work great! Thanks!
We live in central British Columbia, where gardening is a bit of a challenge. We use drip tape throughout the vegetable garden with great success. But.....we're setting up overhead sprinklers for use in a serious heat wave only. And overhead might be better when trying to germinate direct-sown seeds.
I have installed enough underground and drip systems to 100% agree! In my opinion impact heads are by far the most cost effective way to go. I absolutely love your content!
Thank you, I live in a place with higher humidity, but I am sick of watering by hand and was looking for a watering option. Your response is a further confirmation that this is a good method.
I'm in Central Utah. We have the problem of desert temperatures during the day and cool sometimes cold temps at night. In the Spring (last week) and the Fall temperatures can drop 40 degrees. We also have the Rocky Mountains to the East (granite mines) and West (copper mines) of us, with those mountains narrowing to form a canyon mouth 20 miles to the North so we can get wind gusts that blow (us) over with the lovely extreme of flat prairie to the South. This makes gardening here a climate contest. Oh, and the altitude is 4774'. Having said all that; the majority of people here grow some type of garden and we're crazy about it. Many of us also take pride in preserving, canning and bottling what we grow ourselves. It's very common to see apartment balconies with tomato plants or herbs growing in containers. So thanks for sharing your knowledge, research and learning about growing and gardening. New ideas and thoughts are always appreciated, especially when accompanied by clear information and step by step instructions.
Hey Curtis. I'm in the Sierras mountains near Tahoe in cali. And I'm new to this area. I was in east Oakland before hand, homesteading there. Content like this is more valuable to me than my physics degree. I've got high iron clay soil. I've got 1.5 acres I'm farming. Cyber high five on this video! You're a bada$$! Thank you so so much
Thanks Curtis, I've been thinking about a dual/ hybrid system here. We have the same Cascadian soil and I completely understand your soil crust/ germination problem. On our permaculture side we do a bunch of tricks, well water, rainwater, mulch , cover crop, etc... but on our garden side it definitely needs overhead watering.
THE BEST!!!! advice I have heard so far. You rock.
What I heard you say was to fit your irrigation system to your conditions. Always pros and cons that have to be weighed. There is no single solution that fits every situation. This was a solid presentation clearly explained. Thank you.
I wish I had seen this years ago; clay soil and a valley that created a wind tunnel every evening - seeds just had such a poor germination rate! Got to the point only planted from starts, which got expensive until the greenhouse finally got built. Just bought your book and digital education; can't wait to get started with more information!
Really enjoyed your video! Thanks for sharing. Will help me when setting up the watering in my garden. Nice!
Very nice video. You explain a rather detailed system in clear and simple language. Great job on the field >and< producing this video. Thanks.
Love the videos Curtis. You can make a big improvement to this system by using Rainbird LF series sprinkler heads. These are specifically designed for agricultural applications, unlike the residential lawn sprinklers other people are recommending... The things you'll like are very even coverage, almost impossible to clog, very durable, and longer throw on less pressure and flow compared to normal impacts. The last bit is the most important thing for your application. It looks like you're relying on residential water, which can be sketchy sometimes. The LF sprinklers will work fine over a wide variety of GPM and PSI ranges, giving you more flexibility in how you lay out these systems. The even water distribution saves water $$$ because you don't need to overwater some sections to ensure less covered areas get enough. Also, they are probably cheaper than the impacts you're buying now.
Your video is really good and really appreciate this demonstration.
THANK you! This was very enlightening.
I, too, have heavy soil - silt, not clay - in an arid climate. I'm smack dab in the Blue Hole on the northern Olympic Peninsula in WA.
After you get your system set up, you can test the soak by placing a few plastic cups around the plot to see how much water collects after you run your sprinklers thru a com[;ete cycle. Good luck and grow !
I've heard you mention before that you water at night. People tell me not to do that, because of the increased spread of disease from transpiration droplets that appear in the very early morning on hot days/cool nights. When it's hot I tend to Irrigate at 10am and 2pm, but I have mostly tomatoes on drip. Do you water at night because you are just more interested in the water soaking into the ground well?
+Jeb Gardener it really depends on where you are. For me it works well.
thank you for doing these videos Curtis, I'm doing research watching your videos and others like it.
Looks so simple when you explain it. That takes the mystery out of it. How will those posts impact planting with the paper boxes? Many thanks.
Great video Curtis ! Have looked into using Hunter MP Rotator Nozzles ? The nozzles rotate quietly and they can be set at different degs. Using a simple tool . 90, 180, 270, 360. Check them out. They are designed to have matched precipitation rate from the first to the last head because each nozzle is being regulated. That is why you can run more sprinklers on one system than a traditional one. You will still need to check They are designed to apply water at a slower rate to try and eliminate repeat watering due to run off which I know that you don't have worry about be do have to be concerned that the top 3" to 6, inches do not dry out. Thanks and I love all off your videos !
I prefer impulse sprinklers like the ones you've installed because they're durable but if you don't like the noise you could employ single stream rotary sprinkler heads. They spray the same way but they are silently gear driven. The heads closest to my house are rotors. Sometimes they'll need internal filters cleaned which is why the rest of my system is comprised of impulse sprinklers like yours.
You should run two heads on one zone. When you see that much water mist you are wasting water.
I recommend using Hunter MPRotators 3000, 90 - 210 degrees distribution.
Check your water pressure, you may be able to run three rotators
I love the way the sprinklers sound.
Great video for me also, I live in dry windy high desert of Idaho. Will put this in my notes for our farm start up. One question, how much did your water consumption go up? Thanks a bunch!
I've always questioned the benefits of a miserly watering system that doesn't feed all the soil. We live in Salt Lake City, a very low humidity, dry climate, very hot in the summer. Last year for the heck of it we ran an oscillating head sprinkler in our backyard in addition to doing some drip irrigation and I'm convinced our soil is better for it.
Great video and lessons learned: 1. For general sunlight protection I highly recommend - painting outdoor items to protect them from UV sunlight - regular house paint works fine. 'Spar' Polyurethane - 1 qt can $18 has powerful UV blockers can be applied directly to wood, plastic, metal - just wipe the surface, sanding is optional, can be applied with a sponge.
Hi Curtis, you are a hero of our time and so humble to share all this knowledge freely. I have your book and I am in the process of installing a 50 bed system under overhead sprinklers. I am very interested in what your source is for all the parts, connectors, adapters, couplings, tubing, and filters? also in the book I believe it says poly sprinklers, but the link is for brass. Which do you prefer? THANK YOU!!!
Really glad you did this, I could not find the model numbers in the Kindle edition of your book.
I use galvanized metal pipe for my garden hydrants.... it might work in your situation, and eliminate the wood stakes.
- For each hydrant (starting below grade, and working up) : Endcap, 12" nipple (in the dirt), tee (at grade), 36" nipple, then hydrant above grade. Water feeds into the tee from a pipe on the ground with a barb to male pipe thread fitting.
- I use a 6' steel bar to pound a 1" diameter hole into the clay. Push the hydrant down into the hole. Stamp around it. I pull them back out during the winter so they don't freeze.
Dry, windy, clay ... sounds like my farm on Maui! I actually just installed a lot of drip this week for some beets, cukes, squash, peas ... haven't had rain in months!
No rain in months.< WUUUT
I use T posts. You can get sprinkler heads that are designed to fit on top the T post. There are a couple of thumb screws that you tighten to keep them from coming off. I also use quick connects to connect the water hoses. Great video.
So glad to see this now before i set up my whole farm with drip
Great clip! Thanks!
Seems like wind would be a concern now since you are spraying so high. Nothing takes the place of flood irrigation which has been proven for 1000's of years in dry/high country. I've tried what you did (drip and spray) and never had really good results. Then when I planted my home garden and really thought about it, I setup the water path so that i can flood one side of the field and the water works it's way to the other end of the field and saturates the ground. It really works well here in 100 degree Texas summer.
Our climate and soil conditions are similar to yours. Thanks for sharing
Smart work and I love the sound of sprinklers too
HI! I'm wondering why did you choose that height? The reason I ask is because it seems like there would be more air evaporation with the higher distance to the ground. Do you find this to be the case or is there a risk/reward scenario that I'm not thinking of (maybe ease of adjustment?). Just curious. Any time we've done 'overhead' we've done from the ground an adjustable circular pattern head so you minimize the misting/evap. I'm also curious about watering mid-day. I use to live in an area with hard clay and high heat (100+) and we'd get leaf burn if we watered overhead mid-day.
I really like those impact sprinkler head options with the diff size nozzle...i currently have orbit gear drives...and find them way too costly to replace as i have 10 on my property. very cool for my lawn and future veg garden.
amazing videos thanks
Question: Do you find it better to use a pipe for each circuit, keeping all valves at the source, or to run control wire with less pipe, putting valves at various places in the field?
To equalize pressure at all spray heads or drip heads run a full loop on each zone. Yes more pipe but solves the problem perfectly. I did this for my drop & spray heads.
Hey Curtis super cool video man your vids are always top shelf and informative. I have a couple questions about the differences with drip and overheads, hopefully you can answer them.
Firstly I was wondering if you use the overhead system in the zones where you are using landscape fabric? my thinking here is that a lot of the water from the overheads would not penetrate the soil very well because of the landscape fabric and therefor a lot of water would end up pooling in the pathways. Is this something to consider?
Secondly I'm curious as to how much difference there is in water usage compared to drip irrigation? Have you ran any numbers on this in the past? or is it something your not too concerned with since Canada has ample stores of fresh water? I live in a semi-arid environment in Australia and water usage is a hot topic in these parts since its quite scarce.
Thanks for all your input your youtube channel is a game changer for the industry.
Great video.
Thanks dear
Curtis i have 2 sprinklers like yours solid metal / brass but I can't figure out how to get them to spray evenly!! most of water is going long distance and very little near by.
Well done
Hey i also forgot to ask, how even is the spray pattern of the sprinkler and does the water tear soft leaf vegetables? I have had some issues with other impact sprinklers which has made me sceptical about their suitability in the vegetable garden.
Awesome advice. I think my DT gets too hot when I don't run it and burns the little seedlings sometimes. Going to get into a little overhead irrigation myself...
I did like the idea of the Drip(not directly effected by sun(certainly depends on soil conditions)), but I certainly can see the "time saver"(permanent(essentially)) that the timed spray system would introduce.
hey, great tip on teflon!
How many labor hours do you think this saves by not having to deal with drip when turning over beds and such? Is it significant? Fortier talks about this as a reason for why he goes pretty much full sprinklers.
+Ideias Radicais probably adds 5 minutes per bed per rotation.
he calls it "drip irritation"..:-P
Why not just run pvc pipe and run zones with electric lines like a lawn sprinkler. Timers are cheap and way less hassle I would think
PE is vastly superior for this application. It can be reconfigured indefinitely. Some of the PE on my pool is over 40 years old, having been pulled from the well at my parents' old house by the previous owner. His timer does have zone valves. You can see them when he's showing the box. That's why it's a $100 timer instead of a $30 timer.
I use lawn irrigation timers and valves for my system. They are relatively inexpensive and they work well for pretty much any small system whether is low volume drip or impulse sprinklers. I like to pick up spare parts in the fall when they mark them down at the home improvement store. I installed water taps and power outlets at the same time down the middle of the garden. It allows me to rotate my crops.
Hello. Your system is really amazing but I wonder how you get that powerful water pressure on your sprinklers
Oh man you should look up opensprinkler. it's awesome. I've been using it for a couple years. can build it yourself if you are handy that way. next year I will be hooking up soil moisture sensors to run it off of for more efficient watering. one experiment I'm trying this year is running a zone of.misters that run for 2 minutes every 2 hours during the day to keep greens and spinach from bolting
First Last can u use shade cloth for bolting?
The number of comments you've received just since yesterday should give you a good idea of just how popular you are. I'm surprised, though, at the number of people who have no idea who you are or what you're trying to do. I for one couldn't be happier that you've ditched drip irrigation (I had my epiphany about twenty years ago). There seem to be so few people who grapple with climates like ours, which is one of the reasons why I benefit so much from both your successes and failures (I love these vloggers who toss a bunch of seeds into their gardens, let the rain take care of the rest, then emerge a few weeks later to a food jungle of every imaginable fruit and vegetable, all weed- and pest-free). You understand that what's best for the plant matters far more than your water bill, particularly since you're in the business of providing plants. I think you're going to be extremely happy with what you've done here.
Incidentally, about the clay soil. If driving that hammer begins to rattle your teeth, consider renting an auger from Home Depot. Saves time and joints.
Hi there, nice set up you got there, just wanted to know how you pump the water into the sprinklers (the pressure required in bars plus pump hp rating would be good to know), and is the pump connected to the timer?
learned something, TY.
problems i notice about your plot. no windbreaks. stop the wind less evaporation if you can get more leaf mould into the soil better and newspaper, grass clippings can act as a mulch slowing evaporation too. shade can also aid plants such as vegetables to grow better though i'm not sure what greens you are growing. so maybe a few fruit trees spaced around the plot could provide a few of these ideas?
Any concerns with getting the plants wet and having disease issues? or do you only grow certain plants under overhead irrigation?
what about the area of the bed closest to the sprinkler, it doesn't look like it gets much water and the coverage is uneven... is this very minimal so that you hardly notice or is it a real problem.
I'm considering overhead also but was conserned with watering midday. I thought it was bad to water while the sun was on the plants. Also concerned with fungus, mold, etc. What do you think?
Cool irregation system. I have just installed a drip irregation system in my greenhouse. In that enviroment it works great. I use the Gardena Smart System.
Nice plumbing tip never thought about it
hugelkultur for the win. I've been trenching 3' down and tossing in wood chips and logs to a little under grade (mixing in soil) then mounding the remaining soil to form a mound.
If noise ever becomes a problem, Hunter PGS rotors will do the same job quietly.
Your videos are an inspiration I wish I had an acre to start a garden of my own
When using overhead irrigation can you still use a fabric or does the water not penetrate enough?
This system work with taller plants like tomatoes and such? Not sure what kind of soil we have, but we are in the midwest and our garden is only 23'x24'
and I've tried subirrigation and soaker hoses which i haven't got to work well, and settled on pvc in ground to 2 different locations for sets of orbit valves then 1/2" poly with those little coloured spray heads in it to cover areas I need. I have some of the valves terminating in garden hose thread so I hook up some regular garden hose and regular sprinklers. it's good and I can change easily. ps. hi from vernon :)
Just a data point: I do the same kind of thing with T posts, often with the posts on double duty holding fence or training wire in addition to sprinkler mounting.
Thanks. Very helpful. Just have to find a good source of impact heads,,,
What about using the overhead watering during pre germination and a few weeks after germination. Then run the drip irrigation?
OMG! Thank you for posting this!!! I see you still have your drip system. Do you still use both for different reasons? I live in SLC, UT. It's super dry.
I'm going to try over head on a section I have been battling watering the crops for a cpl of yrs if this works for me its going to make my watering so much easier I too have lost crops due to improper watering generally not enough, but since hurricane Irma took out all my crops and now I just finish pulling out what was left and starting over here in Tampa Florida it makes since to try something new I'm working on a full acer and looking forward to see the results ill let you know.
hi there i want to know for which vegetable farms we can use sprinklers and there is chance of weed growth if we water the whole are?
Please reply which vegetables we can use sprinkers
Yeah man! I am not a fan of drip either especially for seedlings and any starter plant. Maybe effective for established plants but not for new ones. I currently hand water and chalk it up as a work out. Your sprinkler idea I like. I think I willd deploy.
Are these sprinkler heads sustainable? We've had issues with the mechanism and since then switched to micro sprinkler heads on 12mm poly tubing. The mist covers 6ft radius.
Could I do a 20' X 20' garden with just a regular impact sprinkler?
Is there a more recent follow up video to this? did the sprinklers do the job? Anything about this original setup you'd change? I plan to buy the book, just curious if you've changed things since then
If you irrigate from a pond or stream is there more chance of Ecoli problems with this sort of system? I'm in rural Ontario with a pond. Should this be a concern?
The good news is you're improving the relative humidity.
I have a 20X80 garden and use two ratcheting sprinklers and water in the am before the sun hits it so it has time for the leaves to dry.
Would not the Drip system be good to leave in your beds to allow you to add fertilizer or food to your crops or the soil?
Here in northern Colorado, it is dry and high. Water is expensive and in short supply, so overhead watering is just too much of a waste of water. More than half goes to evaporation. I used overhead sprinklers for years, but the cost of water has made this impractical. Drip is more work, the drip tape clogs, need replacement, etc. The bottom line for us is it saves hundreds of dollars per season in water costs and is better for Mother Earth. If I had an inexhaustible well, I'd go back to overhead tomorrow.
Word, good video.
well done
Just 3 days ago bought a 2 zone timer and poly from Home Depot. kinda relieved to see that you use the same product. I have really good soil, and humidity. I am installing drip and it should be fine. Have you ever used 1/4" drip line from HD for smaller plots?
I used fencing T-Post for my risers and they seem to be working well. They also give you a nice channel to run the hose up. I hold mine in place with a worm clamp. In the video it looked like you had a bed of lettuce without landscape fabric. Is that something your experimenting with to help with the heat as they get established after transplanting?
Love what you do. 2 things with this though
1) Teflon tape sucks bad.... use good pipe dope (T-2)
2) Curious on how you resolve new weed issues
I live in an area with loads of high wind consistently (Lubbock Texas). Would this work for me at all?
Thanks for this Curtis! I too, have TOTALLY had it with drip! I've had quite a few line blowouts and breaks, some of which while I've been away. I have half of my garden (vertical crops) in drip and needed a solution for the other half, which is all raised beds, something I was not looking forward to drilling into. This is the perfect solution. Thanks for all the exact pressure and degree and timing info. I'm going on vacation tomorrow. Hoping to install a jury rigged version of this today. I have hesitated to do overhead since I like to turn off the water on certain crops like garlic and potatoes when they're ready to harvest. Has the overhead irrigation impacted crops like that or are you just so dry up there?
8:10 Curtis has the rainbow sprinkler. It's a special kind of irrigation.
In Las Vegas overhead is the only way to go. Shade cloth as well. I got shit for it (evaporation blah blah blah) but I have great germination and still rocking it with lettuce as well.
FYI, teflon tape should be applied thin at the first part of the thread and thick towards the end thus giving a perfect seal.
Perfect vid at a perfect time as always.
I guess it depends on your environment but getting the plants wet here causes all kinds of problems. Definitely a simpler system. We use pvc drilled, never clogs. Zone 10b.
fungus and pests ?
does gypsum soften clay enough to make a difference in watering?
I felt the same, but starting to swing back again. Failed dripper points, and uneven pressure and distribution was my hate!
Also clay here, big time.
Now that I have a dripper pipe that can clean/unclog itself and evenly spreads water at 0.9 bars only, I am sold again. Overhead is just KILLING me with weed issues. Couch/Bermuda/Kweek loves overhead watering :(