watering 101

[Budman2012]

Ha what a great topic

Its 1 that is overlooked sumtimes

In the hot hot days ur plantz absolutely love to suck moisture all day

But unfortunatley so does the sun so remember 2 soak them good ; )

 

I carry water from the nearby creek (A nice little flowing spot with good healthy marine life) and the plantz seem to love the organic matter in the water. iam confident that i could grow plants with this water alone and no other fertilizers. except I use a lil cow manure my organic mull is good ya.

[rex]

dig yaself a 3-6ft deep x 2-4ft across, line the hole with heavy duty plastic bags and use the rain saving crystals...

 

i would take a 40L drum per 4-5 plants, have hoses coming out the bottom leading to the base of each plant and fill that weekly...if the holes at the bottom are small enough it will drip for a few days then the water crystals would take care of the rest

 

if u are going to use a water pump, be smart and take the fucker with u AND when using it, place it in some bushes to take it outter view and muffle some noise.....nothing more suss than a water pump leading into the middle of the bush

i live near you and have a simlar problem but i have just found a produt that i think might help if any one has tried it i would like to here this is the web site link i hope it works http://www.ecobagindustries.com.au/index.htm and i have done the drum thing and i put nutri tech triple ten in the drum for them as well any comments

[winston_stagthigh]

Thats a really interesting method with the dead sheep, I was wondering If you could just use any carcas in the hole and just put cotton wool down as a substitute to the sheeps fur?

[Budder]

I doubt the wool does much it would decompose with the rest of the sheep imo.

you could use any carcas, Kangaroos, fish, go to your local butcher and ask if they have any pig carcasses that have had all the meat cut off them, that would be cheap and more ideal for some people that dont own guns.

 

with the fish, remember to wash them thoroughly with fresh water before you put them in the ground to get rid of any remaining salt. we dump a shit load of fish in the hole when we plant out mango trees, they grow like crazy when they hit that fish, sometimes you get gas pockets in the soil from the decomposing flesh though not sure what effect this has on the plants but when you accidentally step on a "gas pocket" you foot sinks into the ground and it Stinks! like someone farted and tried to cover it up with propane gas.

[Pam]

Since I only grow on my own land I can't speak about bush growing, but I used to bury a 2 liter bottle with the cap off and the bottom cut away next to each plant (started doing this with tomatos) Bury the bottle cap end down. When you water you fill the bottle and this gets the water right to the roots, and you know how much you've given.

 

My first year in this hellish hot place we had a drought that was so bad I dug down after watering for 30 min only to find the water had only made it down 2 inches (5cm?) I had to use soapy water to soften the soil just to dig plants up to try to save them. Large trees were dying from the drought it was so bad. The soil here is dense clay, which is good at holding water, but once it goes dry it's like brick.

[jimbojones5678]

Since I only grow on my own land I can't speak about bush growing, but I used to bury a 2 liter bottle with the cap off and the bottom cut away next to each plant (started doing this with tomatos) Bury the bottle cap end down. When you water you fill the bottle and this gets the water right to the roots, and you know how much you've given.

 

My first year in this hellish hot place we had a drought that was so bad I dug down after watering for 30 min only to find the water had only made it down 2 inches (5cm?) I had to use soapy water to soften the soil just to dig plants up to try to save them. Large trees were dying from the drought it was so bad. The soil here is dense clay, which is good at holding water, but once it goes dry it's like brick.

You are on the money with that pearler Granny.

Another way that I use for larger plants, is to bury Ag pipe (the weaper one - with tiny holes in it) covered with stocking.

We bury it down around 4ft for the same effect with a larger root system.

You got some moves Granny....

I dig the angle planting method too. We have done that with Strawberry's before to good effect, much easier to bury a node that way.

Oh, and I tried that liver/bacon dog food recipe - there were no complaints but one brawl.... Thanks!

I have to tell the pack that I forgot how to cook it!

 

Jimbo

[marsbie]

Hi, u might like to give these a go.

Water Tubes

 

 

 

 

A unique watering and weather protection system. The Water Tube is made out of machine-blown polyethylene.

It is installed around the plant like an ordinary tree guard but can be filled with over 20 litres of water which slowly drips out and waters your plant.

While filled with water the water tube offsets variations in climatic conditions: It warms the interior when the atmosphere is cold and maintains a cooler temperatures in fierce direct sunshine with a ultra-violet resistant outer jacket.

Water Tubes are easy to install, just like a standard tree guard they use 3 wooden stakes (not included) to hold the Water Tube up.

 

* Protects and nurtures newly established trees and plants

 

* Will cut costs or watering by up to 75 %

 

* Can increase your ability to extend plantings and increase yield by a mighty 300%

 

* Encourages faster establishment and increased growth rate of newly planted trees

 

* Has at least a 2 year field life, is completely reusable and is 100% recyclable.

* As seen on the ABC TV's Gardening Show

 

http://www.fmb.com.au/index1.html

[WantDaChronic]

to me that water tube is just a plastic bag with a few sticks holding it up so that when you put water in it, it doesnt fall over...why not just use those plsatic bags you get from woolies, would probably do the same job

[jazzm]

i'm going to grow near a creek and was planning on using a small pump to soak the plants. i would only be able to get to them maybe once every 1 or 2 weeks. the soil is good and we get a bit of rain. would it be ok to give them a good soaking this often or would i be better off filling a big container with water and putting drip lines off it? i'm going to have maybe 30 plants.

[67Special]

Once they're big, your plants will need about 10-20 litres per week, so if you're gone for a fortnight, you'd want a container of about 600-1200L. This is assuming that you're growing through summer

 

Soaking once a fortnight won't do imo, even weekly is a stretch when it's hot

 

Can you grow closer to home?

...or better still, live closer to your grow