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Abbotsford, B.C. Canada

I will be using those plastic 55 gallon barrels for collecting rainwater. I will have 12 barrels set up(660 gallons total), How many gallons does an average patch(36'x39') of 2 plants use throughout the growing season?

2/13/2003 10:54:02 PM

Montoursville, PA

Geese....depends on how you deliver that water to the patch.
Other factors enter in. How well the patch holds the water has much to do with humis content. Overhead sprinkling would use the most due to evaporation loss. Drip irrigation reduces evaporation. Between you and mother nature you are likely going to use fifty to one hundred gallons over a two to three day period. There are different opinions as to how wet is right. My feelings are that from two inches down to ten inches should be noticably damp but not soaking wet. If for any reason you get drenched you need to back off to maintain that unexplainable reasonably damp condition. This best enables uptake of moisture and the fertilizers you are offering. This is my understanding of the condition best needed. Each year and each patch is different. Learning to controll to even dampness is a learning experience strengthened by working with your conditions.

2/13/2003 11:45:13 PM

Deer Park WA

Evenly Moist to me is, watch the weather forcasts and adjust accordingly, then pray for a little luck! Oh how many gallons of water per week to keep the patch evenly moist = all of them.......... + mulching helps alot

2/14/2003 12:17:07 AM

Bemidji, MN

I use a 300 gallon water trough for my water to warm in. On my 30'x30' plot, 300 gallons will put 5/8" water on the plot each time I use it. Steve

2/14/2003 9:21:15 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

To provide 1 inch of irrigation water requires 27,000 gallons of water per acre. Or 620 gallons per 1000 square feet. So take the vines entire root zone area & multiple by .62 (gallons per square foot) to determine the number of gallons per plant to provide the euivalent of 1 inch of precipitation.
This seems consistent with a quote I read of a Heavy Hitter (Joe Pukos I think) who said he was using about 100 galllons of water per plant per day.
Keep in mind that there are a LOT of variables to consider here. 100 gallons might be too much for a heavy soil. 100 gallons could also be insufficient on a sloping sandy patch in a low humidity region that is windy & hot.

Steve

2/14/2003 9:31:02 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

when the patch is ready and throughtout the season to test for compaction pour a gallon of water on a spot. See how long it takes to go away...see how deep it penetrates depth wise.and how far it spreads out. Will give ya a good idea of the soil's ability to take in water. Then see what depth the soil will hold together in your hand with a tight squeeze to get out a drop...it should mold to your hand...thats damp enough..work on getting that and you'll do fine. then figure out how much water and for what length of time and how often to keep that soil that way!! Yikes theres more to it when you think about it! Grow em Big! Chuck

2/14/2003 9:48:50 AM

Amherst, WI

Darren, if you ran out the whole 12 barrels on your patch, that should be the equevalent of 3/4 inch of rain or so. Last year I used a 12 foot pool (about $20) which held 1100 gal or so, to collect rain water. The surface area of the roof was bigger than the patch, so the pool supplied roughly .5 in. of water to the patch and with only .5 in of rain the pool was overflowing.

2/15/2003 10:27:24 AM

between collecting rain and hauling water from a lake i pumped 3000 gallons.plus whatever came down from the sky..this was for one plant.

2/15/2003 11:45:58 AM

Montoursville, PA

The tricky thing here still comes down to observation and close management. On a hot windy day there could be as much as fifty percent evaporation before the water enters the soil from overhead sprinkling method of watering. Therfore one day may require twice as much water to achive the desired results as on a cooler no wind day.

Drip irrigation eliminates most of the evaportation as it enters the soil almost immediately. Therefor less gallons would be needed per thousand square feet. The folks at Drip Works.com have some impressive gain records because drip irrigation improves a number of factors related to water entering the soil. There would be less difference from one day to the next using drip systems.

Using under ground irrigation will be the best system but it may prove to be less than cost efficient. There are no known records or data for underground. Drip Works folks have an eye on my experiment with under ground being reported on or in my diary. Once the ground is saturated to the desired level of dampness less water by gallons will be needed to maintain the desirable conditions. How many less remains to be seen as we work through the summer.

The best system requires the least water and delivers that water with miniminal evaporation and thermal shock to the plants. All elements of fertilization entering the soil via the watering system will also be improved nice and easy with less peaks and valleys in availability.

2/15/2003 12:14:09 PM

Montoursville, PA

Using Steve's numbers of .62 rounded down to .60 for ease of mental math a thousand sqare foot patch is calling for 600 gallons a week to have recieved one inch of water. Devide that by seven and we come up with eighty five gallons a day.

Now consider your losses by evaporation and help from mother and you have a ball park daily use. Two fifty five gallon drums a day may be enough for a thousand square foot patch. Two drums a day is at least in the ball park.

2/15/2003 12:37:42 PM

Abbotsford, B.C. Canada

thankyou to everyone who has replied to my question about the rain water. I think I will stick with the 12 barrel idea, and then refill them with city water if I run out of the rain water. I will let the city water sit for a few days and airate it to help get out the chlorine and slightly raise the temperature of the water as well.

2/16/2003 2:39:06 PM

Montoursville, PA

One day in the sun will warm up a barrel quite a bit. Don't forget to put a few drops of kerosein on the open stored water or use other skeeter control.

2/16/2003 2:52:57 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Now Dwain's got me thinking. With some thoughtful planning, I could possibly use water from my goldfish pond to irrigate the Pumpkins. Warmer than tap. More nitrates. Solves the mosquito issue. Chlorine disipation takes place gradually as the pond fills. Hmmmm.....I already add tap water to the pond slowly in the drier summer months so as to not shock the fish.....could work.
Steve

2/16/2003 4:59:42 PM

Montoursville, PA

When you have everything tweaked to about as fine as you think you are able to tweak it is time to check the PH of your water source.

There has been little or no talk of this factor. Is not the water a major player? Could you adjust your totals to better balance the water with the total? Might final tweaking include change of the soil PH by a point, or part there of, to accept the water and be right where you think you should be in PH?

2/17/2003 8:37:30 AM