Drip Tape Irrigation

Heritage · September 20, 2011

Jack,

I just noticed biscgolf's post above quoting a price of $300 for 3000' of the netafim system. That's a lot cheaper than the prices on the SprinlerMart website and puts it in competition with a drip tape system. I've never used the netafim system but the thicker poly pipe should be impervious to crows. The dealer should be able to tell you. Another option is to use a plastic mulch over the regular drip tape or bury the drip tape a few inches (I would use plastic mulch no matter which irrigation system I decided upon). The plastic mulch might, or might not, deter the crows - they are extremely clever and might soon learn how to find the tape through the slits in the plastic. Also, I'm not sure of the flow rate on the Netafim system biscgolf was referring to, so you would need to get that info to see how many 100' rows you can put on one header line. It sounds like your Feb. planting will give you a good opportunity to try either system on a small scale. Hopefully, biscgolf will post his source for the Netafim system - I might switch to it myself.

September 20, 2011	#11
Heritage Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,255	Jack, I just noticed biscgolf's post above quoting a price of $300 for 3000' of the netafim system. That's a lot cheaper than the prices on the SprinlerMart website and puts it in competition with a drip tape system. I've never used the netafim system but the thicker poly pipe should be impervious to crows. The dealer should be able to tell you. Another option is to use a plastic mulch over the regular drip tape or bury the drip tape a few inches (I would use plastic mulch no matter which irrigation system I decided upon). The plastic mulch might, or might not, deter the crows - they are extremely clever and might soon learn how to find the tape through the slits in the plastic. Also, I'm not sure of the flow rate on the Netafim system biscgolf was referring to, so you would need to get that info to see how many 100' rows you can put on one header line. It sounds like your Feb. planting will give you a good opportunity to try either system on a small scale. Hopefully, biscgolf will post his source for the Netafim system - I might switch to it myself.