Irrigating with cold water

[SuntannedSwede]

I would like to try growing with drip tape under a layer of plastic mulch, but I’ve already run into a major problem- the water from the faucet is ice cold. I usually get around this by watering by hand with a rain barrel, but that’s not feasible with the plastic mulch. Is there any way I can moderate the temperature of the water with the irrigation system?

[imp]

Cheaply, run a black water hose laid out in the sun before the con★★★★★★★★ where it goes to the drip tape. Make sure it doesn't get too hot though, LOL, or you'd cook the roots; down here, the tomatoes love a cool drink in the summer, but we run above 100 F often enough in the summer/fall seasons.

[bower]

Yeah, for the hose heating effect you would want to mix it with cold water before applying. Even in the north a hose of any color gets way too hot. You will have to do some tinkering to figure it out, and I hate to say it but, YMWV if the day is sunny or not... a lot!

My well water here is ice cold too, but it's part of the deal my tomatoes have to get used to that. Would a drip be worse than a drench, keeping the soil cold? I don't know..

[Douglas_OW]

You could put a small pump, maybe a pond pump, into your rain barrel and use that to feed your irrigation system. In between waterings, you can top off the barrel and let the water come to air temperature before the next pumping cycle. You could also add a float switch to the barrel so that it refills as it pumps. That would keep your barrel full, and temper the water temperature as it is used. This should eliminate the chance of the rain barrel water contaminating your water supply.

Plan B is similar to above, but involves getting a 55 gallon drum and putting it in line between the water source and the irrigation system. Don't consider this if you aren't very comfortable with installing vacuum breaks and back flow check valves, which I have a feeling you might not be.

Jim

[joseph]

I can't envision how tomatoes would be negatively affected by cold water from a drip-irrigation system.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by joseph

I can't envision how tomatoes would be negatively affected by cold water from a drip-irrigation system.

I am also of the same opinion as Joseph.
I plant out when the soul temperature reaches 50F. I doubt that the city water will be nearly that cold. Considering that drip watering is shallow and at low rate, the effect of cold water won,t last very long, with warm soil under sun.

[FourOaks]

Would have to agree as well. I have a shallow well on my property, as long as ice isnt shooting out of the water hose, then I dont worry.

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by joseph

I can't envision how tomatoes would be negatively affected by cold water from a drip-irrigation system.

Try some 40 degree Alaska water out sometime, they hate it. I use tanks painted black to heat the water with much better results.

[KarenO]

definitely a problem on my parents farm. the well water is so cold that it actually would kill tender seedlings sure as frost. We always let the water warm up in barrels before using it in the garden.
KarenO

[bower]

Yup my well is 350 feet deep and it's ice water on tap all year long. They do get used to it, but forget about watering on a cold day.

[Worth1]

I was wondering when the folks up north would chime in on the cold well water and warming it up first.
It separates the novice from the experts big time in these northern climates.
This is why I was hand watering my plants with warm water this year till the water warmed up.

Worth

[ddsack]

As I recall, our well is around 225-250 deep and water is too cold to keep your hands in it long. I keep forgetting to take a thermometer to it to see the actual temperature. When I have to rinse a lot of lettuce in my kitchen sink, I can't use the cold tap alone or it hurts my hands after a minute or two.

In the heat of the summer, I water straight out of the hose, and it does no harm to any of my crops, but I'm sure it is getting tempered by the warm soil as it soaks in. I would think that in drip irrigation, the water would move so slowly that it would have time to warm a bit, both in the transporting hose lines as well as when it hits the warmer soil. I suppose if you have a heavy mulch, your soil might not be that warm.


I do pre-warm the water in large tubs set around my garden early in the season for my tomato and peppers transplants. I hate to shock their roots at that stage, and use the pre-warmed tub water for the first couple of weeks after planting out.

[bower]

"Warm toddies" are definitely a fine trick for cold soil early in the season and for transplant time. It would be a huge hassle to do that all summer in my greenhouse though, and apparently no reason, they seem to quite enjoy the cool drench on a hot day - at least, being planted in containers.

Dee, your comment reminded me of cleaning a load of caplin - hands in cold running water for ages and yes, I have to stop to thaw my poor red hands out after awhile... yowch.

[ddsack]

Bower - I had to look up 'caplin' - was not familiar with that word. Thanks for the vocabulary lesson! How do you normally fix them?

[bower]

Dee, I marinate em in a mixture of soy sauce and lemon juice, and then roll them in flour/salt/pepper and fry.
Caplin were also heavily used as fertilizer back in the day. We put them around the potatoes and then trench em. ("hill" em). By the time you dig the potatoes, not a scrap remains. They're the fast fert of the fish world.