Deep Watering Spikes / Tree Watering Stakes

[MikeH]

Anyone got first /second hand experience/knowledge with www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Product.asp?PG=2330. With droughts both this year and last, we're assuming a new normal and trying to look differently at how we do what we do. Deep watering is important and difficult, if not impossible during droughts when it is most needed. These seem to be a cheap way of helping the trees in our orchard. They could probably also be use to directly deliver comfrey or compost teas.

[cletus]

I've heard those are good. I've also heard great things about unglazed egg-shape clay pots, for a more low-tech version. I like the idea of the water moving through the deeper parts of the soil, like what a swale does.

[MikeH]

I added a 4L jug by taking a 1" PVC barb fitting and rasping down the barbs so that the fitting can be pushed into the top of the spike. The thread end of the fitting is coated with PVC cement and then twisted into the 4L jug. I cut a hole in the bottom of the jug with a 1" spade bit so that I can fill the jug with a hose.

The first apple tree I watered this way took 40 litres of water before the rate at which the jug emptied slowed!!!!!!!!!

I installed 4 modified spikes. I fill them in sequence. By the time the last one is full, the first one is empty. I cycle through until the water flow slows. Then I move the spikes to another 4 trees and repeat the process. It's slow at the beginning but I'm hoping that once the soil has water, it'll be a faster process.

Attachments:

[MikeH]

Wick Irrigation for Tree Establishment

A wettable fabric or rope is used to carry water from a reservoir or pipe to the roots of the plant. In its simplest form it can be done with rags and recycled bottles at almost no cost. Cotton wicks were traditionally used in conjunction with buried clay pot irrigation in India (Mari Gowda, 1974). The wicks help move the water further from the clay pot to encourage greater root development (Bainbridge, 2002). Subsequent tests and research have demonstrated the value of wicks for irrigation even in very severe environments. These wicks can be gravity flow down (fast), capillary flow up (slow), or a hybrid.