Irrigation: outdoors in a dry climate

[RevivalR00ts]

I grow a wide variety of fruit trees in Southern California, which has many days in the single digit humidity range. Some days can tack on 90’s to over 100 and high winds.

I’m thinking of setting up irrigation with misters, the finer the better so that it minimizes water usage.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Would love to hear about it.

[spaugh]

Mist heads have a couple issues.  The clog easily and also blow all over in the wind.  Not easy to get the water where you want it most will be lost quickly to evap and wind.  A spinning micro sprinkler on the other hand throws larger droplets and goes in a large radius.  1 of those on a 6 or 8ft high sprinkler riser can toss a 20ft+ circle.  And they are adjustable.

Watering down plants in the super heat and sun WILL NOT burn them contrary to what some people may tell you.  Hosing down plants on those crazy hot days is the best thing for them.  You can see them perk right up almost immediately. 

If your goal is wet below the plants then just use the micro sprinklers on a short riser. 

Dripdepot.com has all kinds of goodies. 

[RevivalR00ts]

Mist heads have a couple issues.  The clog easily and also blow all over in the wind.  Not easy to get the water where you want it most will be lost quickly to evap and wind.  A spinning micro sprinkler on the other hand throws larger droplets and goes in a large radius.  1 of those on a 6 or 8ft high sprinkler riser can toss a 20ft+ circle.  And they are adjustable.

Watering down plants in the super heat and sun WILL NOT burn them contrary to what some people may tell you.  Hosing down plants on those crazy hot days is the best thing for them.  You can see them perk right up almost immediately. 

If your goal is wet below the plants then just use the micro sprinklers on a short riser. 

Dripdepot.com has all kinds of goodies.

While water in the soil is def good, my goal here would be to cool certain areas down and keep humidity around as much as possible. While there may be quite windy days, usually that is not the case. I have seen sprinkler heads that provide a decent amount of 'mist' but I do not believe it would be classified as a mister. The clogging would def be a problem.

[slopat]

I learned about dripdepot.com a couple of years ago and they are great!. Give them a call or message  and describe what you want to do. Information about your environment helps too, evaporation of plants, solar, wind, gradient, water supply quality(media filter requirements) , etc. are helpful in designing something cost effective.

Reading this thread reminds me of how Apple growers in Bakersfield spray down the apples when temps get high(and low humidity for the swampcooler effect)

[fruitnut1944]

We have very low humidity and it's not a problem for any fruits that I grow. Also, my greenhouse is very dry during the day and that's not an issue either.

Mist into the air is a terrible waste of water and doesn't raise humidity that much. It just blows away. You can't humidify the whole yard. It's just a waste. Especially in Southern CA facing decades of drought I don't see this as a good plan.

You can cool things off with shade cloth. You can raise humidity with a greenhouse if managed properly. I like my greenhouse as dry as possible because that eliminates all disease issues and makes sweeter fruit.

If you have plants that really need high humidity then get a humid greenhouse. Those plants aren't suited to outdoors in a dry climate facing constant water issues.

[RevivalR00ts]

We have very low humidity and it's not a problem for any fruits that I grow. Also, my greenhouse is very dry during the day and that's not an issue either.

Mist into the air is a terrible waste of water and doesn't raise humidity that much. It just blows away. You can't humidify the whole yard. It's just a waste. Especially in Southern CA facing decades of drought I don't see this as a good plan.

You can cool things off with shade cloth. You can raise humidity with a greenhouse if managed properly. I like my greenhouse as dry as possible because that eliminates all disease issues and makes sweeter fruit.

If you have plants that really need high humidity then get a humid greenhouse. Those plants aren't suited to outdoors in a dry climate facing constant water issues.

Are you Fruitnut on Figbid? If so, makes sense why keeping things dry works for you. I grow many things that want as much humidity as I can throw at them. As far as the trees I have in ground outside, the majority of them are fine with the weather that my area throws at them. There are the select few, which, unfortunately, are at the top of my favorites list, that do well in many areas of California, but in my location, experiences some extreme days. It is those extreme days that I am targeting for this irrigation. The goal is not to humidify the yard, as I agree, mist would be a lost cause. But for these certain trees, I would build temporary structures for them to help with wind, sun and low humidity. I envision having some sort of misting setup up for them, within the structure, to mitigate the extremes on those days.

[hawkfish007]

I installed a misting system for those 110+ F days with single digit humidity. It's a simple setup with 160 PSI misting pump from Mistcooling. It'e been setup since 2018 and still going great, I only had to run it a few days a year. Pump and misters are automated and I can turn them on online. Slip-loc connectrors allowed me to install nozzles where I want them, I belive Wong Farm uses misting systems within tree canopies when they hit over 115F. Here are some pictures when misters are turned on and the pump. Pump is probably don't needed if pressure is high enough but mists are very fine with the pump.

[RevivalR00ts]

I installed a misting system for those 110+ F days with single digit humidity. It's a simple setup with 160 PSI misting pump from Mistcooling. It'e been setup since 2018 and still going great, I only had to run it a few days a year. Pump and misters are automated and I can turn them on online. Slip-loc connectrors allowed me to install nozzles where I want them, I belive Wong Farm uses misting systems within tree canopies when they hit over 115F. Here are some pictures when misters are turned on and the pump. Pump is probably don't needed if pressure is high enough but mists are very fine with the pump.

Now this is what I’m talking about! About how long is your main line and how many nozzles are there? What are you using to control the system? What is it plumbed to?

[hawkfish007]

Main line is about 90’ long, I installed misting nozzles every 4-6’ depending on tree locations, so about 16 or so total. I installed it only in the south end of my property where trees get full afternoon sun in summer. Misting line is off of a whole house carbon filter (7 gpm GAC filter from Lowes, GAC filter is for irrigation line only). With 160 psi misting pump, it has enough pressure to cover other sides of the property if needed.
Misting line is controlled by Rachio 3 and pump is controlled by a smart plug. This is in addition to in ground sprinklers and mushroom bubblers of course. Misting system is to add some humidity and lower ambient temp a little during hottest days. I didn’t encounter clog nozzles much  probably due to water quality, drain valve to drain the line when not in use, plus 160 psi pump helps to keep the nozzles open.

[RevivalR00ts]

Main line is about 90’ long, I installed misting nozzles every 4-6’ depending on tree locations, so about 16 or so total. I installed it only in the south end of my property where trees get full afternoon sun in summer. Misting line is off of a whole house carbon filter (7 gpm GAC filter from Lowes, GAC filter is for irrigation line only). With 160 psi misting pump, it has enough pressure to cover other sides of the property if needed.
Misting line is controlled by Rachio 3 and pump is controlled by a smart plug. This is in addition to in ground sprinklers and mushroom bubblers of course. Misting system is to add some humidity and lower ambient temp a little during hottest days. I didn’t encounter clog nozzles much  probably due to water quality, drain valve to drain the line when not in use, plus 160 psi pump helps to keep the nozzles open.

So, is the Rachio controlling a solenoid valve which feeds the misting line?

[hawkfish007]

Yes, it controls orbit drip master valve, this modular valve allows me to add as many valve as needed.
Orbit DripMaster 67790 4-in-1 Drip Irrigation Valve https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0040QPGG8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TS6QDWD82DCG1CHB3QV0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[RevivalR00ts]

Yes, it controls orbit drip master valve, this modular valve allows me to add as many valve as needed.
Orbit DripMaster 67790 4-in-1 Drip Irrigation Valve https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0040QPGG8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TS6QDWD82DCG1CHB3QV0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

ok so the main water line feeds into the orbit which feeds into the mistcool? what size tubing is that?

[hawkfish007]

Main water line to orbit, orbit to 3/8” line to pump, pump to mister main is 1/4” with 3/8” to 1/4” reducer. Adapters are included with pump kit. Once installed it is pretty much a solid system. Tubing are UV rated and no visible damages after almost 4 years in direct sun.

[hammer524]

Just out of curiosity, do you have to worry about salt buildup from the water on the leaves?

[hawkfish007]

You can tell from the pic below, this lychee is directly under a nozzle and no visible salt mark or any mark in that matter. It will also depend on your water quality, if you have hard water >200 ppm carbonate, there might be some visible salt buildup on the leaves.

[hammer524]

From what I recall my PPM was a little below 200pm. I think I will just mist by hand and use distilled water. Great looking lychee tree though

[RevivalR00ts]

You can tell from the pic below, this lychee is directly under a nozzle and no visible salt mark or any mark in that matter. It will also depend on your water quality, if you have hard water >200 ppm carbonate, there might be some visible salt buildup on the leaves.

That Lychee looks awesome. looks like it is in a big air pruning container. Is it fruiting yet? Which variety?

[hawkfish007]

That is Kaimana in the picture, it is blooming for the first time. I have a slightly larger hak ip that has fruited last year and in full bloom currently. I have them in rootbuilder panels from rootmaker. They do well in those panels plus I don’t have to dig.

[RevivalR00ts]

Main water line to orbit, orbit to 3/8” line to pump, pump to mister main is 1/4” with 3/8” to 1/4” reducer. Adapters are included with pump kit. Once installed it is pretty much a solid system. Tubing are UV rated and no visible damages after almost 4 years in direct sun.

Which nozzles are you using?

[hawkfish007]

A mixture of nozzles that came with pump kit and stainless steel nozzles from Amazon.