TedB,
I've just set up a semi-permanent drip system, very basic and 'adjustable' or movable. Many of my fruit trees are in pots, 3-, 5, and 7-gallon ones.
Some are smaller plants which are only in pots 'til they get large enough to put into the gound.
Others plants are those which will not get really so large that they cannot be maintained in a 5- or 7-gallon pot.
But all those fruit trees (which are in one particular area together) are set in shallow saucers. Some saucers are comparatively smaller based on the size of the pot, and other saucers are comparatively larger based upon how much water certain of the plants use.
Certain of the plants, like Bixa orellana (achiote) and Acrostichum aureum (Florida golden leather fern -which volunteered in one of the saucers and eventually got potted out on its own) and Rollinia deliciosa (Biribá) are in even larger saucers in relation to the size of their pots because they are real water guzzlers! The achiote in a 7-gallon pot will drink a large saucer of water 2-inches deep only in about four or five hours when it is hot or windy (or both)!!
My new drip system is set up so that the water guzzlers get more water and so their saucers fill up faster than the other less thirsty 'drinkers' in smaller saucers. This seems to be working well enough now in the beginning but since the system has only been set up for two days now it still must be tweaked a bit.
Still, it looks as if this new drip system is going to be very helpful during the hottest parts of our Florida summer and will save me from standing out in the heat watering three or four times per week.
I've been keeping these fruit trees in saucers for a couple years already and there has been no problem with any root damage except during the rainy season here. But I have learned that when we get several days of rain in a row I need to empty those of the saucers under the fruit trees that don't like extended wet feet.
This new drip watering system is admittedly an ongoing experiment which looks to be going to be very useful. During our hot Florida summers if it doesn't rain the water in all the dishes is used up in one, or sometimes in only two days. After the saucers are empty the fruit trees tend to be okay maybe for one or two days before they begin to show any drought stress.
As I already mentioned, this system is brand new to me and must/will have to be tweaked to optimize it. But that was expected. All the parts were cobbled together from items gotten from Home Depot but it was not a drip system kit of any sort. Just the tubing and joins needed to cobble the system together.
Just a final note: This system is not automatic; at least not for now. I need to go out and turn on the faucet manually. Right now the system seems to need to run for about 1/2 hour for all the dishes to fill up. It is actually a good thing that I go out to turn on the water; it makes me take a look at the plants and saucers to see which ones are or aren't using up all their water.
OK — Hope this helps . . . . And maybe offers up some ideas that others can use.
Cheers!
Paul M.
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