Do over
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Technique for watering trees in a drought zone...
- Thread starter Wingnut
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Irrigate like it’s 2000 BC with these easy DIY terracotta watering pots called ollas
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Hmm, been away from this thread for a bit, thank y'all for the suggestions! The 'gravel tubes' seem to be working, even though it is a bit of a hassle to repeatedly fill them. Meh, exercise is good for you... I can always use it. Otherwise, I'm just watering when I think the pines need it, and of course the fruit trees get watered every day, along with the weed starters. I'll probably do some more watering here in a bit, just waiting for it to cool down after a hot day... 
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When we planted a new tree, we put a couple 1.5” pvc pipes alongside the little tree. Pipe about 3 feet deep with just the top sticking out of the ground. When we watered it, we filled the pipes a few times and let them drain into the ground. When the tree was established, we pulled the pipes up.
If you leave the pipes in, when you do have to water an established tree, let the water trickle into the pipe slowly and it will soak into the ground deeper and will help prevent the roots from growing up towards the surface. When the water is done soaking in and fills up the ring around the tree it will continue to soak deep into the ground as the pool of water drains down the pipe.
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Last night I made up my watering loops ( I used 2 loops ~4' with 8 emitters) around my 5 trees and connected cheap hose to them. I will be connecting them to my drip irrigation network in the coming evenings as time permits. Once they are all connected and function verified I will be covering them all with black mulch to hold them in place. I have now created drip circuits for my wife's flower beds and all my trees, which will reduce the time I need to spend watering. The only problem I see with doing this is, I am effectively doubling the area that I am using my drip irrigation system on, so my water storage will be cut to a 3 day supply. I did set it up so the trees and the wife's flower beds can be isolated and watered off the tap, just in case I need to protect the garden's water supply....
