rsieminski

I set up a drip system, and have the adjustable drippers, but how much should I give them? Obviously the hotter and larger, the more water, but how much now as compaired to Aug, per day?

pitangadiego

When "dormant". just enough to keep moist or damp. That may be hard to do, depending on how many drippers you have. Too few and you will get uneven watering.

In the summer, you could leave them on 12 hours a day every day, depending on the GPH of the dripper.

__________________
Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
We Be Bananas
http://webebananas.com

rsieminski

Well that's what I mean. How many gal per day. They are adjustable, and run with everything else in my tropical garden. They really are not dormant for me here. They have slowed, but continue to put out leaves and height, so I have watered them regularly with the hose. Now they are all in the ground, and have a drip system in place. How many gal per day, so i know how to adjust them with the rest of the system. Would 2 gal a day be too little during the hot summer? 3 gal? Just need a baseline to adjust up or down from.
Thanks,
--Rick

Bananavilla

It's all relative. But, how are you going to get even moisture around a 3ft dia. mat of banana with drippers?
I prefer the spayers that work on the low volume systems.
The volume is something that you will have to deterimine. Do you get summer showers? If so you will need to water much less than us californians with our desert summers.
Mike

rsieminski

Good point. The micro sprayer might work better. How much water do you give a mature Saba, or Ice Cream per day in the growing season? We sometimes get showers in the afternoon. I just hate these friggin storms!

Your website is awesome! Lots of great info....I recently revisited it and found it very useful. Thanks.

momoese

Mike, I was just looking over you web site and see that you like to use perlite. I just wanted to let you know if you don't already that perlite has Asbestos in it.

Bananavilla

I think you are thinking of vermiculite? Perlite is just puffed rock. I also don't make a habit out of breathing the dust
Mike

pitangadiego

How much is relative to your situatuion.

You are right, the bananas don't go "dormant", but their growth slows dramatically, so they need less water and less fertilizer.

If I have to guess, as I water with a hose, I add 2" of water depth over a 6-8' dia root area once a week, in the winter - just enough to keep them damp. It depends on temp, humidity, cloudiness, rainfall, etc. So, is that 50 gallons a weeK or ? Last winter I didn't water for months on end, but it rained almost every week. If I took that as normal, I would tell you not to water till next April. This winter we have had about 3/4 rain since June, and many weeks of warm, dry weather (I have peach trees blooming, along with grapes, figs, etc), so I am watering a ton more than last year. In, summer 6" 2 or 3 times a week, till they are almost standing in water. The point is to evaluate your conditions and add enough water to keep the rootzone moist, not soggy, during the winter. In the summer it will be hard to overwater them.

__________________
Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
We Be Bananas
http://webebananas.com

rsieminski

Yep that would be vermiculite, but I thought they did something about that. Changed the manufacturing process to eliminate it? I make sure all that stuff is wetted before I mess with any of it.

So I'll have to adjust as I go. In the summer I'll open them up wide open. I'm hoping this will be the last cold day of the year here. It was the coldest so far this year. A chilly 43 this am at my house. I hate the cold!

Thanks,
--Rick

scooterbug

Perlite is a naturally occurring siliceous rock. The presence of two to six percent combined water in the crude perlite rock. When quickly heated to above 1600°F (871°C), the crude rock pops in a manner similar to popcorn .

re:Vermiculite is also an expanded mineral like Perlite but with different horticultural uses .......
Vermiculite itself does not contain asbestos; it was just the Libby, Montana mine which was contaminated because of the presence in the mountain of a secondary mineral called diopside.
see ......
http://www.schundler.com/verm-asb.htm


Perlite aerates soil but vermiculite holds water.

__________________

momoese

That's interesting! I went to a garden club meeting last weekend and the speaker said that perlite contained Asbestos. Guess I'll have to read up on it now.

Bananavilla

It's amazing the misinformation some old timers spread around as gospel. Thankfully we have the internet and can read, read, and read some more. Then make our own decision with the materials available.

You should hear some of the rediculous things some people in the autobody trade try to pass along

I mainly only use perlite in pots unless I have some used soil I need to get rid of I'll mix it into the ground. Steer manure is King out in the yard along with Redwood mulch.

Mike

momoese

Are you in the auto body trade? That's what I do for a living. http://www.fineautorestoration.net/

Bananavilla

Yep, sounds about like my story. http://www.runboys.com
That's a little site I haven't got around to finishing yet.
You are still painting as of now? I'm looking to move into some other field (better paying), but haven't found it quite yet. I'll let you know if I do
Mike

momoese

Yeah, I'm still painting, only now I'm on my own. I'm currently working out my garage while I search for a decent space to continue on. If you know of someone who is looking to rent or lease a bay or some footage here is LA lmk. I bookmarked that site and will read some later when I have more time.