Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Hello again everyone,
 
    I haven't posted in awhile, but I've definitely been doing my best to keep up with reading.  The time has finally come for me to set up a drip irrigation system.  I'm watering about 75 large plants (more on the way) and a huge number of little plants by hand.  I'd guess that it's taking me about an hour and a half in the mornings to water. 

   I'm going to get phase 1 of my drip system up and running today.  I'm off to Home Depot to get the poly pipe, connectors, stakes, and emitters.  I'm only running a line to only my large plants first--  more on that in a second.  My phase 1 won't run any fertilizer to them, though, so I'll be adding a fertilizer injector within a week or two.  I was originally thinking of going with an EZ Flo like some of those that I've read on here, but I hesitate.  I read that the dosage is inconsistent with these injectors.  Those of you that have an EZ Flo, are your plants really ok with this?  I don't want them going from salt burn to chlorosis and back again.  I'm willing to step up and get a Dosatron or something similar if necessary.  I will be mixing HVH Acid Blend, chelated Iron, seaweed extract, and Supernova in the reservoir.  Will it be a problem mixing liquid in with all of the dry fertilizers?

Sooner rather than later, I will be adding a line or two for my small plants as well.  These plants are in 2" liners and 5" pots.  I'm assuming I will need a Dosatron for them, as they're newly started from cuttings and will need a more specific feeding schedule.  They're only going to be getting chelated iron and HVH Acid Blend.  Are there fertilizer injectors that have two separate reservoirs for different fertilizer mixtures?

As always, thank you all for your help!
Jordan

Jordan, I bought an Ez-Flow about 3 years ago for my greenhose drip system. I was disappointed with the system because it was difficult to calibrate, it was difficult to tell if you mixed the fertilizer at the proper strength, and just exactly what the plants were getting. The worst part was trying to tell when the tank was empty. when it operates water runs through the tank so the mixture gets diluted and you deliver a different mixture to your plants everytime you water.It's almost impossible to tell when the system needs more fertilizer mixed. The only way to really tell is by the color of the liquid in the tank. So.... 9 months ago I bought a Dosmatic injector. Ther are many types and sizes to choose from. It's easy and exact to deliver the same amount of fertilizer to your plants consistently. You get a 5 gallon bucket to mix the fertilizer in, drop the tube/filter assembly in and forget about it until the solution in the bucket needs to be replenished. Set up of the system is more difficult, but in my opinion well worth it. Jeff

Hi Jeff,

   Thanks for your feedback on both the Ez Flow and the Dosmatic injectors.  I'm a numbers person and have been fortunate to be able to control exactly what my plants have been getting (albeit losing lots of time watering by hand); this said, I don't like the idea of ball-parking it with an EZ Flow.

   After posting this I spoke with my mother, who owns and runs a commercial turkey farm in SC.  She uses a Chemilizer injector to medicate her birds through their water supply as needed, and has used both the Dosmatic and Chemilizers.  Apparently the Chemilizer lacks a piston that tends to cause problems with both the Dosmatic and the Dosatron.  Have you had any issues with your Dosmatic locking up yet?  Of course, my mom's system gets a lot of wear and tear, as 25,000 turkeys go through a lot of water...

   Another question--  do you use any sort of backflow preventer or pressure regulator?

   I did get most of my drip system up and running today, and will finish adding the rest of the emitters tomorrow.  Save for a small leak at the hose bib connector (which I'll fix when I add ferts) and a couple of sore thumbs, we're doing just fine!  I'm sure the plants will be very, very happy!

Jordan

Hi Jordan, It was good to get your reply. If you read all of the postings about EZ Flow I posted a positive review about the system. As I worked with it over several months I decided I wanted something more precise and easier to monitor. I use a Minidos 0.4% injector set for 1:100 rate, which is an exact setting. My hook-up is hose bib-back flow preventer- filter- Dig battery operated timer- Minidos with by pass valves. I mix my fertilizer (Dynamic gro 7-7-7 mixed at the 1:100 ratio) in a 5 gal. Bucket. I usually mix about 3-4 gal. At a time. If I want to use a bloom boosting fertilizer, I use a 2nd bucket and put the Minidos hose/filter into that bucket. Easy and precise. I'm only familiar with the Minidos, have used for about 9 months, and have had no trouble with it. You can definitely hear the piston as it works. I also have a smaller bucket where I mix a systemic insecticide/ miticide and apply it through the injector. Very easy. Let me know if you have any other questions. Jeff

Hi Jordan,

I just finished installing my drip system Wednesday so a couple of learning curve observations fresh in my mind.  Leaks were/are an issue with all the different parts used going from the hose bib to the poly tubing.  I included both an anti-siphon valve (back flow regulator) and a filter to go with the fert injector (EZ Flow), DIG timer and pressure regulator.

A boatload of plumber's tape helped and only leaks at the fert injector connection now when on so not happy about the quality of that part (does it on both drip lines I installed).  I think for your set up the dosatron sounds like a better way to go for feeding regulation.  My plants are bigger and also get exposed to sprinkler water, rain and other elements so ball parking works fine for me as all these factors are going to continually effect what my plants get.  

I do agree that knowing how effectively the fert mixture is feeding thru the lines is a big concern.  I see little bubbles and the like in the transparent tube going from the tank to the injector but it is hard to tell if it is really moving thru which I am guessing it is as I would think the tube would have big gaps of air pockets not pushing thru if not.  I do like the idea of adding a dye to the fert mix to better see it though I don't think I need to as other members here have already figured out the time frames and amounts needed - that is why this forum is so beneficial.

I liked Erny's, Norm's and John's advice about changing out the fert mixture every six weeks and setting the mixture to 1:100.  Erny's bloom and plant results are impressive as I have seen first hand so that is good enough for me.  We both like using hose splitters so you can also have a hose to use on the same line too.  

My fingers are also really sore too - even with gloves punching in almost 150 emitters and all that 1/4 tubing in two days time is rough....

Best of luck!

Farmer D

Hi all, thanks again for everyone's advice.  As always, I'm very busy these days and sadly don't have nearly as much time for posing as I used to.  However, I wanted to share my "after-the-fact" thoughts on setting up a drip system.  I've finally settled on and ordered a Mixrite 1% (1:100) fertilizer injector for my system.  Of course, it's backordered, so the plants have been without fertilizer since I set up everything at the end of April.  I'll hopefully get the injector soon. 

For those of you on the fence about setting up drip irrigation...

DO IT!!!


WOW, what a difference it has made not only to my morning routine, but to my plants as well.  I don't have the words to express the change I've seen in them.  I have plants that haven't done well for several years, and certain cultivars that I've never seen do well.  Every single one of my plants has absolutely flourished since I've set the system up.  They're HUGE.  There were some plants that I was at the brink of throwing out and ordering again because they had just been sitting in their pots for a couple of years, not really growing.  I thought it was the soil, the climate, the insects...  even with daily watering they weren't getting the right watering routine.  I never would've thought that a drip irrigation system would've made all the difference.  I can't wait to get them on fertilizer again and see the results.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Jordan

It would be interesting to hear what size emitters you used, and what your watering time duration is.
I just bought an EZ-Flo Injector system 2 gallon, that I am going to set up with a DIG drip system and timer. one system going to cover about 40 plants, 4 Hibiscus trees, and 5 Palm trees.
John

John, I used 1/2 gph emitters for the smaller plants and one GPH emitters for the larger plants.  They are not pressure compensating, so I will be adding a pressure regulator so I know exactly how much water is going through them.

Right now I'm just turning on the hose a couple of turns and leaving the water on for about an hour. 

This thread has really been helpful for me, no doubt!  I have 2 separate drip systems (one for the front yard and one for the back yard) with the front one supplying fert to 78 plants with a 3/4 gallon container.  I use 2 gallon/hr pressure compensated emitters except for about a dozen smaller plants that get the 1 gl/hr emitters and I have a pressure compensator on the hose line as well.  I have noticed that the fert dye does turn clear in less than a week in the 3/4 gallon container which has me wondering even after reading about how the sun fades the dye with so many emitters going for 30 minutes every day.  

So what I have now done is increased the amount of ferts in my container, changed the timer to run 4 times a day at 6 minutes each run, and I will refresh my fert every 2 weeks instead of every 6 weeks.  My bet is I won't see any drastic changes until it starts to really warm up here and my plant's metabolism jumps.  Usually that is sometime in July.  So far I have seen a little fert burn on just my T Pretty Boy so I have moved the emitter further away from that immediate root ball.

My backyard only has 27 emitters so I might not refresh the fert mix as often, probably every month.  What is very interesting though is that I have my 3/4 gallon container hidden behind my a/c unit so it really gets maybe 1 hour of sun at most each day yet it still loses the dye coloring just as fast as the one in the front that gets lots of hot afternoon sunshine.  Makes me think that it isn't the sun fading the dye as much as the fert getting used up much more quickly than we think it is with the EZ Flow system.  Like Charlie said it runs hot in the beginning then gets cold as time goes on.  I'm wondering how hot in the beginning?

Farmer D

Your 3/4 gallon EZ-Flo injector system has a fertilizer capacity of 5 lbs. That should make 750 gallons of fertilized water to use. You can calculate your flow rates by adding up how many drippers you have and there flow rates, and then it is a function of total time you run the system.
I am going to wrap my 2 gal container in a white plastic bag to protect it from UV, it should also protect the dye. Once you know your total flow rate in GPH, check and make sure you have the correct flo disc installed.
The 2 gallon system I am setting up holds 10 lb of fertilizer, and I will be using HVH Fert, and HVH booster, 5 lbs each, plus 1 Qt SuperNova, a little extra 10% Chelated iron.  That should give me about 2000 gal.
I live in Naples,FL where it is already hot 74deg at night, and 90 deg daytime, with very sandy soil. This is a whole new install for me and will probably 30-40 Hibiscus from Charlie, with each plant going in the ground with HVH potting mix. (the $20 hole!) Just received 15 CV's and they are acclimating to the FL sun.
Best regards, John

I am a newbie, and have installed a drip system and EZ-Flo system for my plants.

You say that for a 2 gallon setup, you use 5 lbs HVH and 5 lbs Booster. 

Does this mean you put the dry powders in the container, and that is it ?
OR
Do you make a liquid concentrate?

Thank you.

JBS

I put the powdered fertilizer in and then fill the container with water to make a liquid concentrate.

Erny

Hello Ernest

How much dry do you put in the container before you add the water?

I live in Galveston Texas, and water every morning thru the fertigator.

I only put a couple of tablespoons HVH in my 3/4 gal container - I'm guessing this is way too little, but I didn't want to risk "killing them with kindness"

JBS

Thanks John for the reply and additional specifics.  When first starting out I have been using the same amount Erny uses in his 3/4 gallon EZ Flow tank which is 1/2 lb (which is about the same as a measured 1/2 cup) of Special Blend Fert and then I added same amounts of Quelant-K and Supernova which by the way I know for a fact Supernova does not fade in the sun as I have had it sitting in my transparent spray bottle for several weeks if not longer and it stays the same color the whole time so I know that the loss of color I'm seeing is not due to sunlight fading it.

Anyways so I am working out the outflow numbers on my set up which for the front yard combo of 2 & 1 gallon emitters comes out to around 140 gallons.  If I use it for 24 minutes a day that is about .4 hours per day which equates to 56 gallons per day.  If the capacity is 750 gallons then I have 13.4 days before I used it up.  So my guess of changing it out every 2 weeks is pretty much right if the 750 gallons is a correct calculation.

My backyard set up is much smaller so when running the numbers it comes out to hitting the 750 gallon total every 37.5 days so again my guess of every month is not too far off.  That one I average about 20 gallons a day for those trying to work out the numbers.

The last factor I can think of is the setting on the injector which I have set to the fastest level which is 1:100.

Now I did see fert burn (just a couple leaves each) on 2 plants out of almost 100 so I'll probably cut the amount of Quelant-K by maybe a third at most as that is the only thing I am using that can cause fert burn.

Thanks again for your input, for me I find the most valuable discovery for me is that the rate of consumption is much higher than we were thinking when you have a lot of emitters like I do.  It makes sense when you run the numbers so I will continue changing out the fert in my front yard every two weeks with just a little less Quelant-K.

Farmer D

Darren,  If you use the lowest setting on the EZ-Flo system, you will be using 3/4 -1 tsp. per gallon of water. Which is the recommended HVH amount of fert for people who fertilize with every watering, as I do.  You should get no fert burn at that setting.

Living in Fl, even with the rainy season, and daytime highs of 88/92 deg, with high humidity, nighttime lows of 70-72 deg.  All the plants need watered twice a day to keep them at the ideal 60 to 80% moisture level, because the soil here is so "sandy".  To compensate for that I am using HVH potting soil slightly blended with a good organic soil to hold the moisture in longer, or else all the nutrients would just wash thru the soil.
Best Regards, John

John thanks for the further input.  I just changed the inflow setting to the second lowest now in hopes of prolonging the life of the fert mixture in the tank.  My guess is that I was getting fert burn from the Quelant-K as I am using the same amount of special blend as Erny and I don't believe he has had any burning to date.

What I found very interesting and I think useful for others to know is that the last several days I have been getting yellow leaves again and the only thing I have changed was the feeding intervals from 1/2 hour once a day to 6 minutes 4 times a day in hopes of a more constant feeding schedule.

If I'm seeing yellow leaves after this change then I'm thinking that the soil isn't getting enough time to drain and allow the roots to breathe.  So I am switching back to once per day and let's see if the yellow leaves stop. 

Boy you sure learn something new everyday and you can't get frustrated easily.  Lots of twists and turns...

Farmer D

If the yellow leaves get worse, please post some photos as there may be an altogether different problem getting started.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie for the concern.  I feel confident that a bit too much water is the reason as when I got back from vacation it was obvious my plants were under watered and thinning out.  It is hard to know what that right balance is especially after just installing a drip system for the first time.  So I've been tinkering with different amounts of both water and fertilizer and the small amount of yellow leaves let me know I went a bit too far on the watering part in my book.

I see lots of new growth starting on all the plants now and we are about to begin our first hot stretch of the year with decent humidity so I am very excited about the next few weeks.  

By the way I added another 25 emitters to my back yard drip system so that makes a total of 52 there so that one month interval of changing out the fert mix might be too long now.  Wow that makes a grand total of around 130 emitters now for my two drip systems.  I am so glad I no longer have to hand fertilizer 130 plants which actually counting all my seedlings and others is pushing 200 now...

Farmer D

Talk about learning and frustration Darren, I think getting the watering right is easily the biggest problem to overcome and get right, it certainly is here for me.

Its took me 5 years and I am still struggling, thing is I think growing Tropical Hibiscus in the Tropics is much different than the conditions most of you have in the US and most of the difference is the humidity, I read what Charlie says on the Website about watering twice a day in the high heat and I see you and Erny now have a system, if I was to do any of those things you all do I would have and have had problems.

Try and figure this Darren, if me and you where to have identical cv’s in the same pot, both left out in full sun [and remember the heat here is hellish hot, in fact unless you have been here you cant imagine how hot] you would need I reckon double the water I need, how strange is that.
I have Plumeria that need in this heat watering twice a day yet Hibs sat next to them that need watering twice a week. These cv’s are healthy, they are not suffering, in fact there biggest problem is me, I just cant get my head round the fact its so hot and they don’t need watering and stopping myself from giving it to them.

The only time I have to give plenty of water is the winter [72 to 80f and low humidity], like I say it’s took me 5 years to figure out just what a huge massive impact the humidity is having, problem is I am no scientist and it can’t be measured.
Strangely enough everything Charlie writes about high heat and watering applies to all the other none tropical plants in my garden, it’s just the Hibs and a few truly tropical plants that seem to have this ability to capture and use the high humidity effectively.

People may think that not having to give so much water is good, but the problem is how are they to be fed and Hibs love to have water running over the roots, that’s why I am trying to create a potting mix that will dry out fairly quickly, it may be ok that they are taking all there moisture from the high humidity but they are then unable to be given all the goodies they need.

Charlie wrote a good piece in the newsletter saying how they like a once a week spray, I will go further and say they absolutely love it, also Darren you spray a lot with Supernova which is a huge benefit but I think the water that’s with the Supernova should not be underestimated.

Like you say frustrating and trying to get it right is hard, which got me wondering, now you have your system are you still spraying as much? Also if the humidity is gong to get higher for you do you ever consider that that they may need less water from the drip?

I don’t know what you call high humidity, but I consider it high when my glasses steam up and I can’t see, which is most days here.

David, one thing you have to be careful of is potting your plants in too large of a container. I have found it very risky to take a one gallon plant and transplant it into a five gallon pot. I think it is much better to go from a one gallon pot to a two gallon pot. At least for me the chances of root rot are greatly reduced.

David I think out of all of us you have by far the most challenging conditions - just look what you have to do to get new plants from Charlie.  My hat is off to you for your unwavering perseverance!  

Here in Southern California the key for Erny and I is the Pacific Ocean.  We both live roughly 8 miles inland from the ocean but there are no mountains to block that ocean air which is key as it acts like a giant refrigerator in summer keeping the temps from getting too hot - very rarely over 100F and in the winter it keeps the temps from getting below freezing except maybe a day or two each year.  So we don't get too high or too low which makes it possible to grow in the ground.  If you hop over the mountains directly behind our locations into the neighboring valleys just 5 miles away it is a totally different story as that ocean air isn't so dominant and you get stretches of sub-freezing temps every winter along with some very hot and dry weather off and on from April - Nov.

The other thing the ocean here does is it drastically affects the humidity.  The current off our coast is the California current which is cold - comes directly down the coast from Alaska.  This cold current keeps the air cooler and much drier as a result so we don't see much in the way of high humidity except for a couple stretches during the summer when strong high pressure systems build over the southwest and create a clockwise flow of air that picks up subtropical air over Mexico and pushes it towards us.

Bottom line is we don't get a lot of humid conditions here, in fact it is pretty dry a lot with winter being the driest time as far as humidity goes with many days under 20%.  The impact on my hibiscus is interesting as it could be a long mild stretch of dry weather so you would think you don't need to water much but with that low humidity the soil is quietly drying out and you wouldn't really suspect it.

I was shocked when in March I dug up the soil around my plants in the backyard in a south facing planter that gets lots of sun and the soil was totally dry around and below the rootball.  Tricky part is the top of the soil was wet from recent light rains and my watering but underneath was a disaster unfolding.  No wonder the plants there were doing nothing for many months but you wouldn't know if by looking at the top 3-4 inches of soil and that is with a protective layer of wood chips too.

So what I've learned is that I need to proactively water the soil through the entire planter as the drip system only gets a small area directly around the emitters and of course below as it soaks through the soil.  The rest of the soil needs to be hydrated in addition so that is where my sprinklers help out a lot as well as me just manually watering the "hot spots" regularly.

The other challenge here is that from one side of my yard to the other is like night and day difference in growing conditions.  South facing planters get very hot and dry out fast where as north facing stay much cooler and wet all day long.  In fact during winter when we had an unusual week long stretch of night temps around freezing in January all the plants that got hit were in the north facing planters.  With the low sun angle and the wall behind the plants shading the entire planter they didn't warm up quickly enough each day like all the other planters.  Even my 6 ft tall Palm Springs is just now starting to have it's first growing success of the year so significant effects even though it is much much taller than the wall behind it so it got plenty of sun but just not where it needed it most- the ground.

This also means that some planters I need to water a lot and others I need to be very careful and water lightly most of the year until the sun angle is high enough where the ground gets direct sun then I can water normally there too.

So we are in very different conditions from each other and the results on how we take care of our plants in my opinion are very different.  I must make up for lower humidity with more watering and when it gets hot here it is usually a dry heat so even more water is needed.  The trick is not going too far and seeing negative effects like I just did recently when I was trying to rehydrate the plants after being gone for three weeks.  It's tough to identify that balance point...

For you it is hot but you have the humidity so it makes sense that you don't have to water as much.  That is tough when the consensus is to water more as it gets hotter - I give you credit for hanging in there and figuring out that that is not meant for your conditions.  So now how do you deliver the fertilizers?   I am lucky I can combine mine with my drip system.

Maybe for you a spray approach where you don't have to spray the plants but maybe the soil?  I find that wood chips are great for slowing down soil evaporation so maybe that would help you if you decided to spray the soil directly and then cover it up?  By the way once we had our really cold stretch in January all the plants slowed down to a crawl and after that I used my SuperNova spraying as the primary means to hydrate the soil except for the south facing planters which needed more water as they get sun all year round.  Up until now it has been enough.

Even recently after I figured out I over watered a little bit since being back I stopped spraying for about 2 weeks now until I see the plants are back where they should be (no more yellowing leaves, tip die back and dropping buds).  Starting today it is going to really warm up so I'll probably begin spraying again shortly.

I know this is long and a lot of rambling but I hope there is some good information here for others to use.

Farmer D

Very interesting and useful discussion. I think it points out that humidity is a huge factor in determining watering schedules--perhaps as important as absolute temperature level. Southern california is basically reclaimed desert so we have little or no humidity to speak of. David in Viet Nam and John in Houston would get a good laugh hearing life long residents here complaining about the humidity at times. The weather conditions here certainly make it easy to grow tropicals in the ground year round. The Sunset Western Garden book refers to the area several miles inland from the Pacific as the Protea belt because of these favorable conditions.

Erny

Very good point John and one I figured out a couple of years back, I do have these 2 gallon pots now, they are pretty cheap rubbish but as they are sank in another larger pot they do the job.

Also spot on Erny, that sentence above says what it took me a page to try and explain haha. The difficult bit for me is trying to believe just how important and true it is, it goes against all you think is right and normal, you go in the garden with your loved Hibs, and that same humidity that is making you sweat buckets is actually watering them and watering them a lot more than you can imagine.

Erny great summary!

One other thing - spraying regularly with SuperNova is also a fantastic means to controlling the pests.  As I have not sprayed now for 2 weeks I am amazed at the amount of spider web nests all over my plants.  The leaves don't like it at all so I'm manually cleaning them...SuperNova is a great bug blaster so just another reason to spray regularly.

Farmer D

It seems you are still spraying Darren but you never answered, do you still spray the same with the drip system, and sort of what I was getting at is if you go away for a week or 2 and are not spraying do you adjust the settings so it gets more water from the drip to make up for what its not getting from the spraying.

If you haven't then maybe that's why you had the yellow leaves, like I say I don't think you can underestimate the water it gets with the Supernova, if you are doing it regularly it becomes very valuable to them as a means of hydration and a bit like the high humidity here.

David I literally finished installing my drip system the night before we left on vacation and just put the same settings as Erny has on his without any time to test out how different settings combined with spraying would affect the plants.  When I got back after three weeks and saw the signs of dehydration and thinning out of my plants it was obvious they were not getting enough water and humidity while gone.

They were missing the almost daily sprayings of supernova even though I added the drip system it wasn't enough to compensate for that loss of humidity as well as water it adds to the soil.  Sounds like you're right on regarding them getting used to the spraying.  It really is a key point that it creates the same type of localized high humidity and that is a big reason why I spray so often.  I really believe hibiscus need that especially here in arid Southern California.

A drip system only waters the soil in a small perimeter around the emitter unless you get emitters that sprays or mists instead of drips.  Mine all are drippers because I have sprinklers that get most of my planters additional water too which is another supporting point that the spraying really creates a better humid environment as the sprinklers I guess can't duplicate that same effect.

Being my drip system is new after getting back I then had to tinker with how much water is enough and went a bit too much but how are you going to know what the limits are with something new?  That is when I started seeing yellowing leaves (not a whole bunch along with bud drop and tip die back) so the plants have their way of telling you "too much now".  What is really interesting to me is this really showed itself after I changed my drip system to go on 4 times a day at 6 minute per session.  My thinking was the more constant feeding the better for the plants as it is more gradual and the system max permits 4 timed settings per day.  Seems that the soil didn't have a chance to drain enough for the roots to breathe coming on every 3 hours.  I guess once a day gives the water a chance to percolate down more - one would be hard pressed to anticipate these things ahead of time until they actually happen.  

Going forward I will still spray the same with the drip system on for 15 minutes once a day and see how that goes.  Right now I should be fine as it will be hot the next week but then it will cool down into the 70s again and I'll have to see if that requires some adjustments.  I'll update this thread if I do have to make any more adjustments.  Bottom line is spraying with supernova has several key benefits the biggest to me being the humidity factor which a drip system cannot compensate for.

Next time I'm gone I'm not sure how to make up for the me not spraying especially in October when it is more unpredictably hot here and dry.  My thinking is I need to have someone spraying at least 3 times a week where as this last trip I had someone spray just twice in three weeks.  I don't see the drip system as the answer to this issue, in my mind it is good for feeding and very localized watering.

One other thing too - I covered all my planters with wood chips to keep the soil moist and from drying out after losing my giant Bonnie Lass last year from severe under watering. So I learned the hard way soil moisture/humidity is very important but a separate thing compared to air humidity as I know while gone my soil was fine but no one was spraying which points to above ground humidity as another key focus.

Farmer D

One major alteration to the changes I am making as I figure out the new balance with my drip system.  I am going to put it on one day a week for 30 minutes and see how that goes.  I gave this a lot of thought today and seeing the quick results already of having it shut off for a few days now while I have resumed spraying again shows that I have plenty of moisture already in my soil without adding the drip system.  Kind of following what I did last year that was successful here, feeding once a week.  Just now I turn on a switch - very nice!

Farmer D

Darren, Erny, David, I just completed my major install of 24 HVH cultivars, along with the install of a 2 gal EZ-Flo injector system. There are also 4 Hibiscus trees on the system, started it up and it works like a charm. I used 5 lbs of HVH Fert. and 5 lbs of HVH booster, along with a little over a quart of SuperNova. running it 30 min a day using 1GPH drippers . Here are a couple of pics

John, that's great that you have that up and running. The set-up really looks nice. I especially like the grouping around the palm tree.

Erny