Self Contained Drip system
 

Hello all,

I have been thinking of creating a drip irrigation system using a 55 gallon drum that has nutrients and such already added to the water. I also see this as a way to save time and conserve water.

Now my question is can the Musa trees be fed enough water using a drip system? How wet should the ground area be for them? I know they don't like thier roots wet.

Since I live in Texas and the temps get up there, I was thinking with a drip system the trees are getting constant watering and should be able to tolerate the heat.

:camelnaner:

Let me know what you think

Ray
Hill Country Texas

Re: Self Contained Drip system
 

I use a drip system on a couple orange trees that are "off the sprinkler system" & they like it very well, 2 small trees get to share about 10 gallons /day during the more severe conditions.
You don't need to fertilize any more often than you normally would but it's fairly easy, though a little more expensive, using "fast" water-soluble fertilizers as opposed to the slower time-release types.
The soil type will be the determining factor much more so than drip irrigation vs other water delivery methods.
Providing that you have any sort of drainage at all, it would be hard to over water bananas in many areas in TX if this coming summer is anything like the last.
Bottom line: go for it, you can always add more water if you have to.
Damp but not soggy is a good place to start & you can tweak from there.

Re: Self Contained Drip system
 

Here's what we ( My Brother) did! In Georgia we had property up on a hill! So water was a challenge most of the time. But we had roofs :) we took gutter then made a system to trap every drop of water to our reservoir. In the beginning it was all 55 gallon drums .. Ended up with one 450 gal tank . Or cattle trough.. We came out the bottom with a ½ inch pipe into a solenoid 110 volt ! It was a simple open and close valve to that we hooked up a appliance timer from a hardware store . Same thing that you use to turn on lamps in you house . I think it cost 3.99 . Now they are about 8 bucks..
OK from our ½ line we used 1/8 inch black plastic tubing to drip water to the plants we had.. The timer went on one time during the heat of the day ( 1:00 o’clock for 15 minutes.. we had wood chips around the plants and the line was under the chips.. Only thing that we had problems with was alga from sunlight . So we installed a top .. There were not so many liquid fertilizers back then but we made our own using beer and ammonia ,, Hmm now I can remember the last ingredient.. But there are now plenty of home brew liquid fertilizer recipes online .. Plus we had a constant supply of cow chips along with chicken droppings. We always dried the droppings and composted them in some Georgia clay and wood chips .
I am sure a Musa will use all the water you can give it out in Texas .Especially during the summer.. All ya need to do is regulate the amount of water your going to use per application . We added Palmolive soap the our water about a ½ quart to a full tub that was to allow the water to run down into the ground. If you ever been in Georgia and pick up the red clay soil you will understand the reason for the soap

Re: Self Contained Drip system
 

You didn't mention the variety of banana or the amount you intend to grow. Here in Florida it gets quite warm also, not nearly like some places in Texas, and we use a sun screen to lessen the harshness of the sun. Of coursed if you are growing tall plants it may not work. This has helped with the watering also as eveporation was slower.