Configured the fertilizer injector today. Works just as I planned!
This was something I could not find plans for, so figured it out for myself. Construction was simple and easy. I just drilled a hole in the PVC suction pipe leading to the well pump. Inserted a 1/4" barb connector. Attached a short length of tubing, about 1" long. Connected a flow control valve, then a few feet more tubing. Loose end of the tubing drops into a 5 gal bucket of fertilizer solution. Turn on the pump, open the control valve and suction from the pump draws the fluid from the bucket and mixes it with the irrigation water.
It is not fully automatic but has to be manually turned on.
A few considerations for this. One is that I am careful to turn the fertilizer off and let the clear water run for a long time after. Clears the pipes and reduces chances of plant burn. Another is, while the solution I use is not strong enough to burn skin, nobody should be walking through the sprinklers while it's running to avoid respiratory irritation. And it should not run at all while it's windy. In short, this should not be on a fully automatic basis.
One benefit to this is that, even at low concentration, the acid will help remove and prevent mineral buildup in the drip system.
Any way, mixed a carefully constructed batch of soluble fertilizer, iron and sulfuric acid and applied that this evening. This mixture fertilizes, adds iron, counters sodium and adjusts pH all at once! So, I plan on doing at least one acid application per week for the time being. I could conceivably adjust the acidity of all the irrigation water all the time but think I'll try this approach first.
It's really cool that fertilizing will no longer take a long time with the hose sprayer. Instead, turn a couple of knobs and the whole yard and garden are fertilized!
What's even more cool is the price. Since I had the bucket, tubing, connectors and fertilizer compounds, the whole thing at this moment was free! And only took a few minutes of work.
This was something I could not find plans for, so figured it out for myself. Construction was simple and easy. I just drilled a hole in the PVC suction pipe leading to the well pump. Inserted a 1/4" barb connector. Attached a short length of tubing, about 1" long. Connected a flow control valve, then a few feet more tubing. Loose end of the tubing drops into a 5 gal bucket of fertilizer solution. Turn on the pump, open the control valve and suction from the pump draws the fluid from the bucket and mixes it with the irrigation water.
It is not fully automatic but has to be manually turned on.
A few considerations for this. One is that I am careful to turn the fertilizer off and let the clear water run for a long time after. Clears the pipes and reduces chances of plant burn. Another is, while the solution I use is not strong enough to burn skin, nobody should be walking through the sprinklers while it's running to avoid respiratory irritation. And it should not run at all while it's windy. In short, this should not be on a fully automatic basis.
One benefit to this is that, even at low concentration, the acid will help remove and prevent mineral buildup in the drip system.
Any way, mixed a carefully constructed batch of soluble fertilizer, iron and sulfuric acid and applied that this evening. This mixture fertilizes, adds iron, counters sodium and adjusts pH all at once! So, I plan on doing at least one acid application per week for the time being. I could conceivably adjust the acidity of all the irrigation water all the time but think I'll try this approach first.
It's really cool that fertilizing will no longer take a long time with the hose sprayer. Instead, turn a couple of knobs and the whole yard and garden are fertilized!
What's even more cool is the price. Since I had the bucket, tubing, connectors and fertilizer compounds, the whole thing at this moment was free! And only took a few minutes of work.
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