Watering Fruit Trees

[SwampCat]

I have about 50 fruit trees - most under five years in the ground - but a few older. I have run a 1" plastic black pipe line, 1/4 mile to my orchard, split at the orchard and run a hose off one of the splits and off the end of the hose, run a four way splitter with four hoses off it. I can water four trees at a time. In the past, usually starting around mid July, I water four trees at a time for about 20 minutes, which amounts to about 17 gal of water - I have had a couple trees die at that during past summers. This year, I already have a couple trees turning brown and losing their leaves - but you never know if they are actually dying until next spring at leaf out.

I have upped my watering time to 30 minutes per week - about 25 gal per tree. some of the big trees get a double watering. This is an all day project. If I did not live on my property, I could not do this - and it is sometimes difficult to find a day to dedicate, one day a week for two months - even though I live here. Is there any other reasonable way to do this. Most, but not all trees are mulched. I am not really interested in installing anything really extensive - like an underground watering system or similar. Or, am I doing the best I can - taking a day a week to do this.



This is one of the few smaller trees without mulch - this hose has run for one hour and still no pooling. This tree has withering leaves - but not brown yet.



this tree is mulched - and has actually started losing its leaves. A peach tree has lost almost all its leaves.

Maybe this is just the cost of doing business in the deep south.

 

[Barndog56]

I'm sure this goes without saying, but for any future tree planting make sure you choose the most drought resistant rootstock you can find.

If you're watering a tree for an hour, I'm betting most of that water has soaked in to a depth that is below the reach of your tree roots. Perhaps water a wider area around the trees? No personal knowledge of this, but when doing it one way isn't working, try another.

 

[marlin]

I was at a wedding this weekend and took a picture of a 20 gallon watering bag. All the trees looked very healthy. I think I’m going to try about a dozen of them.

 

[SwampCat]

View attachment 81792
I was at a wedding this weekend and took a picture of a 20 gallon watering bag. All the trees looked very healthy. I think I’m going to try about a dozen of them.

View attachment 81792
I was at a wedding this weekend and took a picture of a 20 gallon watering bag. All the trees looked very healthy. I think I’m going to try about a dozen of them.

What part of the country was that?

 

[RGrizzzz]

I just grabbed two 20 gallon gator bags from my brother today. They're common in PA when there are new landscape tree plantings. It's been dry here for a bit and I want to keep some water on my two Bluehill apples.

 

[Barndog56]

That soil doesn't look like it will grow trees. Bring in as much compost as you can afford and spread it around every tree, 3, 4, even 6" deep and from the trunk out past the drip line.

 

[homerj]

That soil doesn't look like it will grow trees. Bring in as much compost as you can afford and spread it around every tree, 3, 4, even 6" deep and from the trunk out past the drip line.

Good advice.
Signing up for chip drops from any tree service operators could be a source of mulch/compost for cheap.

 

[marlin]

What part of the country was that?

Detroit, Michigan

 

[SwampCat]

That soil doesn't look like it will grow trees. Bring in as much compost as you can afford and spread it around every tree, 3, 4, even 6" deep and from the trunk out past the drip line.

The soil aint midwest soil - but it will grow a fruit tree - as long as the drought doesnt kill it. 1” of rain in a month and 100 plus degree temps are not kind. Now, I am not claiming we get fruit off them

I agree, it needs mulch. It had mulch and a weed mat, but the fireants got so bad under the weed mats I removed them and havent replaced the mulch.

Northern folks have to contend with winter kill from freezing temps. We have to contend with not enough chill hours and 106 degree temps with no rain. Summer is our stress period.

 

[buckdeer1]

My soil is pretty light but I only water about 5 gal a week if needed.I use a 275 gal tote with 2 submersible bumps that attach to garden hose.I then run a 1/2 drip line hose and put leaders off them to each tree. By using 2 pumps I do 15-20 each direction with tote on trailer in middle. This year the midwest we had alot of rain and cooler temps early. I lost 1 tree to voles and had several from 1 nursery gt fire blight strikes but are green now. It was great not having to water them. My newly moved oaks that were 10ft tall get watered if I don't rain once a week.If I am watering tree without tote I use 5 gal bucket with 1/8 inch hole dripping at tree

 

[Hoytvectrix]

My soil is pretty light but I only water about 5 gal a week if needed.I use a 275 gal tote with 2 submersible bumps that attach to garden hose.I then run a 1/2 drip line hose and put leaders off them to each tree. By using 2 pumps I do 15-20 each direction with tote on trailer in middle. This year the midwest we had alot of rain and cooler temps early. I lost 1 tree to voles and had several from 1 nursery gt fire blight strikes but are green now. It was great not having to water them. My newly moved oaks that were 10ft tall get watered if I don't rain once a week.If I am watering tree without tote I use 5 gal bucket with 1/8 inch hole dripping at tree

This is more or less what I have been doing for trees that couldn't go in better soil. As far as I can tell, I have not lost any trees because of drought, even with only doing this once in a stretch last fall that saw about an inch of rain in 60 days. I also live 6 hours from my farm.

Swamp,
Are you sure your irrigation runtimes have equated to water actually getting into the soil?
I think most people overestimate how much water infiltrates into the soil. This is especially true if the surface is already dry. If it is dripping in and spreading out through capillary action, you will use substantially less water. After a run cycle, go out and dig down and see how far the water is actually infiltrating. I bet it is not actually getting deep enough. With the water bags or buckets slowly emitting water, you will get much more infiltration deeper into the profile.

 

[SwampCat]

It is not running off - it is definitely going in the ground. That picture above of the base of that tree is where 50 gallons ran in one hour and it never even pooled in the depression.