Community Garden Magazine Issue Two October 2015

PLASTIC-CULTURE/MICROIRRIGATION PHASE ONE OF THE AGRICULTURAL CENTER Micro-irrigation/plastic culture is a relatively new system of growing vegetables in the Calhoun County, Alabama area. This system employs a series of micro-irrigation drip tubes which are laid under a plastic mulch cover. A bedder/mulcher pulled behind a tractor forms a bed approximately 3 feet wide and 8 inches in height across the field. As the bed is formed the drip tubing is laid and covered under the plastic in one operation. The one inch diameter drip tube is connected to a four inch diameter pipe which is referred to as lay flat. This in turn is connected to a control unit which regulates the water pressure in the drip tubes as fertilizer and water is delivered to the plants. The drip tubes have small openings in them about 12 inches apart which are called emitters. The emitters deliver about one gallon of water per minute/100’. The control unit is connected to a well or municipal water source. Holes are punctured in plastic where the seeds or bedding plants are planted. With this system, one can expect to get 2 to 3 times the harvest that would be produced in a conventional system. 17

Community Garden Magazine Issue Two October 2015 | Page 17