Drip Tape Irrigation

[JackE]

Because of the drought in Texas, we are switching from pond to well irrigation, and also lowering our acreage substantially. I have an old 2" well that has plenty of water - flow rate of about 12 gals/minute. We have installed an air compressor on this well, but no pump or anything else.

I want to irrigate as much as I can with drip tape, using this well. I know very little about drip tape, except that it has to have a filter, runs on low pressure and is permanently buried in the ground under each row. I only know what I have read and have never actually seen a piece of "drip tape".

Before investing a lot of money on developing this well/system further, I need to do my homework. Any advice, links or, especially, personal experience with drip tape, or similar systems, would be greatly appreciated. We will be running 100 ft rows and and can adjust our machinery to work over buried irrigation lines as necessary.

We have always had abundant water around here and could afford to waste it by running sprinklers and furrow irrigation, but those days seem to be over - not just this drought, but increasingly drier for some years.

Thanking y'all in advance. Lots of data on the web, but no substitute for personal experience, They're all selling something.

Jack Ellis - Gardeners for Jesus, Hillister Baptist Church, Tyler County, Texas