1.3.4 Nursery Over-wintering House Sprinklers

The challenge in the nursery industry is to place a lateral down the center of an over-wintering house so that watering can be done in the months when the cover is on but also to water as uniformly as possible during the uncovered growing months in warm season.

Sprinklers are placed very close together so that several sprinkler heads overlap down the lateral (Figure 1.3.4a) to water the length and width of the bed uniformly.

Figure 1.3.4a Single sprinkler lateral down the center of a nursery overwintering house.

If two houses are close together then the sprinklers may overlap those in the adjacent house. During the warm season containers may be placed in the space between houses (Figure 1.3.4b). However, if containers are not to be placed between houses, then the sprinklers may not be designed to overlap.

Figure 1.3.4b Two nursery overwintering houses side-by-side with sprinkler laterals down center. These may or may not be designed to overlap for application uniformity.

Watering a nursery bed using a lateral down its center is challenging because, while the diameter of throw must be wider than the house, the application rate on the outside edge of the bed is much less than in the greater overlapped area down the center of the bed. Evaluation of these irrigation systems is a challenge.