Sumi Soaker Mark II — Overhead Irrigation Tubing

New Farm, New Irrigation

I just finished building out a small urban farm and wanted to give Sumi Soakers a try after hearing about them from a farmer friend. I bought the R-wide version for general use as it will water whole sections of the farm when something other than drip is needed. I bought the Mark II specifically for permanent use in a small tunnel, which I am using for succession seeding of greens and carrots. I installed this running right down the middle of the pathway and it's set to water a couple times per day, which has resulted in excellent germination so far. Very excited about this.

SUMI SOAKER MAGIC!

It took a little while to get it dialed in, but I've been using the SUMI on the "Back 40" where typical overhead fails because of low pressure. We've used drip back there in the past, but it's not great for germination of root crops. The SUMI has solved this problem as we can let it run for an hour to get close to a half inch of even coverage. Gamechanger! Pro-tip: I fixed mine to a reel that you keep an extension cord on so that I can easily reel it up and move it around the garden to whatever needs a soak. Makes the process quick and easy.

Optimizing germination and transplant with Sumi Soakers

We already have wobbler sprinklers on our blocks, but the newly seeded or transplanted beds need more water than the more established beds. We transplant and seed into 5 bed blocks in a 20 bed watering zone, and use the Sumi Soakers for the first three weeks, and then remove and let the wobblers work from then on. The Sumi Soakers then move to the newer beds. Things are going well, so far.