Y-Valve to Timer to Hose Connected to Soaker Hose

Mound One Soaker Hose Detail

Mound One Soaker Hose System Live

Mound Two Soaker Hose Exposed

Watering System Installation Complete!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I am happy to report that the watering system for the giant pumpkins I am cultivating at the Farm and Food Lab at the Great Park of Orange County as part of my activities as a UCCE Master Gardener was installed yesterday.

Essentially, a Y-valve, connected to a battery-operated watering timer, connected to a hose, connected to a soaker hose, was connected to the nearest hose bib to the giant pumpkin seedlings. Even though it's relatively simple and certainly fairly inexpensive, it took me a little longer than I thought it would. I spent a lot of time covering the mounds with mulch after winding the soaker hoses in a spiral around the seedlings. Hopefully, the mulch will help keep the soil moist, regulate the soil temperature, keep down the weeds, and better disperse any fertilizer applied as a soil drench, than simply exposed soil.

At least, that's the theory!