Easy Way To Spool Up Drip Tape

Easy Way To Spool Up Drip Tape IRRIGATION Maintenance Heather Ramsay rolls drains and prepares drip tape for storage in one step With several thousand feet of drip tape to put away each season speed and ease are important to the Vancouver Island market gardener “I use electric cable spools given to us by a neighboring electrician ” explains Ramsay “They come in a variety of sizes up to 4 ft in diameter I use the largest size that one person can handle ” Ramsay mounts the spool on a metal pole and rests it on 2 sawhorses that have been notched to hold the pole Once the end of the drip tape has been attached to the spool she reels it in by turning the spool with one hand on the spool edge and one guiding the tape and clearing away leaves or dirt “One person can do it but if you’re pulling at an angle it helps if there is a second person to guide the tape ” she says “The edges of the spool are often rough and if pulling at an angle the tape can get caught on the edge ” Ramsay emphasizes the importance of rolling the tape on straight so it doesn’t get tangled She leaves the connectors on the tape but does remove all the stops or female connectors from tape ends This allows the water to escape increasing the amount of tape that can fit on the spool Ramsay and a business partner operate Umi Nami Farm growing specialty Japanese vegetables for farmers markets and restaurants Garden rows can measure 1 000 ft or more in length requiring several spools of drip tape “My largest spools hold about 400 meters 1 300 ft of drip tape ” says Ramsay “When one is full I attach the end of the tape and roll the spool to the barn or shed for storage In the spring I just roll it back to the same end of the field and reverse the process ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Heather Ramsay Umi Nami Farm 961 Matheson Lake Park Rd Metchosin B C Canada V9C 4G9 ph 250 391-0763; uminamifarm@gmail com

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