on Ques 
What Growers Say About Automatic Watering 
THE FOLLOWING LETTERS WERE RECEIVED BY THE AUTHOR DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, 1946, REPOPTS 
FROM GROWERS SHOW MORE THAN 200,000 SQUARE FEET OF BENCH AREA IS NOW IN AUTOMATIC WATERING 
IN THE NORTHEASTERN STATES, 
g 
GeorGE Bo FART 
INCORPORATED 
Wolesale locist 
florists Supplied 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. 
I have just completed our report for 
December and January, am I wanted you to 
know some of the facts in the report. We 
are 26,000 roses ahead of last year for Dec- 
ember and 40,000 ahead of last year for Jan- 
uary. These two months together are 12,000 
roses more than our best previous record for 
these two months, : 
I only wish I could have had this report. 
60 that I could have given some of the results 
at the Short Course. There has been so much 
that has been of interest in it. We graded 
these roses for January separately and com 
pared them with those of the same variety sur= 
face watered. Those automatically watered 
ranged from 3 = 5 1/2 per cent nine inch, 
while those from the houses that were surface 
watered, ranged from 10 = 13 per cent nine 
inch. For January the total cut for all var 
ieties was 13 per cent nine inch. This was 
the best in nine years, when we had 12.6 per 
cent nine inch but when we did not have the 
production along with it. 
In comparing two, hundred foot benches, 
one automatically watered and one surface 
watered, each with tensiometer and watered 
at the same reading, we found that the auto 
matically watered bench used 120 gallons of 
water each watering while the one surface 
watered used 600 gallons. In seven months we 
used 3,130 gallons against 30,000 gallons. 
ae is about a 90 per scent saving on water 
one. 
Mike Winandy has promised to be here in 
& month to put in 8 two hundred and fifty foot 
benches ani thirty, one hundred foot benches, 
all these will be the Post's type for auto- 
matic watering, Of the new benches finished 
last month, we have 7 one hundred foot benches 
hooked up to be watered by one automatic 
valve. The other 7 one hundred foot benches 
are arranged to maintain a constant water 
level with one float valve. 
Gardenias 
We have a house of gardenias in raised 
shallow V bottom concrete benches. Some of 
these have been surface watered, some we 
maintained constant water level and some have 
been watered by the injection method. Using 
a hundred as a basis of production from the 
surface watered benches, we. have 119 from the 
automatically injected and 127 from the con- 
stant water level benches. 
Best of all though is the increase in 
larger grades from the benches of the new 
type watering. Taking the month of January 
and comparing it with January 1940 which was 
our best previous January we have the follow— 
ing: 
Surface watered 
Automatically Watered 
an.'4o Jan. '46 lat 15 days 
Specials 10% 14g Lt 
#1 yn) A 
fe (average 284 % Se 
22% 5% 0% 
vf 1, of 
Our monthly soil tests show there is a 
big saving on the amount of fertilizer used 
in automatic watering, The plants put in 
your type of bench last June have not as yet 
required any fertilizer. While those planted 
in old style benches have required monthly 
applications of fertilizer starting the second 
month after planting. 
It is a lot easier to maintain the nite 
rate level in the automatio benches as it does 
not leach out. And with the better nitrate 
level we are getting better stem length. 
We are completely sold on automatic 
watering, for its labor saving, watering is 
More acourate and we are saving on water (90 
per cent saving), The soil structure is re- 
latively unchanged. It prevents packing down 
am poorer growth as a result. ‘With the 
labor of today there is always the chance of 
spreading disease with surface watering and 
automatic watering has eliminated that chance, 
So we feel that the above results war 
rant a change over as soon as possible. By 
this summer we will have fifteen 250 Ft. 
benches, fifty eight 100 Ft. benches and two 
50 Ft. benches (for propagating), all auto— 
matic. And che rest, we hope next year can 
be ohanged over. Coe quate 
