Planning a block · Cowiche, WA
Orchard design and irrigation parts lists in Cowiche
Bring the rows, the spacing and the water you have. Leave with a parts list built around Nelson, Toro, Antelco and Irritec product, priced before you commit.
Chapter 01
What a block laid out on guesswork costs you
The failures show up in July. Trees at the far end of a long row get a trickle while the first ten get a flood, because the pressure that left the pump was spent on friction before it reached them. A main sized for the pipe you happened to have on hand, instead of the flow the block needs, does the same thing quietly for years.
Spacing is the other quiet mistake. Emitters or micro sprinklers set on one pattern across trees planted on another leave dry shoulders and wet alleys, and a young block watered like an old one wastes the water and the money behind it.
Then there is dirt. Drip lines and micro heads with no filtration ahead of them plug, and the first season’s fix is a pair of pliers and a lost afternoon. Every one of these is cheaper to settle on paper at the counter than in the rows, and that is what a conversation with someone who handles these parts every day is for.
Coils of drip tubing and boxed fittings stacked in front of the Foothills Irrigation sales counter
How a layout comes together at our counter
Start with what you know. Bring the number of rows and how long they run, the tree spacing, where the water comes from and what pressure it gives you, and whether you lean toward drip, micro sprinklers or impact heads. A rough sketch on the back of an envelope is plenty. If you only have some of those numbers, bring what you have and we will tell you which of the others matter most.
From there our experienced salesmen build the parts list the way the block will be built: PVC pipe for the mainline and laterals, PVC and brass valves, Dura PVC fittings and Pierce fittings where a line turns or splits, IPS glue and primer, Grayline butterfly valves where you want to shut off a section, and Nelson, Toro, Antelco or Irritec product at the tree. Flow-Guard sand media covers filtration, and air vents and pressure reliefs go on the list at the high points and the ends, where they belong.
The list gets priced before you commit. Carry it home to think over, compare it, or order the lot. Many products are on our shelves, and what is not we can usually have within a day, which matters when a crew is waiting on the block. Foothills is a supply store, so this help is for whoever is building the block, whether that is you or a crew you hire.
Chapter 03
After the block goes in
A new system needs a first flush. Open the ends and let the water run until it comes clear before you close the lines, so construction grit does not end up in the emitters. Do it for the mains and then every lateral, one at a time.
Air vents and pressure reliefs earn their place in the first weeks, while lines fill and surge. Sand media filters want attention on a schedule your water sets: clean well water and silty ditch water behave very differently, and the filter tells you which one you have.
The seasons after bring the small repairs, a split lateral, a failed valve, a cracked fitting. Flo-Control repair products and a matching fitting are on the shelf, and if you are not sure what size you have, bring the broken piece to 1811 Thompson Road and we will match it. Call (509) 678-4951 first if the repair cannot wait.
Foothills Irrigation, 1811 Thompson Road, Cowiche. Open Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM to Noon. Call (509) 678-4951.
Around an orchard block
Every part named above is listed on the irrigation and orchard aisle of the Brands page, and the rest of the store’s services are under all services.
Hand us the parts list and get it priced, for one fitting or a whole new block.
Pipe lengths and pallets brought out to the orchard, or shipped when you are farther away.
Blow out the new lines before the first hard freeze with a compressor from the store.