Drip irrigation is fantastic in large spaces. In my ~2500sq/ft kitchen garden it’s just too much stuff to trip over, not to mention being a bit of work to set up.
I switched back to soaker hoses last summer. I’ll set up driplines on the chestnut grove I’m developing, but the garden gets soaker hoses from here on out.
Berry Hill Irrigation (https://www.berryhilldrip.com/) has a great selection of supplies. Highly recommended.
Thanks.
(50x50=2,500) My high tunnel will be 22x35 or 770 sq ft which wouldn't be too bad for setting up drip by hand but then I'll also be growing stuff outside on either side of it. Taters etc. I also have no idea how I'm going to arrange inside the tunnel. Hard to plan for drip which is why I figured I'd start with soaker hoses. Might be a different arrangement per season too. I don't want to be buying stuff constantly and with the humidity here in the Ozarks, I'm not keen on overhead watering but a tunnel gets no rain so I need something.
Old style soaker hoses simply connected to a spigot always had a problem with watering the end closest to the spigot more than the other end but I think with the new hoses, plus a pressure regulator, that is avoided.
I think drip best for commercial growers that have a large enough operation with a lot of long straight rows where they can lay drip tape and plastic mulch in a single pass with a tractor. In that case, they usually also have an attachment to wind it up after harvest and then they trash it which seems wasteful.
A more permanent instance like a grove/orchard seems like a good use for drip too, though with trees, you could also do a sprinkler system which is even more permanent but also more expensive and more work.
I suppose once chestnut trees are established and big, they won't need watering. Fruit orchard is a different story. They'll survive a drought once established but you wouldn't get much of a crop.