Watering a garden is a chore most of us dread each season. For me, dragging a 100-foot water hose around the yard always results in broken plant stalks. Plus, your risk of spreading plant diseases increases when watering overhead and wetting the entire plant. Not to mention all the excess water you waste that runs off target.
Drip irrigation solves these issues and many more. It allows you the freedom to go on vacation and work busy schedules without remembering to water, and it gives you pinpoint watering with no waste, which saves you money.
You can also add fertilizer to your crop with a drip system. And low-flow or drip irrigation encourages your plants to root deeper. With the water trickling out at a slow rate, it sinks into the soil deeper, and the plant roots will follow the life-giving water. This means you get a bigger, healthier plant.
Now, the big questions. How much does it cost? How do I install it with limited knowledge?
The cost of adding a drip system to your garden depends on its size. However, most home gardeners can install one for about $120. Not a bad investment for what you get back in time and growing stronger plants.
Installing drip irrigation in your garden could not be easier. All of the fittings are connected by hand-tightening or push locks. The tubing is cut with a box knife or scissors. The only tool you really need to buy is a $3 tubing punch.
How do you know what to buy? Go to www.dripworks.com to find a gallery of irrigation plans to fit any yard, farm or garden.
You will need a few things no matter what type or size of irrigation system you install.
The first thing is a battery-powered timer. Most hardware stores stock a few choices. Typically, they come in one valve or four valve. If you have a big garden or multiple flower beds you may want to have more than one valve.
Valves allow you to water different zones around the yard from one timer. The timer is also what turns the water on and off at a specific times and interval.
After purchasing a timer, you will want to make your irrigation take off or manifold. This consists of a backflow preventer, filter, pressure regulator and a fitting for your ¾-inch feeder line.
The backflow preventer keeps the water in irrigation lines from coming back into the household water supply. A filter keeps any small waterborne particles from clogging drip emitters.
Even if you are using city water, you still need a filter. The pressure regulator slows down your water psi (pounds per square inch) from the house. Most city water comes into the house at about 60-80 psi. Drip irrigation systems use 8-30 psi, depending on your drippers or tubing.
Make sure you use ¾-inch poly tubing for the line from your manifold to the garden. This is called your feeder or header line. Route the feeder line to your garden by putting the tubing on top of the ground or burying it a few inches below grade.
I would bury the line so the lawn mower does not shred it. Then pop it out of the ground at the edge of your garden. All your branch lines will connect to this feeder line.
At this point you are ready to install your row runs with your choice of drip system.
There are four main ways to deliver water to your row crops. There are ½-inch or ¼-inch pressure-compensating emitter tubing, soaker drip line, T-tape and individual emitters that go into a solid ½-inch or ¼-inch poly tubing. For flower beds you can also use a variety of minisprinklers, misters and pot drippers on stakes.
I like the pressure-compensating emitter tubing. The emitters (drippers) come spaced 6-36 inches apart to fit any plant spacing you have. Each emitter will deliver the same amount of water along the line. The soaker drip line fills the whole row with water. This system works great snaked through mulched flower beds.
T-tape also comes with spacing of 6-36 inches. It is the cheapest option and has the shortest life expectancy - at one to two years. It stays flat until the water comes on. It, too, is pressure compensating, meaning the water comes out at the same rate along the row.
Using a solid poly line, you can add emitters anywhere you want. I like this setup for my potted plants around the porch or where I need more spacing.
The poly tubing, hand-tightened fittings and the manifold parts will last years if you put them away in the fall. There are numerous websites selling drip irrigation. Drip Works is my favorite. Its staff is knowledgeable, and it offers free planning resources. Just think, you could spend only two days or less a year installing and winterizing your drip system. Or you could spend almost every day in late summer watering by hand.
I promise you will not go back to that archaic water hose.
Chris Postalwait is the agricultural and environmental research station and greenhouse manager for West Virginia State University Research & Development Corporation. He is also the former owner of Orange Vine LLC., a wholesale commercial pumpkin and vegetable farm in Mason County. Contact Chris at postalcm@wvstateu.edu.