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Drip Irrigation - Really Basic Question

14 years ago

First post here - I'm usually around the hypertufa forum. Hi everyone.

I'm wanting to set up some kind of semi-automatic irrigation system for the pots I have in and around my greenhouse. One of the drip systems which are all around the garden centres over here (do you call them that in the US?) should be suitable, but I have a question which is so basic that I can't find the answer anywhere.

Do you set up the water supply so that the emitters are dripping constantly, or do you set it to supply periodically?

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Comments (5)

lehua49
14 years ago
Aloha Chris,

First welcome. Please clarify what you mean by semi-automatic irrigation. Usually a system is set up so that you don't have too worry about remembering to water your plants. You do have to adjust the automatic settings for the growth stages of your plants and time of year every so often. Your system has a controller(Timer) to set areas or zones that you want to water. A controller can take care of a various number of zones depending on the controller you buy. It also lets you select the time of day and the duration of the watering you want to do. The amount of water is determined by the size of the emitter you use and how long you run your system(duration)per cycle. You then figure out how many cycles you run per week, by how much water your plants need per week. You shut your system down when it rains manually or pay more for an automatic rain sensor wired to your controller. You can run your system manually to give more water than the system provides. You can buy a controller that fits on your hose faucet and is battery operated. That is the basics. I hope I answered your question without much confusion. Just ask more questions to clarify what is confusing. Aloha
colokid
14 years ago
*"Do you set up the water supply so that the emitters are dripping constantly, or do you set it to supply periodically?
* Any thing is possible but usually they run just enough to put down the quantity of water you want. Most use timers, but myself, being different, I run mine manually. I have 2 gal per minuted drippers at my tomatoes so every morning while I walk around, I turn them on for about 15 minutes. That gives about half a gal..You get the idea.
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You could have mineral deposits or debris clogging up the dripper. I got rid of drippers for a lot of my plants and went to porous tubing instead. Just make sure no length is greater than 15ft (not a problem in pots) and partially bury/cover the tubing. Works great for me. Here is a link that might be useful: Porous Tubing
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BB, Let's see 20 plants at 1 gal per week equals 20 gallons per week. Assuming watering cycle twice a week that is 10 gallons per cycle. Storage capacity of 1,200 gal allows 120 cycles times 0.8 equals 96 cycles or say 100 cycles. Two cycles per week gives you 50 weeks. Your storage is more than adequate. So much so you will have to treat for mosquitoes. 1/2 HP centrifugal pump has a flow rate of about 35 gpm with low pressure. See link below: http://images.harborfreight.com/manuals/94000-94999/94651.pdf Each cycle will take less than a minute but should be monitored and time should adjusted for actual health of the plants. Your check valve is good enough in my opinion. With drip you need good filtration or it will clog emitters. Thank about using 1/2" pvc pipe with 1/16" hole drilled in it for watering. You will not need to filter as good and less clogging. You can go back and re-drill hole if you need larger hole to reduce the pumping time. There are past threads in GW on this subject. JMHO Aloha
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Ewww, thanks for the tip, because that is exactly what I was going to try, bathroom silicone. Although I'm starting to see a workaround. The tubing kit came with connectors that attach to a hose, which I was having a hard time figuring out how to use at first. But the spout fits almost snugly into the tip that is made to attach to the tubing. Since I have a version that connects to the end of a hose and caps it, and a version that connects to both a hose and the tubing, I find that both these parts attach to each other. So I can connect the spout to the end cap version, unscrew the cap, connect that to the hose/tube connector, and attach the tube. This probably doesn't make all that much sense without pics, though, huh? I'll try and put some up once my brain is less tired. The thing that would make this perfect is if the spout could attach just a smidge more snugly without requiring silicone. This way, when it is time to refill, I can turn off the spout, detach the connector so that the whole assembly can remain in place, and just take the container down for refilling. Maybe I will take the spout and the connector to the hardware store to see if I can find a bit of tubing that can serve as an intermediary, as the connector is designed to lock over tubing to be secure. Right now the spout fits within the connector, not over the connector, and therefore cannot be locked into place. Or see if I still have a spare hose clamp around somewhere. I know I got some to repair a dishwasher leak, I just don't know if I got extras. Thanks for the ideas. One of these is bound to work!
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colokid
14 years ago
I meant to say 2 gal per HOUR not per minuet.
ronalawn82
14 years ago
chriscarless, I cannot think of a greenhouse environment which would require constant drip irrigation. I would quantify the water needs of the pots, ascertain the output of the emitter to the pot and run the system long enough to supply the quantity of water. You will have to determine the irrigation interval (period) - daily? every other day? weekly? etc.
You can turn the system on and off manually like colokid does or you can have a timer do it for you. Manual is straightforward; automatic is fun.
chriscarless
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, guys, that sorts me out.

What I meant by semi-automatic is that I'm happy with a system where I can turn a tap on to set it going then turn it off later, monitor the weather to get the watering right etc, rather than something I can leave alone for weeks at a time.

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