Beginner gardener: Question about drip irrigation
visualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (22)
Related Discussions
Drip Irrigation for you garden plants
Comments (7)I use a system similar to Dan's. It consists of ½" mainline tubing along the top of the garden with ¼" dripline running the length of the beds. Works great and wastes very little water. At the head of the system is a timer, filter, and pressure regulator. During the hottest weather I set it to water three days a week, at intervals in the early morning. Mine's from Dripworks. They're very helpful and knowledgeable, and will plan your system for you for free if you give them a sketch of your garden layout. Last year I added a separate set of lines (on a separate timer) that are connected to misters that are mounted on stakes and spray downwards. Between each mister and the mainline is a shutoff valve. This lets me mist freshly-seeded beds often enough to keep them moist until germination  a few times a day in hot weather. They're great labor-savers, and also let me be away from the garden for days or weeks. The biggest drawback is that you can't harvest mechanically, weed-whack, use a garden fork, etc. in beds that have dripline in them (or you'll tangle or cut the lines). So I wind up doing edge trimming, weeding, and harvesting by hand, or pulling out the lines temporarily in order to harvest an entire bed or fork in compost. Elevated sprinklers alongside the beds would reduce these problems, at the expense of wasted water and more chance for disease and fungus due to wet foliage. How do others deal with this trade-off?...See Moredrip irrigation/timer question
Comments (1)I have an orchard. I put in posts and wire to suspend the main line around 2 feet off the ground. There is some buried main line as well, but I don't like having too many buried lines because if they should leak it might take quite some time before you notice, and quite a long time to find the leak location. Burying one relatively short line shouldn't' be a problem, though. You could use garden hose as your main line and move it when you mow. You can connect your system to use the rain barrel at all times. Use your garden hose to manually fill up the rain barrel when needed. Or you could even use a float valve to automatically top off the rain barrel from the hose. Then everything would be zero pressure. I think a hose timer will work OK with zero pressure. So you could have branch A be main line, back-flow preventer, pressure reducer, hose bib A. Branch B would be water barrel, hose bib B. Connect the hose timer to hose bib A when you are home, and hose bib B when you are out. Don't forget to turn on the hose bib before you go on vacation! If you can get your rain barrel 10 feet above your garden, everything will work much better. If you only have one or two feet of pressure, even drip irrigation might not work very well. I believe most drip irrigation is designed to work at 5 psi (hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong). That is like 11 feet of water pressure, I believe. --McKenzie...See Moredrip irrigation question and advice.
Comments (5)If you can come off your tee and end up with a male hose thread, then you can get an adapter that is female garden hose thread x 1/4" barb or 1/4" compression. Make you sure you have a filter, pressure regulator and backflow on your system....See MoreQuestion for Mike about drip irrigation system
Comments (15)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!...See Morevisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agoUser
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agoSusan Highland USDA Zone 9b
3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years agovisualinc CA | Zone 9b
3 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years agoTodd Black
3 years agoSusan Highland USDA Zone 9b
3 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years agoSusan Highland USDA Zone 9b
3 years ago
Related Stories
WORLD OF DESIGNA Beginner’s Guide to the Japanese Tea Garden
A small roji, or teahouse garden, offers a respite from everyday life. Why not make one part of your home garden?
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Install a Drip Irrigation System
Save time and water with a drip watering system in your vegetable garden — a little patience now will pay off later
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES5 Things to Know About Watering Your Native Garden
Ensure the success of your new plantings with a smart approach to irrigation
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES10 Tips to Start a Garden — Can-Do Ideas for Beginners
Green up your landscape even if you're short on time, money and knowledge, with these manageable steps for first-time gardeners
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESNew Ways to Think About All That Mulch in the Garden
Before you go making a mountain out of a mulch hill, learn the facts about what your plants and soil really want
Full StoryREGIONAL GARDEN GUIDESCalifornia Gardener’s February Checklist
With spring just around the corner, here are 9 ideas for getting a head start on the season
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES6 Questions That Will Help You Pick the Best Plants for Your Site
Before you head to the nursery, learn more about your outdoor space
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESBasic Lingo Every Novice Gardener Needs to Know
Make sense of garden jargon with this beginner’s guide to horticultural terms
Full StoryDECKSA Family-Friendly California Yard Wises Up About Water
Pavers and unthirsty plants replace Kentucky bluegrass in a Menlo Park landscape for a family of 4
Full StoryEDIBLE GARDENSThere’s a Lot to Love About a Meyer Lemon Tree
See how to grow this sweet fruit tree
Full Story
M. Wilson