Diy drip irrigation in the greenhouse and in the garden

Providing water for plants and plantations is one of the concerns of homeowners. Someone watered beds with vegetables, someone flower beds and lawns, and someone needs to provide a garden with water. In any case, the procedure is time-consuming. But that's not all: with the usual method, a crust forms on the surface, which prevents the plants from developing, so you have to loosen the soil. All these problems are solved if you make drip irrigation of plants. You can buy ready-made kits, order development and turnkey installation, or you can do everything yourself. Here's how to do drip irrigation yourself and will be discussed in this article.

Principle of operation and varieties

This technology was tested several decades ago. Its results were so impressive that the system became widespread. The basic idea is that water is supplied to the plant roots. There are two ways:

• poured onto the surface near the stem;
• is fed underground into the root formation zone.

The first method is easier to install, the second is more costly: you need a special hose or drip tape for underground installation, a decent amount of land work. For a temperate climate, there is not much difference - both methods work well. But in regions with very hot summers, underground laying showed itself better: less water evaporates and more of it gets to plants.

Drip irrigation is used in vegetable gardens and greenhouses. It is most effective when growing vegetables and fruit

There are gravity systems - they need a water tank installed at a height of at least 1.5 meters, there are systems with stable pressure. They have a pump and a control group - manometers and valves that create the required force. There is completely automated drip irrigation systems... In its simplest form, it is a timer valve that opens the water supply for a specified period of time. More sophisticated systems can control the flow separately for each of the water lines, testing soil moisture and determining the weather. These systems operate under the guidance of processors, the operating modes can be set from the control panel or computer.

Pros and cons

Drip irrigation has many advantages, and they are all significant:

• Labor intensity is significantly reduced. The system can be fully automated, but even in the simplest version, irrigation requires literally a few minutes of your attention.
• Reduced water consumption... This happens due to the fact that moisture is supplied only under the roots, other zones are excluded.
• There is no need for frequent loosening. With the metered supply of water to a small area, a crust does not form on the soil, therefore, it does not need to be broken.
• Plants develop better, yield increases. Due to the fact that water is supplied to one zone, the root system develops in this place. It has a larger number of thin roots, becomes more lumpy, and absorbs moisture faster. All this contributes to rapid growth and more abundant fruiting.
• It is possible to organize root feeding... Moreover, the consumption of fertilizers due to the point feed is also minimal.

The economic efficiency of drip irrigation systems has been proven many times, even on an industrial scale.In private greenhouses and vegetable gardens, the effect will be no less significant: the costs of creating the system can be reduced to a small amount, and all the advantages will remain.

Do-it-yourself drip irrigation does not cost a very large amount

There are also disadvantages, but there are very few of them:

• For normal work water filtration required, and these are additional costs. The system can function without filters, but then it is necessary to consider a purge / flush system to remove blockages.
• Drippers become clogged over time and need to be cleaned or replaced.
• If thin-walled tapes are used, they can be damaged by birds, insects or rodents. There are places of unscheduled water consumption.
• The device takes time and money.
• Periodic maintenance required - blow out the pipes or clean the droppers, check the fastening of the hoses, change the filters.

As you can see, the list of shortcomings is rather big, but all of them are not very serious. This is a really useful thing in the garden, in the garden, on the lawn, flowerbed or in the greenhouse.

Components and layout options

Drip irrigation systems can be organized with any water source. A well, a well, a river, a lake, centralized water supply, even rainwater in tanks will do. The main thing is that there is enough water.

A main pipeline is connected to the source, which brings water to the irrigation site. Then it goes along one of the sides of the irrigated area, at the end it is muffled.

Tees are inserted into the pipeline opposite the beds, to the side outlet of which drip hoses (pipes) or tapes are attached. They have special droppers through which water is supplied to the plants.

The drip irrigation scheme from a barrel is easy to do with your own hands

It is advisable to install a filter or filter system between the outlet from the source and the first branch to the garden. They are not needed if the system is powered by domestic water. If you pump water from a lake, river, rainwater tank, filters are required: there can be a lot of pollution and the system will clog up too often. The types of filters and their number are determined depending on the condition of the water.

How to purify water from a well and a well is described here.

Drip hoses

Drip irrigation hoses are sold in coils from 50 to 1000 meters. Water flow points are already built into them: labyrinths through which water flows before entering the outlet. These oozing hoses provide the same amount of water throughout the line regardless of the terrain. Due to this labyrinth, the consumption at any point of irrigation is practically the same.

They differ in the following characteristics:

• • Tube stiffness... Drip hoses - sometimes hard, sometimes soft. Soft ones are called tapes, hard ones - hoses. Hard can be operated up to 10 seasons, soft - up to 3-4. There are tapes:
    • Thin-walled - with a wall thickness of 0.1-0.3 mm. They are laid only on the surface, their service life is 1 season.
    • Thick-walled tapes have a wall of 0.31-0.81 mm, their service life is up to 3-4 seasons, they are available for both surface and underground laying.

Watering can be organized using tapes or hoses

• Diameter. Affects productivity and maximum line length. The inner diameter of hoses can be from 14 to 25 mm, bands from 12 to 22 mm. Among tapes, the most common size is 16 mm.
• Water consumption... It is selected depending on the required irrigation intensity. Hoses can deliver 0.6-8.0 l / h, thin-walled belts - 0.25-2.9 l / h, thick-walled belts 2.0-8.0 l / h. This characteristic is the flow rate through each dropper.
• Distance between drippers. It can be from 10 to 100 cm. It is chosen depending on the required amount of water and on how often the plants are planted.
• Drippers can be with one outlet or two. At the same time, the water consumption remains stable. Only the depth and the area over which the water spreads change.With one exit, the area is smaller, the depth is greater, with two exits, the irrigated area increases, the depth decreases.
  

  One or two outputs. Chosen depending on the root system of the plant

• Laying method - aboveground, underground, combined.
• Operating pressure.It varies widely depending on the manufacturer: from 0.4 bar to 1.4 bar. You choose depending on whether you have a gravity system, are used water supply pumps or everything is connected to the water supply.

The maximum length of the irrigation line is determined so that the unevenness of water output at the beginning and at the end of the strip does not exceed 10-15%. For hoses, it can be 1500 meters, for tapes - 600 meters. For private use, such values ​​are not in demand, but it is useful to know)).

Droppers

Sometimes it is more convenient to use droppers rather than tapes. These are separate devices that are inserted into a hole in the hose and through which water is supplied under the root of the plant. They can be installed with an arbitrary step - put several pieces in one place, and then several in another. This is convenient when organizing drip irrigation of shrubs or trees.

Separate drippers that are installed in the hose are more convenient to use when watering shrubs, vines and trees

They are of two types - with standardized (constant) and regulated water discharge. The body is usually plastic, on one side there is a fitting that is forcefully inserted into the hole made in the hose (sometimes rubber rings are used for sealing).

There are also compensated droppers - and uncompensated. When using compensated at any point in the irrigation line, the water output will be the same (approximately), regardless of the relief and location (at the beginning or at the end of the line).

There are also spider-type devices. This is when several thin tubes are connected to one outlet. This makes it possible to simultaneously water several plants from one point of water exit (the number of droppers is reduced).

Spider-type dripper - several plants can be watered from one water distribution point

You can read how to make a small greenhouse here... And how to do beautiful garden is written here.

Main pipes and fittings

When creating a system for laying the main pipeline from the water source to the irrigation zone, plastic pipes and fittings are used from:

• polypropylene (PPR);
• polyvinyl chloride (PVC);
• polyethylene:
  • high pressure (HPP);
  • low pressure (PND).

All of these pipes tolerate contact with water well, do not corrode, are chemically neutral and do not respond to fertilization. For watering a small greenhouse, vegetable garden, lawn, a diameter of 32 mm is most often used.

Main pipes are plastic. Specifically choose any type: PPR, HDPE, LDPE, PVC

Tees are installed in the places where the lines are taken off, to the side outlet of which a drip hose or tape is connected. Since they are smaller in diameter, adapters may be needed, and their outer diameter should be equal to the inner diameter of the hose (or slightly less). The tapes / hoses can be secured to the fittings using metal clamps.

Also, bends can be made through special fittings that are installed in a hole of the required diameter made in the hose (as in the photo above).

Sometimes, after the tee, a tap is placed on each water distribution line, which allows you to turn off the lines. This is convenient if drip irrigation is diluted on moisture-loving plants and those that do not like excess water.

If you are reluctant to choose components and select sizes and diameters of fittings, you can buy ready-made drip irrigation kits from various manufacturers.

Diy drip irrigation: device examples

There are many design options for the system - it easily adapts to any conditions. Most often, the question arises of how to organize irrigation independent of electricity.This can be done if a sufficiently voluminous water container is installed at a height of at least 1.5 meters. This creates a minimum pressure of about 0.2 atm. It is enough for watering a small area of ​​a vegetable garden or garden.

Gravity-flow drip irrigation scheme

Water can be supplied to the container from a water supply system, pumped in by a pump, drained from roofs, even filled with buckets. A crane is made in the lower part of the tank, to which the main pipeline is connected. Further, the system is standard: a filter (or a cascade of filters) is installed on the pipeline before the first branch to the irrigation line, and then there is a layout in the beds.

For the convenience of introducing fertilizers on the highway, it is possible to provide for the installation of a special unit. In the simplest case, this, as in the photo above, can be a container with legs, in the bottom of which a hole has been made, and a hose is inserted. A shut-off valve (tap) is also required. It cuts into the pipeline through a tee.

If necessary, you can water both shrubs and fruit trees. The only difference is that the tape or hose is laid around the barrel at some distance. One line is allocated for each tree, the bushes can be watered several pieces on one line. Only in this case, you need to use a regular hose, into which you insert droppers with the required water flow.

If the low pressure in the system does not suit you, you can install on the main water supply pressure boosting pump (look at the photo below) or full pumping station... They will provide water even to distant areas.

Drip irrigation scheme with a pump to increase pressure

Can water be supplied directly from the source? It is possible, but not desirable. And this is not due to technical difficulties - there are not so many of them, but to the fact that plants do not like cold water. This is why most small-scale drip irrigation systems - for greenhouses, vegetable gardens, orchards and vineyards - use storage tanks. In them, water is heated, and then diluted throughout the site.

About, how to make high beds to increase yields read here.

Drip irrigation: how to calculate the system

The capacity from which water is supplied to the system can be one - common, as in the picture above, or separate for each section. With a considerable distance between the objects of irrigation, this can be more profitable than pulling the main pipeline.

The required volume is calculated depending on the number of plants and the volume of water for their normal development. How much water you need to water vegetables depends on the climate and soil. On average, you can take 1 liter per plant, 5 liters for bushes and 10 liters for trees. But this is the same as the "average temperature in the hospital", although it is suitable for approximate calculations. Count the number of plants, multiply by the consumption per day, add up everything. Add 20-25% of the stock to the resulting figure and you know the required volume of capacity.

There are no problems with calculating the length of the line and drip hoses. The highway is the distance from the crane on the tank to the ground, then along the ground to the place of irrigation, and there along the end side of the beds. By adding all these lengths, the required length of the main pipeline is obtained. The length of the tubes depends on the length of the beds and on whether water will be dispensed from one tube to one or two rows (for example, using spider droppers, you can dilute water for two to four rows at a time).

Do-it-yourself drip irrigation is easy to do: The schemes for the greenhouse and the vegetable garden are the same

The number of pipes determines the number of tees or fittings and taps (if you install them). For each branch using tees, we take three clamps: press the hose to the fitting.

The hardest and most expensive part is the filters. If water is pumped from an open source - a lake or river - you first need a coarse filter - gravel. Then there should be fine filters.Their type and quantity depend on the condition of the water. When using water from a well or a well, a coarse filter can be omitted: primary filtration occurs on the suction hose (if used pumping station). In general, there are as many solutions as there are cases, but filters are needed, otherwise the droppers will quickly clog.

Homemade drip hoses and drippers

One of the most significant cost items for self-assembly of a system from ready-made components - droppers or drip tapes. They, of course, ensure the supply of the same amount of water throughout the entire length and the flow rate is stable, but in small areas this is not so necessary. It is possible to regulate the supply and flow of taps built into the beginning of the irrigation line. Therefore, there are many ideas for distributing water for plants using ordinary hoses. See one of them in the video.

This system can hardly be called drip irrigation. This is more of a root watering: water is fed in a trickle under the root, but it works, maybe only a little worse and is more suitable for plants with a root system developed inward. This method will be good for trees, fruit bushes, grapes. They require a significant amount of water to go deep into the water for a decent distance and this homemade drip irrigation system can provide this.

In the second video, really drip irrigation is organized. This is done using medical droppers. If you have the opportunity to stock up on such used material, it will turn out to be very cheap.

The amount of water supplied is regulated by a wheel. From one hose, you can supply water in three and four rows - if you take a hose of sufficient diameter, you can connect not three devices to it, but more. The length of the dropper tubes allows watering in two rows on each side. So the costs will really be small.

Droppers can be used with little or no remodeling. This is if the system was with a bag. An example is in the photo.

Waste to income - watering for young plants is ensured

You can almost also do drip irrigation for indoor plants. It is suitable for those flowers that like constant hydration.

Constantly moisturizing your flowers on the balcony? Easy! Drip irrigation

About, how to make a pond in the country can be read here. Several types beautiful and inexpensive tracks can be found here (with recommendations for their manufacture)

The cheapest drip irrigation: from plastic bottles

There is the cheapest and fastest way to organize water supply to plants without hoses and large containers. You will only need plastic bottles and small lengths - 10-15 cm - thin tubes.

Partially cut off the bottom of the bottles. So that a lid is formed from the bottom. This will prevent the water from evaporating. But you can cut off the bottom completely. At a distance of 7-8 cm from the cap in the bottle, make a hole into which a thin tube is inserted at a slight angle. Dig the bottle with the cork down or tie it to a peg, and stick the peg into the ground next to the plant, directing the tube towards the root. If there is water in the bottle, it, running down the tube, will drip under the plant.

The same design can be done by turning the bottle upside down. But this option is less convenient: it is more difficult to fill in water, you will need a watering can. How it looks like, see the figure below.

Drip irrigation from plastic bottles

As you can see, there is a second option for drip irrigation from plastic bottles. A wire is stretched over the bed, bottles are tied to it in the bottom or lid of which holes are made.

There is another photo option for using bottles, but with standard drippers for irrigation. They are fixed on the neck of the bottles and in this form they are installed under the bush.

How to make drip irrigation in the country from bottles

This option, of course, is not ideal, but it will give the plants the opportunity to develop better, if you can rarely visit the country.And two liters from a bottle can be decisive in the battle for the harvest.