Moisture is needed for plants in the garden. It will be better if it comes to the roots constantly and in metered quantities. To do this, there is a device for drip irrigation. Difficulties with the installation of the system further relieve heavy and inefficient physical labor. This can be judged by the numerous reviews of gardeners. Many are satisfied with such a release from heavy manual labor. In addition to watering, there are many other things to do in the country. It is tempting to replace hard and painstaking work with rest.
There are many types of devices and irrigation systems. They can be made or assembled with your own hands, as well as attract specialists.
Pros and cons of drip irrigation
Drip water has many benefits.
- The flow of water directly under the stem, which allows fertilizer to be applied simultaneously with moisture.
- Saving working time and physical strength of the summer resident. Having mounted the systemonce, you can not engage in manual watering throughout the season.
- Exclusion of the possibility of drying out of the soil. Its humidity is always enough for the necessary growth of plants.
- The system can be used for any plant as it is universal.
- The ability to choose the best option for irrigating the beds.
Among the shortcomings, one can note the cost of component parts of the drip irrigation device: fittings, hoses, tapes, a dosing water pump, a filter, etc. The system must be constantly monitored, periodically remove contamination, check the flow of water, the operation of valves, etc. e. The unit is volatile and requires a constant supply of electricity.
Drip irrigation: device and principle of operation
Drip irrigation system delivers moisture directly to the roots, saving water and preventing damage to above ground parts of plants. Water flows slowly at certain periods or continuously, which allows you to maintain a given level of soil moisture, which has a beneficial effect on horticultural crops.
Do-it-yourself drip irrigation: where to start?
First, the drip irrigation scheme is drawn on paper, where all irrigation points, the location of the water source and the tank are indicated. The step between the rows of plantings is measured. By ready-made sizes, you can easily calculate the number of communications.
If a pump is installed, its location can be any, but when watering by gravity, the container is installed closer to the plants.
The beds are laiddrip hoses or tapes. They have built-in special droppers for supplying water to plants.
Before you assemble the drip irrigation system, you must have all the accessories for irrigation. With experience, it is advisable to choose them yourself, since watering kits are more expensive.
- Water container - barrel or tank.
- The main water distribution manifold from which it is supplied to the branches.
- Drip hose or tape.
- Valves connecting drip tapes to the collector.
Metal containers are not recommended as corrosion clogs the system. If this cannot be avoided, the drip irrigation device must contain quality filtration.
Drip Hoses
Hoses are sold in coils. Their feature is the supply of the same amount of water throughout the beds, even if the terrain is uneven. The maximum irrigation length is selected so that the unevenness at the beginning and end of the hose does not exceed 10-15%. For one season for drip irrigation of the garden, it is enough to use tapes with a wall thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 mm. They are laid only from above.
Thick-walled (up to 0.8 mm) will last 3-4 seasons. They can also be used for underground laying. The diameter of the tapes is 12-22 mm (common size is 16 mm). Rigid tubes last up to 10 seasons. Their diameter is 14-25 mm.
Through one dripwater consumption is:
- hose - 0.6-8 l/h;
- thin-wall tape - 0.25-2.9 l/h;
- thick wall tape - 2-8 l/h.
To control the flow rate, a drip tap is connected to the hose or drip tape.
On average, for 1 plant you need to take 1 liter of water per day, for bushes - 5 liters, for a tree - 10 liters. The data are indicative, but suitable for determining the total consumption. To be more precise, when drip irrigation is performed, 1.5 liters are required for 1 tomato bush, 2 liters for cucumbers, and 2.5 liters for potatoes and cabbage. 20-25% of the reserve is added to the result obtained and the required tank volume is determined.
The distance between the droppers depends on the frequency of planting and can be from 10 to 100 cm. Each of them has one or two outlets. In this case, the flow rate may remain the same, but in the latter case, the depth decreases and the irrigation area increases. Spider droppers are installed on the bed in 4 rows with distribution of up to 4 plants.
Droppers
Droppers can be installed on plastic pipes. They are produced in several types:
- with fixed water flow;
- adjustable - with manual adjustment of irrigation intensity;
- uncompensated - the intensity of the water supply decreases towards the end of the bed;
- compensated - with a membrane and a special valve, creating a constant pressure during pressure fluctuations in the water supply;
- like "spider" - with distribution for several plants.
External droppers are inserted into a plastic tube, in which holes are pierced with an awl.
Filtering
Special attention is paid to the purification of irrigation water. Coarse filtration is performed first, and then fine filtration. Dirty water drops quickly clog.
Assignment of fittings
The system can be easily assembled using special fittings for drip irrigation.
- Start connectors for attaching drip tape to plastic water pipes. They are made with a sealing rubber band or clamping nut. Holes are drilled in the HDPE pipe with a wood drill with a centering spike and start connectors with or without taps are tightly inserted. Water flow regulation is required if individual zones consume less than others or for alternate irrigation of different areas.
- Angled or tee drip irrigation fittings are used to connect the tape to a flexible garden hose. They are also used for its branching or for turns. Fitting seats are made in the form of ruffs, which ensures a tight fit of the tubes.
- The repair fitting is used in the event of a break or to extend the drip tape. With its help, its ends are connected.
- The plug is installed at the ends of the drip tape.
Installation of a thin-walled tape irrigation system
Distributing polyethylene pipes with a diameter of 4 cm are connected to the garden water supply. This diameter is best suited for installing a start connector - a specialdrip irrigation faucet for attaching a perforated drip tape to a pipe.
It is made in thin thickness and assembled with rebar. Holes are made at regular intervals. The drip tape is put on the faucet with an interference fit, and then additionally fixed with a plastic nut. At the ends of the sleeves are closed with plugs, soldered or tucked.
The disadvantage is the low strength of the tape material, which is easily damaged by rodents and insects. For other indicators, the system shows itself only on the positive side.
Installation of a system with tubes and built-in droppers
The system is highly durable and much more durable. It consists of a hose in which cylindrical droppers are embedded at regular intervals. The tube can be placed on the surface of the soil, mounted on stands, suspended from a wire or buried in the ground.
Water under pressure diverges from the tank through the system and is smoothly distributed, coming from small holes. It is important that the tank is at a height of 1-1.5 m above the ground. The gardener only needs to fill it in a timely manner, after which the liquid flows to the plants under the influence of gravity.
How to water cucumbers?
In industrial systems, drip irrigation of cucumbers is carried out with water supply to each plant. The depth of the roots is 15-20 cm and tensiometers are installed there to control the humidity. For gardeners, improvised tools made of plastic are suitable.bottles. They are installed on the bottom or with a closed cork in the ground. The top must be open to fill with water.
- The first way. The dropper is made from a used ballpoint pen refill. It is washed with a solvent from the remnants of the paste and drowned out from the end with a match. At the end, a puncture is made in half the thickness of the rod. A homemade dropper is inserted into a puncture made from the bottom of the bottle at a height of 15-20 cm. Then the containers are filled with water and placed near the bushes so that moisture gets to the root.
- The second way. Holes are made in the bottle along the entire height, departing from the bottom by 3-5 cm. Then it is buried upside down to a depth of 20 cm. The cork is unscrewed and the container is filled with water through the top. The bottle can be buried with the neck down, after cutting off the bottom, through which it is convenient to fill it with water in the future. So that the holes are not clogged with earth, the bottles are wrapped on the outside with a needle-punched cloth used as a covering material for greenhouses.
- Third way. Bottles filled with water can be hung above the ground by punching holes in the lid.
Bottle drip irrigation of cucumbers is convenient due to cost-effectiveness, since there is no need to spend money on materials. The disadvantage is the complexity of installation over large areas. The process of filling with water is troublesome, and the holes are often clogged with soil. Despite this, one can be convinced of the advantages of the drip method. Reviews say that in small greenhouses it is quite effective.
Full-fledged watering of cucumbers in large greenhouses is more convenient to produce through a centralized system with branded droppers.
Drip irrigation devices: automation
Auto-irrigation requires funds for equipment, but as a result, a lot of time will be saved and the crop will compensate for the costs. The most important component of the system is a controller or timer that does not require human intervention. The last to set is only the frequency and duration of irrigation. The timer can be electromechanical or electric. The controller can set the watering program, which takes into account the pressure in the system, sets the watering cycles by day and takes into account humidity and temperature.
For simple systems, the drip irrigation scheme provides for a single-channel device, and in a complex scheme, the number of channels may be required more. Judging by the reviews, experienced gardeners prefer to use a few simple timers that work on separate programs.
In order not to depend on the source of energy, it is advisable to purchase devices powered by several AA batteries.
Automatic drip irrigation from a water supply often requires a pump. Its power must correspond to consumption. The mechanism should be simple, not very noisy and resistant to chemical compounds that are often used in the system as fertilizers.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that surface irrigation is the most common, the lack of sometimes favorable conditions for it,water scarcity and energy savings lead to the need to use one or another drip irrigation device. The choice depends on the climate, landscape, types of cultivated crops and other factors.
It is important to properly design and install a drip irrigation system to reduce the chance of failure and save time on repairs and maintenance.
