NEWS

Drip irrigation systems save water and time in the garden

Article Link 1591 Views 61 Visits By TheMexican on Aug 26 2009, 8:45 pm

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By the Carey Brothers

Whenoutdoor watering comes to mind, we think of a hose with a sprinklerattachment on the end, or better yet, a fancy built-in sprinklersystem. We think of being able to flood our lawn and garden with anample spray of cool liquid refreshment.

Unfortunately, as wehave learned, spray watering can be pretty wasteful. A large landscapearea can consume more water in a week than a family of four needs in anentire month. And, this type of watering is not always effective formany kinds of plant growth. Lawns, trees, shrubs and flowers all havedifferent needs.

So, sprinklers are OK for lawns, but gardenareas need special attention to ensure that the proper amount of wateris being delivered to plants and to reduce water waste.

Thereare many ways to conserve water and improve garden growth at the sametime. Our favorite is known as “drip-watering.” Drip-watering systemshave been around for quite some time and they are pretty sophisticated— and reasonably inexpensive.

Better manufacturers offeraccurate water-pressure regulators, high quality filters, automaticin-line fertilizing devices, a broad selection of water emitters andconnectors, solid and perforated tubing, and a variety of wateringheads and flow reducers.

With the right parts you can controlwater usage to within amazingly accurate tolerances and fertilize atthe same time without even being there. And a great advantage of dripsystems is that they don’t have to be placed deep underground soinstallation is easy.

It isn’t necessary, but if you can affordto include it in your budget, the place to start is with an electrictimer. Most yards can be controlled with a 6-station unit and one canbe purchased on sale for under $60. Timers operate on 110 volts, butuse a very small amount of electricity.

Secondary wires fromthe timer are low voltage and run from the timer to electricallycontrolled sprinkler valves. In-line timers are also available forsingle-line systems.

With a conventional sprinkler system, largepipes have to be buried deep in the ground starting at the controlvalves and ending at the areas to be watered. Some pipes may have to beburied deep with a drip system, but usually not as much.

A waterpressure regulator is a must when considering a drip system. Theregulator should be installed in the water line between the watersupply and the control valves. Good drip systems rely on constant, wellregulated water pressure to ensure that the emitters (waterdistribution devices) will supply the desired amount of water througheach water supply tube.

The emitter regulates water flow andacts as a distribution center for the drip tubing. Emitters areavailable in a wide variety of gallons-per-hour flow rates ranginganywhere from 1 to 20 gallons per hour. A 1-gallon-per-hour emitterwill supply 1 quart of water in 15 minutes — very little waste.

Emittersare also available in several different distribution configurations.Some have only one outlet and will supply a single watering tube only.Others have two, four and even 12 outlets. But remember, regardless ofhow many outlets an emitter has — one or 12 — each of the outlets israted at the same exact gallon-per-hour flow rate.

This raisestwo questions: What do you do if you only need three drip lines and youwant to purchase just one emitter? And, what do you do if you want eachof the three tubes to supply a different amount of water?

If youneed three lines, buy a four-port emitter — one of the ports can beplugged. Yes, there are plugs just for this purpose. Port plugs areremovable so that tubes can be added or subtracted as the landscape isaltered.

If you have one emitter, but need varying volumes ofwater, select an emitter that supplies the maximum amount of water thatwill be needed at any one tube and then add flow reducers to the endsof the tubes where less water will be needed.

A drip-irrigation system is a conservation measure that will improve the quality of your landscape and reduce your water bill.

Remember,when working with an irrigation system; make sure to install a backflowprevention device. This will ensure that water used for irrigationdoesn’t back up into your drinking system. Poisons and microscopicbacteria from the garden can be deadly.

Bury Irrigation

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