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In this blog I'll primarily share my thoughts with the three communities I'm most passionate about; Disability, Gardening and Web Marketing. Occasionally I may wander over to one of the other communities and throw in my two cents!
by RollinLog
by RollinLog
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Here's An Idea - Vegetable Garden Drip Irrigation
By RollinLog on March 08, 2008 00:001 Comment | Share | 1426 Views | Problem?
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This is the second in a collection of articles in which I will present ideas I have implemented that improved my quality of life. The first article was on Raised-Bed Gardening. This second article, related to the first, is focused on using drip irrigation in my vegetable garden. In these articles on gardening I am presenting a number of ideas that have made gardening easier for me. Drip irrigation does simplify the task of watering the garden, but more importantly, the plants love it as well!
Drip, or micro-irrigation, technology uses a network of plastic pipes to carry a low flow of water under low pressure to the plants. Water is applied much more slowly than with sprinkler irrigation. Some of the advantages of drip irrigation include:
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Water efficiency – Drip irrigation applies water only when and where it’s needed, with less runoff and evaporation from leaves and soil. Drip irrigation exceeds 90% efficiency compared to sprinkler systems which are 50%-70% efficient.
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Reduced pest problems and weed growth – Watering only the roots of plants reduces the amount of water-borne pests and fungal diseases that spread by water movement. It also inhibits growth of weeds in the area between plants.
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Root zone – An important aspect of a drip irrigation system is that a favorable root zone environment is created, which maintains a relatively constant soil moisture level. This makes for stress free plants that actively grow and resist disease.
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Economy – The low-volume irrigation system lowers the amount of water used, thus reducing the cost.
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Ease of installation – Installation is a simple process requiring no special tools or glue.
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Versatility – It is easy to reconfigure the irrigation system as needs in the garden change. For example, when you change the layout of the garden as part of the crop rotation process.
The following resources contain both general information on drip irrigation systems as well as specific product information from several different suppliers.
In addition to the resources listed above you may want to visit your local home center. Even though there are a variety of drip irrigation systems, most have the following basic components:
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Connection to a water supply – I was fortunate that I was able to connect directly to the main supply line for the sprinkler system that waters my yard. If you don’t have a sprinkler system there are several ways you can connect the drip system to an existing hose bib.
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Valve and optional timer – You need a way to turn on the system. I was able to use my master controller to activate the electric valve to the drip system. But there are several ways you can set up your system to work automatically using a battery-operated controller or timer. I think this is a real plus since you don’t have to be present to oversee the watering task.
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Backflow prevention – To assure you don’t contaminate the water in your house you will want to provide some form of backflow prevention such as a backflow device or an anti-siphon valve.
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Water filter – Water quality is important for the proper operation of a drip system. The filter removes algae, sand and other materials that may clog the emitters.
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Pressure regulator – Drip irrigation systems work on a much lower pressure (~30 psi) than a traditional sprinkler system or the pressure coming out of a hose bib. These devices reduce the water pressure to that recommended by the manufacturer of the system.
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Mainline – The mainline, often ½” polyethylene flexible pipe, carries the water from the pressure regulator to the emission devices.
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Emission devices – Emission devices efficiently deliver precise amounts of water to plant root zones. There are a wide variety of emission devices including: single and double outlet emitters, micro-bubbler and micro-spray devices. For my vegetable garden I used a simple single emitter running to a diffuser on a flex riser stake. See the picture below:
An interesting challenge in planning and using a drip irrigation system is determining how much and how frequently to water. There are several factors to consider while making this determination. The type of soil is perhaps the most critical factor. Sandy soil can take faster flow rates and more water than loam or clay soils. The second factor to consider is the average temperature and humidity in your area of the country. Finally, the types of plants you are growing may impact your design. Several of the resources I have included can help you determine what flow rates and frequencies will work best in your garden.
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah which is essentially a dessert during the growing season. Average daily highs are in the mid 90s with lots of sunshine and very low humidity. In addition the soil in my raised-bed garden is very sandy. This is pretty close to worst case as far as how much water is required for the plants. As a result I have found that for my garden watering every other day for about an hour works well. For my tomato plants I use two 2 GPH emitters so they’re getting about 4 gallons of water every other day.
Let me share one final note on using drip irrigation. I have found it works best if when planting that you form a “bowl” (12”-18” in diameter) around the plant to hold the water until it has time to be absorbed into the soil. This can be done by locating the base of the plant a little lower than ground level or by forming a dirt mound around the plant. This same “bowl” also functions well to hold mulch in place covering the root ball of the plant. I will discuss that, along with some other labor-saving ideas in the next article of this gardening series.
Drip irrigation may be the ultimate labor-saving idea for the gardener. However, I believe the greatest benefit of drip irrigation is the consistent moisture environment it maintains in the plant’s root zone. This results in strong, healthy, well producing plants and a bountiful harvest.
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Assistance | Benefits | Disabilities | Fun | Gardening | Mobility impairment | Other sports | Spinal cord injuryRelated Tags
Benefit | Disability | Drip Irrigation | Garden | Mobility Impairment | Running | Spinal Cord InjuryComments
Gideon, Posted about 1 month ago
The best water savings in irrigation is achieved by matching the water discharge rate to the plant uptake rate. Drain below the root zone is therefore prevented and the water/air balance in the soil is better for the plant. The method was developed in Israel and called “Micro-Drip Irrigation” and “Gravity Drip Irrigation” enables a discharge as low as one glass of water (250CC) per hour.
Rain-Tal Ltd specializes in Low Volume and Micro-Drip Irrigation methods. For more details:
http://www.rain-tal.com