One of the more relaxing chores in the world of gardening is sitting yourself down in a lawn chair, hose in hand, sending a gentle sprinkling of water onto your vegetable beds. That's the kind of lazy, hours long fun you can have when you're retired. But if you aren't? Install a drip irrigation system in your home garden. Right now.
Hand watering is almost meditative. Unless you're watering more than 4 feet of lawn that is. If you have 1,600 square feet, a self diagnosed hyperactivity disorder, and soil that drains like a gambler's bank account? THEN it just sucks.
So a few years ago I looked into installing a drip system for my vegetable garden.
And then I got overwhelmed and confused and felt like I might stroke out so I continued with hand watering. When I finally got around to installing a drip system I did that thing we all do when we put something off. I swore at myself for not doing it sooner. Big swears too.
It turns out drip systems aren't all that difficult. They just seeeeem difficult to the uninitiated. I ended up emailing the company I buy my row cover from and asked them to help me. They sell all the stuff you need for drip irrigation including entire kits with everything included. I just wasn't sure what size kit I needed or if I needed two of them or if I should just do it without a kit.
So I took a shot, randomly sent them my garden plan and asked for help.
Within a few days someone from the company sent me back a mock up of my garden with a drip layout, a list of everything I needed to do it and the price it would be ($324 for my entire 40' X 40' plot.)
It took 3 days after work to install (working 2-3 hours each time) and I love it with all of my heart. I big heart love it. I lasagna love it.
What's to love you ask? Here are a few things:
Benefits of Drip Irrigation
- No waste of water. It goes directly in the ground where you want it, not onto paths, not onto the dense layer of plant leaves and not into the air.
- You can water and work in your garden at the same time. Try doing that while dodging a sprinkler.
- Every single inch of your garden is watered. There are no dry or missed corners.
- Because the water is dripped so slowly it's fully absorbed deeply into the soil with no run off.
- You can set it to a timer and forget about it.
- It works especially well with raised beds which dry out more quickly than other types of beds.
So, just like installing LED lighting which you can read about here, drip irrigation can seem a bit YIKES, but once it's explained by someone as stupid as you are, it all makes sense. You just need an equally confused person to explain it to you.
I am just that person.
Here's a video of the entire drip system after I've installed it so you can make sense of the layout and what it all looks like.
HOW TO INSTALL DRIP IRRIGATION
There are 2 types of tubing with drip irrigation: the drip tube (or tape), which has holes in it for dripping water in the beds and the irrigation tubing which is the hose that feeds the drip hose.
- Assemble your filter and pressure reducer. (The pressure reducer ensures you always have constant water pressure at 12 psi.) Start your project at the end of your garden that's closest to the water supply.
These are what the pieces look like unassembled but laid out in order.
Tape your pipe ends with plumbing tape (provided) and screw everything together. If you're ordering from the place I ordered from (Dubois Agrinovation) you'll get the exact same parts that go together in the exact same order, the exact same way).
- 2. Attach your assembled filter and pressure reducer to your garden hose. Make sure it is OFF. Then attach the end of your supply hose to the filter.
3. Run your supply hose to where you want your drip hoses to run. In my case I needed to run 2 supply hoses, one to feed the left side of my garden and one to feed the right side. To run the hose to where you need it you may need to cut the supply hose and attach elbows or tees, like you see below.
4. Run your supply hose the full length of your garden and attach shut off valves.
5. Cut your drip tape to length and lay them on your garden beds with the holes facing UP. You should have one drip tape per row of plants or approximately 1 drip tape every 12".
*(laying drip tape would be much easier in the spring when the garden isn't full of plants)
6. Lay out all of your on/off valves where your drip tape meets your supply line.
*TIP: If you're working alone, lay a rock on one end of the drip tape while you run it to keep it in place.
If you're working in a garden with plants already, just lay the rock on one end of your drip tape then gently pull the plants up and lay the tape underneath. Then pull the drip line tight and straight.
7. Attach all of your drip tape on/off valves. For me there were 32 of them to fit. Here's how to attach the drip lines to the supply line.
You'll notice there aren't any drip emitters. Each piece of drip tape already has holes in it where the water seeps out.
8. Before you put the end caps on your drip line you have to purge the system so any dirt that got into the lines gets flushed out. Close the valves at the end of your supply line, make sure all the drip line valves are open and turn the water on. This is your first test run. Wooooo!
9. Once you've run the lines long enough for any soil to have been flushed out, turn the water off and attach the end caps to all of your drip lines.
10. Smile. Your system is now fully installed.
The drip system delivers water slowly through holes in the top of the drip tape. The water will spread out and down.
Here's a cross section of the soil after ½ an hour of the drip system running. You can see how far down and wide the water has travelled.
Still confused? Here it is in a nutshell.
- Assemble filter & pressure reducer.
- Attach garden hose and drip system supply hose.
- Run supply hose along where you want water.
- Attach drip tape off of supply hose.
- Purge system.
- Do a little dance, make a little love.
If you have a normal sized garden and only need 10 rows of drip tape, a kit with everything you need will cost you $155.
But there are kit sizes for every garden if you take a look here.
Installing Drip Irrigation at Home
Installing a drip irrigation isn't nearly as convoluted as it seems. Follow these instructions and you can have it done in hours.
Materials
- Drip irrigation kit that includes tubing, drip tape, elbows, couplings, filter, pressure regulator etc.
- Water supply
Tools
- Scissors
- Wrench (possibly)
Instructions
- Line your filter and pressure reducerup according to the kits instructions or following the photo in this post.
- Tape your pipe ends with plumbing tape (provided) and screw everything together. If you’re ordering from the place I ordered from (Dubois Agrinovation) you’ll get the exact same parts that go together in the exact same order, the exact same way).
- Attach your assembled filter and pressure reducer to your garden hose. Make sure it is OFF. Then attach the end of your supply hose to the filter.
- Run your supply hose to where you want your drip hoses to run. In my case I needed to run 2 supply hoses, one to feed the left side of my garden and one to feed the right side. To run the hose to where you need it you may need to cut the supply hose and attach elbows or tees, like you see in my photos.
- Run your supply hose the full length of your garden and attach shut off valves.
- Cut your drip tape to length and lay them on your garden beds with the holes facing UP. You should have one drip tape per row of plants or approximately 1 drip tape every 12″.
- Lay out all of your on/off valves where your drip tape meets your supply line.
- Attach all of your drip tape on off valves. For me there were 32 of them to fit. Here’s how to attach the drip lines to the supply line.
- Before you put the end caps on your drip line you have to purge the system so any dirt that got into the lines gets flushed out. Close the valves at the end of your supply line, make sure all the drip line valves are open and turn the water on. This is your first test run. Wooooo!
- Once you’ve run the lines long enough for any soil to have been flushed out, turn the water off and attach the end caps to all of your drip lines.
- Smile. Your system is now fully installed.
Notes
Quick Guide
- Assemble filter & pressure reducer.
- Attach garden hose and drip system supply hose.
- Run supply hose along where you want water.
- Attach drip tape off of supply hose.
- Purge system.
- Do a little dance, make a little love.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
How long do you run the system? Drip systems run for anywhere from ½ hour - 2 hours at a time depending on your soil. Different soils need different amounts of water depending on how much they drain.
Do you have to take it all apart in winter? The system can stay put throughout the entire winter. Just drain or blow some of the water out of the lines so they don't freeze and break the tubes. The only thing you need to take apart and bring inside is the filter and pressure gauge.
Will anything on the system break? Over time the drip lines might get accidentally punctured or develop holes that make the water squirt high in the air. This is alarming at first. Don't worry about it. When you get your system you'll get a huge roll of drip line tape so you can easily just replace it by removing the old damaged drip tape and cutting a new length of drip tape and installing it.
Do you still like it? I love it! I love this drip system. I walk into my garden, turn the water on and let it do its thing while I work on other stuff. Seriously. I can't recommend one of these type of systems enough.
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Great post! I have a Dubois irrigation system on a timer for part of my covered growing space. It really is a time and water saver so I've meant to plan and purchase a second (&third) system for another couple of garden plots. With all the rain this summer, I keep moving this job to the bottom of the list. This would be a great time to get it so it's ready to go in the spring. Thanks for the reminder.
This is your best gardening post. Ever! You would not believe the thick crap I've been reading in an effort to figure out how these systems work. Not once did you mention a double check valve or an atmospheric vacuum breaker backflow preventer. The kind of words that make you think you might need a degree in fluid physics before you can irrigate a bed of lettuce.
I had also written off your supplier as a source after being told by locals who should have known better they were too expensive for home gardeners. Also not true. I can afford this. Waaaay cheaper than what it has been taking to repair this ragged old body after a season of hauling water and hoses that weigh more than I do.
What a relief! I can do this. Thank you for this.
OH cripes! Their stuff is always a great price. I discovered them a few years ago on the recommendation of a fellow super-serious gardener. We would order stuff together because if it's over $70 (I believe) shipping is free. This drip line is the BEST thing I've done in my garden. Once I get it hooked up to a timer I'm set. ~ karen!
Thank you!! Thank you!! I installed a Home Depot system two years ago - for a small 8x4 bed. The little sprinkler heads did not get enough water some places and too much other spots. It was frustrating as my tomatoes croaked in the Texas heat.... so I only planted thinks that could handle once a week watering this year- sweet potato vines - thanks to your tutorial. They look enormous 🙂. I feel inspired to try more again next year after reading this post!! Thank you!
I'm there for ya! And your tomatoes. ;) ~ karen!
Also, check if your municipality offers rebates for installing drip systems - I know mine does.
First comment: Are you sourcing for a local super market or something? That's a TON of produce! Second comment: Excellent tutorial! We once installed a drip system to water our 1.5 acre tree and shrub nursery. We lovingly referred to it as Frankenstein's monster watering system. Evidently we weren't smart enough to realize that there might be a supply company that would help with the design...it was entirely trial and error. Your's is a thing of beauty!
I LOVE YOU!!!!! Now if you could do a drip system for pots on my back porch without having hose run all over the floor - dream come true. A friend did this with clear tubes that she nailed along the edge of her roof and had an extension come down each support beam or each chained up hanging plant. She also located her big potted plants under the support beams. She put a timer on it and had the most gorgeous porch without effort that you ever saw. She moved away before we got together to do mine and I just don't take the time every day to water all the plants on my porch in pots or hanging baskets. Florida requires almost daily watering of potted plants that hang under roofs but in the sun. Of course slugs aren't much of a problem here but I wonder - do they enjoy your garden even more now? Could you run beer through to eliminate them? You may run them away but I bet your garden would be filled with a new sort of two legged slug that slept between the rows, didn't eat your food but crushed them when they fell over from too much 'watering'.
Seems like a lot of work to have to take it all apart every fall and redo every spring, but then you can fuss with the beds, as in adding dirt and mulch, etc, before you plant. So, all in all-a pretty good idea. Thanks for all the info and vids-you rock, as usual! Maybe you could give us some photos next spring as your veg friends are just showing? Thanks Karen!
The best part of that was the cross section of soil to see how deep the water goes and how far it spreads. Thanks for the info.
I started using drip systems back in the 80's. Great idea, but I also spent at least an hour prying earwigs and dirt (from said earwigs) out of the sprinkler heads every time I turned it on. Ants too, they really like jamming in there to get to that last drop of water. Finally gave up and trashed the whole system. Perhaps I'll try again, improvements must have been made by now.
Yes, the holes are just tiny little dots. You lay the hose so the holes are UP, not down touching the soil. An earwig could never get in them. There are no sprinkler heads, just little holes in tubes. Works great. ~ karen!
I've used a Rainbird kit bought at a home store. I put this in after planting 10 shrubs and a couple roses that I didn't want to lose through a summer drought, and I didn't want to be running in and out moving a hose back and forth. Marvelous system! I've reconfigured it now for other shrubs/plantings. I've never messed with an automated timer system, but that would mean watering would be effortless. If only the weeding were as effortless.
I installed a drip system with a timer in my garden beds this spring because I did not want last year's $900 water bill to happen again. It's AWESOME! However, we got a ton of rain this year in Massachusetts and I kept forgetting to turn the system off on rainy days so I lost a bunch of stuff to rot and over-watering.
Wow! Love the ideas. I was afraid to do my own drip system, but will try next spring.
I'm going to try to do a reminder post in the spring for everyone. This would have been much easier and much more effective if I would have been able to do it in the spring. But that wasn't an option for me this year. :) ~ karen!
I can't believe it's that inexpensive! I have thought of this many times but was afraid it would cost too much and be too intimidating to put together. Thanks friend!
And those are Canadian dollars! ~ karen
Excellent educational reading with my morning tea!
Right now, nightly waterings gets hubby up off his chair and outdoors for a little while .... so... I don't plan on filling him in on 'drip watering'.
As always, such a pleasure reading your blog. Every time.
Thanks Dianna! ~ karen
Thanks for the birds-eye view of your garden. Very meditative. Mother nature added a nice touch with the bird song.
That's why I didn't include any music in that video. :) ~ karen!
I have "installed" (throw down skinny plastic pipe on the ground) Mr Landscaper drip irrigation in 2 homes in my previous life. Along with Rain bird timers. It's such a stellar setup!! Then I moved to Seattle and I don't think they have it here. So, I bought a look alike version instead of ordering it from Amazon. I really detest this system, I can't remember the name of it, it's nearly useless, you have to water for 3 years to get a good watering. Drip irrigation is just wonderful.
Ahhhhh. I feel like saying 'welcome to the sect'. We of the contented drip irrigation system tribe. I can't believe I put it off for years before I installed. Hopefully you will convince others to leap in.
And it's utter bliss in my drought-ridden heat wave part of the world. When all is parched and crispy outside the potager I can wander down my rows of vegetables, fruit and flowers and know I am not a bad gardener. Everything is drip fed and lush and lovely.
Ahhh--life is good when you have an irrigation system!
Good job installing your drip system!! Just spent the day handwatering much of my yard, 70+ days of no rain at my house in Seattle :(
I used multiple methods: 2 kinds of sprinklers, the flippy floppy wave (2 of them, 1 front and back) and the pin cushion, the bubbler (moved everey 7 minutes) 2 faucets, 4 different hoses, and the waterwand! Most of the time both faucets were running at the same time. AND, every morning, I run one of the flipply floppy wave sprinklers for an hour and waterwand plants still (after years) stranded in their pots and ferns! I have a slopped yard with garden areas, shrubs and trees.
It is like a military campaign every Summer, although a much longer draught this Summer, usually in July and August we get some heavy monsoon rains that drench the landscape a couple of times. This year I didn't even have a veggie garden!
In anticipation of a large water bill, I paid an extra $100 towards my upcoming bill, I am sure it will be a doozy! :)
Do you have to disassemble after the growing season is over or just let it lay where you have it now? Nice job as always!!
yes, Karen, please address this question. If I was to install this, can I leave it in the garden over winter? In Edmonton?
I went to the website and downloaded the brochure. It says to disassemble the system after flushing it at the end of the season, and store the filter & pressure and the hoses inside for the winter. AND, they recommend replacing the tape (not the hoses) every year to prevent bacteria/algae build up.
I just dug and terraced my 30x45 garden, installed 12 4x4 beds. I think I may just buy 1/2 inch PV, cut 3 to 4 or so three foot pieces for each bed, drill 1/16 in holes and put them together with tees and elbows (connecting them without gluing, so I can take it apart each fall, and put back together each year, storing the pipes in my shed). I found the plans on Pinterest. I'll have to find a pressure control, but they are sold at garden supply or places like Lowe's or Home Depot.
Wow. That's cheap for garden happiness. Way to go!