Evening Grain

How do you water your garden?

For a while we used a watering can, and did a mix of getting up super early, waiting until sunset, or forgetting to water altogether.

Well, that got tiresome quickly.

So, I did lots of research last year. There are many irrigation options for the garden… like using sprinklers, soaker hoses, pvc pipes, drip hoses, or drip tape.

We decided to try drip tape.

Pros of drip tape: conserves water, keeps consistent pressure throughout the system, and directly waters the ground, so no water damage to plant leaves.

Cons: Lots of parts. Needs time to set up.

Drip systems come with a lot of parts, so there’s a learning curve. Fortunately, there are starter kits that give you the basics.

I ordered my kit online at Drip Depot. They have sales throughout the year, which is nice.

To begin, the biggest items are the main tubing for water, then the drip tape.

Here are all the items that connect to the hose spigot.

Drip systems need certain water pressure. The parts reduce the pressure going outward through the tape, and prevent pressure from flowing back into the house.

• Two-way hose splitter. Not part of the kit… We needed to attach two hoses to the spigot. For example, one hose goes out to our garden. The other hose stays near the front yard.
• Hose vacuum breaker. Prevents water from flowing back into the house.
• 3/4″ hose filter. 3/4″ is the typical diameter for a garden hose. The filter prevents debris from flowing into the drip irrigation system.
• 3/4″ hose pressure regulator. Reduces water pressure, specifically when the system switches from the 3/4″ garden hose to the 1/2″ tubing for the drip system.
• Tubing adapter. Connects to the 1/2” drip tubing.

More parts. These parts are for assembling the main tubing and drip tape.

• End caps. Plug off the end of a line. We bought two sizes: 1/2″ for the main tube, and 5/8″ for the drip tape.
• Drip tape coupling valve. Connect two drip tapes together. The valve lets you shut off water between sections.
• Elbow connector. Connect two drip tapes at a right-angle. You cannot bend tape too much without pinching off the water, so you must use a connector.
• Tubing adapter valve. Connect drip tape to the main tubing. The valve lets you shut off water to the section.
• Cross connector. Connect four main lines together.
• 1/4″ hole punch. Punch a hole into the main tubing. Let’s you connect the drip tape valve.

Some kits are more basic. We just had a lot of garden beds and parts to attach.

The assembled parts for the hose spigot. Includes the filter and pressure regulator. Looks extremely goofy.

There’s no cool way of doing drip irrigation.

Connecting the main 1/2″ tubing to the spigot assembly.

You can let the tubing warm in the sunshine, or dip the end into a mug of hot water for a minute. The tubing needs to be pliable to fit over the connector.

After attaching, the plastic cuff spins down and screws over the tubing, securing it in place.

Here is all the main tubing assembled. It runs the length of the garden.

We used U-shaped metal garden stakes to hold down the tubing.

Example of punching a hole into the main tubing. Then the valve fits into the hole.

All the valves attached. Attaching the valves took the longest time.

Maybe the hole puncher wasn’t good quality… I needed an ice pick to widen each hole, just enough to attach the valves. The process was tedious and fussy.

Attaching the drip tape to the valves.

Similar process of warming the tape in the sunshine or dipping the ends into hot water to make it pliable. The second photo shows the elbow connector in action.

These photos are from last year. Drip tape went around the border of the garden for flowers. I didn’t succeed in growing flowers out there (too sunny in the field?). Maybe better luck this year. I want to try sunflowers.

All of the drip tape assembled! I used two tapes per garden bed.

The drip tape in action. There is a small trickle of water from each tape.

When you first turn on the system, there is a neat sound as the system fills with water and pressurizes. Like… when notes go from low to high… except it happens quickly, and it’s water?

More plants being watered. These are onions.

Short video of the drip system in action.

The total set-up. With proper care, drip tape should last a few years. During the early weeks, we had trouble with drip tape slipping from the valve connectors, so water sprayed everywhere. After reconnecting tightly, we were okay for the rest of the season… but do watch for that.

Another note: during winter, empty the drip tape and store away. Don’t let the tape sit outside in freezing temperatures, or else the frozen water can cause parts to crack.

Then lastly, we purchased a hose timer.

We used the Orbit 62056 One Outlet Timer. I like it because you can press the “manual” button and temporarily override the timer function to use the hose. Otherwise, the water stays on or off according to the preset times.

The drip system doesn’t need a lot of pressure. I turn the water barely turned on, but it seems to be enough.