I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days during
the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

"jeff" wrote in message
...
I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days during
the dog days of summer is not beneficial.
Any pointers om either equipment or technique?


It is good to get one of the little Raindrip brochures at your local home
improvement stores--it outlines the types of hoses, connections, and outlets
they offer, and helps you figure out what you need. If your local place
doesn't sell Raindrip, see if they have informational brochures on a
different brand.

I got started by buying a basic Raindrip kit. (I would assume other brands
have similar kits.) It comes with a sampling of their products, and it's a
good way to get acquainted with them. After you set up a line or two,
you'll start to intuitively figure out what you need and can then go to the
home improvement store and get specific supplies. (NOTE: in places like
Lowe's and Home Depot, this stuff is in the Plumbing section rather than the
Garden section.)

I use 6' hoses and splitters to maintain lots of different lines all over my
yard. (You can't have too many splitters, as far as I'm concerned!) This
enables me to open just a few streams at any given time, so I can rotate my
watering.

The only caution I have is that you need to check on the drippers and
connections regularly, to make sure the drips are not clogged and that the
lines stay intact. There have been many times my pipes have popped off of
their main lines and deposited gallons of water all over the yard. (Keeping
a rather low flow helps to ease this.) The drippers have worked pretty well
for two years, but every now and then one will get clogged and will need to
be replaced. It's best to notice this before the plant is affected.

If you ever want to talk about various configurations, let me know and I
will be more than happy to share some of my garden plans. I largely operate
out of rows of 3X6 foot raised wooden beds, but I've got all sorts of other
configurations too. Despite the occasional clogged dripper or popped-out
pipe, I find drip irrigation to be immensely beneficial, and I highly
recommend it.
--S.

jeff wrote:
I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days
during the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

How big is a microgarden? Is it indoors or out?

David

David Hare-Scott wrote:
jeff wrote:
I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days
during the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

How big is a microgarden? Is it indoors or out?

Outdoors. 6 cukes, 4 cantalope, 3 honeydew, 2 tomatoes, carrots, bell
pepper, zuchimi, 3 blueberries, a peach, a grape and a pathetic strawberry.

"Peanuts", by the groups standard!

Jeff

David

Suzanne D. wrote:
"jeff" wrote in message
...
I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days
during the dog days of summer is not beneficial.
Any pointers om either equipment or technique?


It is good to get one of the little Raindrip brochures at your local
home improvement stores--it outlines the types of hoses, connections,
and outlets they offer, and helps you figure out what you need. If your
local place doesn't sell Raindrip, see if they have informational
brochures on a different brand.

I got started by buying a basic Raindrip kit. (I would assume other
brands have similar kits.) It comes with a sampling of their products,
and it's a good way to get acquainted with them. After you set up a
line or two, you'll start to intuitively figure out what you need and
can then go to the home improvement store and get specific supplies.
(NOTE: in places like Lowe's and Home Depot, this stuff is in the
Plumbing section rather than the Garden section.)

OK, the kits look pretty cheap, as cheap as anything these days!

I use 6' hoses and splitters to maintain lots of different lines all
over my yard. (You can't have too many splitters, as far as I'm
concerned!) This enables me to open just a few streams at any given
time, so I can rotate my watering.

I like this idea, instead of one serpentine line, that way you can
reposition the drippers easily as the garden changes. Are there valves
or adjustments to control the rate, or is it all done by time and fixed
rates? It looks like some timers have multiple controls.

The only caution I have is that you need to check on the drippers and
connections regularly, to make sure the drips are not clogged and that
the lines stay intact. There have been many times my pipes have popped
off of their main lines and deposited gallons of water all over the
yard. (Keeping a rather low flow helps to ease this.) The drippers
have worked pretty well for two years, but every now and then one will
get clogged and will need to be replaced. It's best to notice this
before the plant is affected.

I have a small enough garden to check all the plants.

If you ever want to talk about various configurations, let me know and I
will be more than happy to share some of my garden plans. I largely
operate out of rows of 3X6 foot raised wooden beds, but I've got all
sorts of other configurations too. Despite the occasional clogged
dripper or popped-out pipe, I find drip irrigation to be immensely
beneficial, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks. Let me get started and I'll take up your offer of advice later.
I'm a bit too ignorant at the moment!

Jeff

--S.

Balvenieman wrote:
jeff wrote:

I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden.
If you want to stay low-tech and low-cost, try one or two of those
soaking hoses made from recycled tires and see whether they're suitable.
A flow-restricting washer ensures that water just oozes from the hose
along its length, with no spray or puddling. I've found that two
25-footers, with an average flow rate of .75 US gal/min (each), work
well in each of my 3'x8' raised beds. I charge mine through a simple
hose-end valve manifold; the hose has a (inexpensive) 25psi inline
regulator to provide a fairly constant flow rate: I'm on a private
residential water well so system pressure is variable.

I think with my separated plant locations I'll go with the drippers.
I do have a friend with continuous beds (and in sorry need of watering).
I see the soakers cheaply and I think this would be a good plan for her.

If there is a hassle, it is moving the supply hose from bed to bed
but I am able to rotate watering easily and to monitor volume simply by
timing.

"jeff" wrote in message
...

I think with my separated plant locations I'll go with the drippers. I
do have a friend with continuous beds (and in sorry need of watering). I
see the soakers cheaply and I think this would be a good plan for her.

Soakers are great for dense rows, like carrots. For larger plants, like
tomatoes, which need to be spaced a bit further, drippers are better.
You'll eventually get to know when it's best to use a soaker, dripper, or
spray. I use all three, in different applications.
--S.

"jeff" wrote in message
...

OK, the kits look pretty cheap, as cheap as anything these days!

I got mine for about $20. It's cheaper to buy the components individually,
but the kit gives you a "Dummies" version! Your description of your garden
elsewhere would probably use a small kit like this perfectly.

I like this idea, instead of one serpentine line, that way you can
reposition the drippers easily as the garden changes.

One thing to note is that, while it is possible to remove drippers and plug
them up (they sell plugs for this very reason), it is rather difficult. the
drippers off can be time consuming, so I generally buy new supplies instead
of trying to re-use old ones. But it is definitely possible to re-use the
old ones if you have the patience for it. One good thing to do is to lay
out one main line, and put a single 1/4" hole near each bed or plot, from
which you run a 1/4" tube that you can alter from season to season as
necessary. Since I rotate the types of vegetables in my beds, I sometimes
need closely-spaced drippers, and other times I need more widely-spaced
drips, or sprayers, or soakers, etc. Putting a single hole on the main line
for each bed gives you the versatility to change things up according to your
needs. It's pretty easy to change out the 1/4" tubes every season.

Are there valves or adjustments to control the rate, or is it all done by
time and fixed rates? It looks like some timers have multiple controls.

There are flow controls and whatnot, but I don't use them. I use only the
barest of technology, and just open my splitters enough to get the flow that
I want. I use splitters ABOVE other splitters so that I can adjust the flow
rate initially, then not have to adjust it again, but simply open the
necessary splitter valve! (Didn't I say I love splitters?) It isn't
uncommon for my water to go through three or four splitters before it gets
to its final destination. So much easier to open and close a couple of
valves every day than to open each one individually and re-adjust the flow
rate every time. Anyway (after this long-winded rant that has little to do
with anything you asked!), you can look into the timers and flow checks and
all that stuff, but I can't give any practical advice on these because I
simply don't utilize them.
--S.

jeff wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
jeff wrote:
I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days
during the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

How big is a microgarden? Is it indoors or out?

Outdoors. 6 cukes, 4 cantalope, 3 honeydew, 2 tomatoes, carrots, bell
pepper, zuchimi, 3 blueberries, a peach, a grape and a pathetic
strawberry.
"Peanuts", by the groups standard!

Jeff

In these parts you can buy a kit which would handle that, or make it up
yourself. You need a roll of 1/2 in polypipe, a couple of dozen drippers on
drop lines, some joiners, plugs, bends and tees and a timer switch to go on
the tap. The installation is fairly simple, the shop should have sample
layouts etc to guide you. You will need to experiment with the number and
position of drippers and the length of watering to get the right application
of water for your water pressure and layout, aiming for few deep waterings
rather than many shallow ones. Put the drippers under the mulch! Remember to
adjust the regime according to the weather as hot dry conditions will need
much more water than cool damp.

David

In article , jeff
wrote:

I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days during
the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

Get a pressure regulator. A 3/4" tubing (IIRC) take the water to the
1/4" drip line. The drip lines are connected to the tubing with a
piercing tool and connectors. The emitters on the 1/4" drip line will
deliver a predetermined amount of water (.25, .50, 1.0 gal/hr) at
intervals of 6" or 12" (at least that is what I use) for 20 ft..
Connectors are 1/4" straight, right angle, or T. You'll also need some
little plastic posts to hold the tubing in place. I haven't used a timer
but that should be easy. I turn mine on in the morning (every other or
third day) while getting the paper. An hour later, the watering is done,
I turn them off, take my shower and go to work. It's easy :O)
--

- Billy

Racial injustice, war, urban blight, and environmental rape have a common denominator in our exploitative economic system.* ~Channing E. Phillips

Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Land
http://i2.democracynow.org/2009/7/22/headlines#7

http://www.tomdispatch.com/p/zinn

Billy wrote:
In article , jeff
wrote:

I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days during
the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

Get a pressure regulator. A 3/4" tubing (IIRC) take the water to the
1/4" drip line. The drip lines are connected to the tubing with a
piercing tool and connectors.

The anecdotal evidence I've been reading seems to imply problems with
the connections. Are these fairly reliable or does this vary by
application or brand? Someone mentioned tees. I suppose your first bit
of advice about the pressure regulator helps enormously with the
connection problem.

I'm thinking that the parts are interchangeable from brand to brand.
I suppose I need to actually look at these and I haven't yet. I wish I
could squeeze another 24 hours in the day, friends have needed help...
unfortunately it's mostly been with moving!

Jeff

The emitters on the 1/4" drip line will
deliver a predetermined amount of water (.25, .50, 1.0 gal/hr) at
intervals of 6" or 12" (at least that is what I use) for 20 ft..
Connectors are 1/4" straight, right angle, or T. You'll also need some
little plastic posts to hold the tubing in place. I haven't used a timer
but that should be easy. I turn mine on in the morning (every other or
third day) while getting the paper. An hour later, the watering is done,
I turn them off, take my shower and go to work. It's easy :O)

In article , jeff
wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article , jeff
wrote:

I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days during
the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

Get a pressure regulator. A 3/4" tubing (IIRC) take the water to the
1/4" drip line. The drip lines are connected to the tubing with a
piercing tool and connectors.

The anecdotal evidence I've been reading seems to imply problems with
the connections. Are these fairly reliable or does this vary by
application or brand? Someone mentioned tees. I suppose your first bit
of advice about the pressure regulator helps enormously with the
connection problem.

I'm thinking that the parts are interchangeable from brand to brand.
I suppose I need to actually look at these and I haven't yet. I wish I
could squeeze another 24 hours in the day, friends have needed help...
unfortunately it's mostly been with moving!

Jeff

The emitters on the 1/4" drip line will
deliver a predetermined amount of water (.25, .50, 1.0 gal/hr) at
intervals of 6" or 12" (at least that is what I use) for 20 ft..
Connectors are 1/4" straight, right angle, or T. You'll also need some
little plastic posts to hold the tubing in place. I haven't used a timer
but that should be easy. I turn mine on in the morning (every other or
third day) while getting the paper. An hour later, the watering is done,
I turn them off, take my shower and go to work. It's easy :O)


I get mine from a local nursery. It is all generic (no brand) but there
are other sizes besides 1/4". The connectors look sorta, kinda like
below. You insert the connector into your 1/4" drip line, and then punch
a hole into the tubing that is the main conduit for the water, and
insert the other end of the connector into the hole that you have made.
You will get the specified amount of water for 20ft. At the end of your
drip line, you inset a cap with the same kind of barb as the connectors,
only there is no hole for the water to pass through.
/|-------|\
\|-------|/
drip connector
--
Racial injustice, war, urban blight, and environmental rape have a common denominator in our exploitative economic system.*
~Channing E. Phillips

http://tinyurl.com/o63ruj
http://countercurrents.org/roberts020709.htm

"jeff" wrote in message
...


Any pointers om either equipment or technique?


good advice given so far. Recommend you read the basic rules of thumb
included in the Raindrip.com booklet ( link below) which I found does make a
huge difference in performance(specifically length of 1/2 hose, length of
1/4 tubing and total gph per system) also don't mix emitters up--- keep the
drips and sprinklers on separate circuits if you want best performance.
There is mention of which ones can be grouped together.

http://66.241.193.32/cms/files2/Raindrip_DWME_2008.pdf

I use the micro jets (red tops) rather than the sprinklers which have a
tendency to stick and clog, also the newer adjustable drips ( 0-10 gph)
will give you a bit more flexibility than the 1/2, 1, or 2 gph button drips.

Keep bends and connectors to a min. Ensure you have overlap.

Timer work great, it adds more flexibility in hot weather. I use this Meinor
timer http://tinyurl.com/mjhbzc rather than the similar Raindrip model.
less expensive, better quality.

My area requires an anti-siphon on any sprinkler system as a backflow
preventor even though my sillcock has anti-siphon.

The pressure regulator is good to have especially if you have flow rate
variations. Previous, I had hoses pop out of the 1/2 compression
connectors, which I also changed to screw tighten ones rather than the
push-in compression type as much as I could.

I found there is a size difference in some of the tube pipe and compression
connectors being sold in the various Big Box stores as 1/2 inch poly, some
coming out of China is metric, not quite a fit for compression connectors.
So stay with one brand as much as possible for the 1/2 components.

Don't use the misters for plant watering.

Get extra stakes, you will need em. Kids, dogs, nosy neighbors and such
will break em

Look around to find the more flexible 1/4 tubing if you can, not around much
these days. The newer 1/4 hard poly has a lot of memory.

Ensure you winterize the system.

"gunner" wrote in message
access...

"jeff" wrote in message
...


Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

forgot to add this one:
http://www.dripirrigation.com/download_gen/DSL20-L.pdf

"jeff" wrote in message
...
Billy wrote:
In article , jeff
wrote:

I'm thinking about micro irrigation (drip irrigation) for my micro
garden. I've noticed that leaving the garden alone for a few days during
the dog days of summer is not beneficial.

Any pointers om either equipment or technique?

Jeff

Get a pressure regulator. A 3/4" tubing (IIRC) take the water to the 1/4"
drip line. The drip lines are connected to the tubing with a piercing
tool and connectors.

The anecdotal evidence I've been reading seems to imply problems with
the connections. Are these fairly reliable or does this vary by
application or brand? Someone mentioned tees. I suppose your first bit of
advice about the pressure regulator helps enormously with the connection
problem.

I'm thinking that the parts are interchangeable from brand to brand. I
suppose I need to actually look at these and I haven't yet. I wish I could
squeeze another 24 hours in the day, friends have needed help...
unfortunately it's mostly been with moving!

Jeff


Be careful, there are differences in the inside diameter of some of the
tubing. I irrigate approximately 700 blueberry plants with 1 gallon per hour
drippers. If you want to see something online go to dripdepot.com. They are
really nice folks and ship fast. Also, their prices are considerably cheaper
than my local Lowes or Home Depot.
Steve

The emitters on the 1/4" drip line will
deliver a predetermined amount of water (.25, .50, 1.0 gal/hr) at
intervals of 6" or 12" (at least that is what I use) for 20 ft..
Connectors are 1/4" straight, right angle, or T. You'll also need some
little plastic posts to hold the tubing in place. I haven't used a timer
but that should be easy. I turn mine on in the morning (every other or
third day) while getting the paper. An hour later, the watering is done,
I turn them off, take my shower and go to work. It's easy :O)