Facilitate work at the cottage
Quite often, plants in a household plot can suffer from a lack of moisture or excessive watering. In the hot summer period, irrigation of plants should be carried out daily, and it is advisable to do this in the evening. However, such an opportunity does not always exist. An excellent way out of the situation in this case is drip watering with your own hands. Such an irrigation system saves time and effort, reduces water consumption and ensures the flow of the optimum amount of moisture to plants.
Content
- Drip irrigation device
- Mounting a drip irrigation system
- Homemade drip irrigation
Drip irrigation device
Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare materials that will be used for installation and plan the irrigation territory. A site plan should be drawn up, where the location of the water tank and the route of the hose should be noted. The tank should be located at a sufficiently high distance from the ground so that water flows freely through the pipeline. A main pipeline will be connected to it, from which water will be supplied to the drip irrigation tapes using tees. In the process of preparing the plan, you should determine the length of the ridges with plantings and the distance between them. Then calculate the total amount of materials needed:
- trunk pipeline (plastic pipe with a diameter of about 5 cm);
- watering hoses or tapes;
- tees for connecting watering hoses;
- fittings with taps;
- filter.
You can replace the special watering tape with a plastic hose, making holes in it at a certain distance
The required volume of the water tank will depend on the size of your site. It is advisable to close the tank from direct sunlight, otherwise the process of algae propagation may begin in the water, the particles of which will clog the filter and hoses, which will bring a lot of worries associated with replacing the entire irrigation system. Tanks made of translucent plastic are most susceptible to the appearance of green algae. As for the pipes for irrigation hoses and the main pipeline, it is better to use plastic pipes. They have several advantages, in particular, ease of installation, ductility, elimination of corrosion and low cost of materials.
It is important! If you need to use special fertilizers for watering plants, you can use only water-soluble compositions that do not contain small particles. Otherwise, the drip irrigation system may become clogged..
Mounting a drip irrigation system
When the irrigation area is marked and all the necessary materials are prepared, you can begin the installation of the irrigation system. First you need to cut off the hose for the main pipeline of the desired length. Using a tap and adapter, connect the pipe to the water supply system. The faucet must be attached to the water tank just above the bottom so that sediment or debris does not get into the watering hoses. At the very end, the pipe must be closed with a plug or tap. If you use a tap as a plug, this will allow you to flush the pipeline if necessary. A filter must be installed between the water tank and the central piping to hold possible sediment and debris and prevent clogging of the taps and hoses. You can clearly see the organization of drip irrigation in the video.
Watering tapes are attached to the central pipeline using adapters
The central hose runs along the entire length of the plot perpendicular to the ridges with landings. Drill holes in the hose and, using taps with rubber seals, insert watering tapes into them for each garden bed. Ribbons are laid along the beds along their entire length. After connecting, they must be plugged at the ends. To do this, you can use pre-prepared small pieces of tape with a diameter of about 1 cm. Bend the tape at the end several times and put on the cooked piece. Secure the tapes with rings throughout the irrigation system. In a similar way, you can organize drip irrigation of cucumbers or tomatoes in a greenhouse, or irrigate street plantings.
It is necessary to lay a drip tape along the beds next to the plants
Homemade drip irrigation
You can also organize irrigation of the site from improvised materials. To do this, it is enough to use plastic bottles. However, such an irrigation system is optimally applied only to small areas of planting. Drop watering from plastic bottles will allow for metered irrigation of plantings for 3-4 days. This system is suitable for summer residents who have the ability to care for plants only on weekends. There are two options for organizing this type of irrigation. For installation, you will need bottles of 1.5-2.5 liters.
- Method 1
The container neck must be tightly closed with a lid; several small holes should be made on the sides. The number of holes in this case depends on the structure of the soil. If the land is mostly sandy, 2-3 will be enough, if the soil has a clay composition, then at least 4 openings must be made. Bottles should be dug into the ground to a depth of about 15 cm. The container must be placed between the plants with the neck down. Water is poured through the neck and through the holes moisturizes the roots. It is recommended to make a hole in the lid so that the bottle does not squeeze after fluid leakage.
You can fill bottles through the neck using a funnel
- Method 2
This option of drip irrigation in the country is suitable for plants that prefer warm water. In this case, the bottles are suspended above the soil using wooden posts and wire. To do this, columns are dug along the edges of the beds, on which a long stick is attached parallel to the garden. Holes must be made at the base of the bottle and, with the help of a wire, hang them upside down on a stick. In this case, irrigation is carried out through holes in the lid or on the sides of the neck of the bottle.
Suspend bottles with the neck as close to the root of the plant as possible.
It is worth paying attention to. For plants that need a lot of moisture, you can use five-liter bottles, make one hole in them.
As it turned out, the drip irrigation system with your own hands does not require much effort and material costs. Organizing this process yourself is quite simple, and its advantages are undeniable. Irrigation of plants with the help of such irrigation occurs in small portions, allowing the soil to be gradually and adequately saturated with moisture. In addition, this device greatly facilitates labor and reduces the time spent on care of the crop..
