How to make drip irrigation with your own hands
Miscellaneous / / July 19, 2022
Simple tips will help ensure good plant care and not go broke.
Drip irrigation has many benefits. With it, you can not moisten the beds every day and even leave the site unattended for almost a week, without fear that everything will dry out under the scorching sun. Another important bonus is that less water is consumed than from a hose, and its pressure in the water supply system does not play a special role. And finally, this method protects plants from mechanical damage due to a strong jet.
Of course, you can buy a drip irrigation system and install it in your garden or greenhouse. But they are usually not very cheap. So what can save and make everything from improvised means.
How to make drip irrigation with a five-liter plastic bottle
This method is perhaps the easiest of all. All you need is a 5 liter bottle and some straw.
Between the two bushes you want to water, dig a hole up to 25 cm deep and level the bottom. On both sides of the bottle, 1.5–2 cm from the bottom, make holes with a diameter of up to 1.5 mm. Fill the bottle with water, close the lid and place it in the hole so that the holes are opposite the bushes.
Cover the holes with straw. Backfill the hole and gently compact the top soil. Add water as needed.
How to make drip irrigation with two plastic bottles
For this method, two plastic vessels with a volume of 1.5–2 and 5 liters are needed. For a larger bottle, cut off the bottom, and for a smaller bottle, cut off the top a little below the hangers.
Make a small depression in the garden next to the plants. Install a smaller bottle in it and dig in with earth for stability. Fill with water almost to the top and cover with a five-liter bottle to form a kind of dome. Add some more earth around the edges. drip system glaze ready. Now you just have to add water as needed.
The principle of operation is simple: in the heat, the water will gradually evaporate, fall out in the form of condensate on the walls of a five-liter bottle and drain into the ground along them. The convenience of the method is that in the heat, watering will be more intense.
How to make drip irrigation with two plastic bottles and foil
For this method, plastic containers with a volume of 1.5 and 2 liters are needed. Cut off the larger one to make a “glass” about 10-12 cm high or a little more. Dig a small hole in plants, install the cut bottle in it and dig a little to give stability.
In a smaller one, make a square hole with a side of about a centimeter. Please note: when you insert a bottle with a slot into a glass, the hole should be several centimeters below its upper edge.
Take a fabric tape about 2 cm wide and 40–45 cm long. Moisten with water, lay on a sheet of foil so that the fabric protrudes from one side only. Wrap not too tight.
Punch down the foil a little, but don't overdo it. Bend and place in a cup so that the fabric ribbon not covered with foil is inside, but wrapped like a teapot spout, protrudes outward and is directed into the garden.
Fill the slotted bottle with water and place it in the cut one. Wait until the water fills the entire glass to the brim. After 5–10 minutes, water will begin to drip, at first strongly, but over time, when the liquid drops to the level of the slot, the pressure will become weaker.
At this step, you can leave everything as it is or slightly adjust the frequency of the drops. To do this, simply twist the foil slightly to make it tighter. The longer the interval between drops, the longer you will not have to add water.
How to make drip irrigation using plastic bottles and cotton swabs
Five liters need exactly as much as the bushes are planned to be moistened. But sticks take one for each pair of bottles.
Cut off the tops of the bottles. Cut the sticks into two pieces. In each bottle, make a hole at a height of about 10 cm from the bottom and insert the sticks into it outward with the side on which the cotton wool is wound.
Fill the bottles with water and place them near the bushes you will be watering. If the water drips too much, push the sticks in as far as possible.
How to make drip irrigation from a barrel and pipes
This method is a little more complicated than all the previous ones. But you can provide water for the entire greenhouse or several beds at once.
You will need a barrel. The larger its volume, the better: so you do not have to add water too often. You also need a pipe with a diameter of 16 or 20 mm, as well as shackles and plugs of a suitable size, their number depends on the scale of the intended design.
First, place the barrel on supports from a meter or more and fill it with water. At the exit from it, install a crane and from it pass the pipe to the beds or greenhouse to the point of separation. Up to this point, mount a mechanical or electronic automation system with a timer so that watering turns on at the right time.
Additionally, you can put a filter to protect against blockages due to small debris.
Cut the pipe into pieces along the length of the beds. On each segment, make holes with a 2 mm drill or an awl with the same pitch as your plants are planted.
From pipes and connectors, make a structure that will allow you to bring water to each bed.
At the same time, lay the pipes so that the irrigation holes are on top, and install plugs at the ends.
Another important point: the surface on which the pipes for irrigation lie must be flat. With strong changes in the relief, the liquid will flow unevenly.
After installing the system, you just have to make sure that there is always water in the barrel.
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