Without a sufficient water supply, the heat of the sun can parch produce, dehydrate daisies and sink a sunflower. One of the most efficient ways to keep plants well-watered is to use drip irrigation. It slowly delivers water directly to the plant's root zone through a tube with little drippers in it. Studies show that drip irrigation can save you up to 70 percent of applied water compared with an overhead sprinkler system. Installing drip irrigation systems used to involve a lot of gadgets and gizmos and then the piping clogged. The technology has improved a lot, however. Here's a very easy way to install a drip system that will save you time, money and water.
The best time to install drip irrigation is right after you plant your shrubs or perennials. That way it's easy to get in and around the plants.
Basically, the drip irrigation system attaches to a hose faucet with a water source connection kit. Then you connect tubing, which runs to your flower bed above the soil, and add emitters or drippers or micro sprays which allow water to reach the plants. You can even connect the system to a timer so you can go on vacation and know your plants will be well-watered when you return.
To start, attach a Y-adapter to your outdoor faucet. It has two outlets which can be used independently--one for your hose and the other for the drip system. Attach the timer, then start adding the other components of the water source kit. The blue part is called a vacuum breaker or back flow preventer. This is important because it keeps the drip system water from going back into your main water supply. Next comes the pressure regulator. This controls the flow of water so hardly any is wasted. Then comes the filter which helps prevent clogging. And finally, a hose swivel is attached to keep the hoses from kinking. Once the water source is hooked up, begin laying out the 1/2-inch hose or tubing. You can create a grid pattern or customize a pattern for your plants. When the plants are close together, use a grid pattern with the rows spaced 12 inches apart. To make the corners of the grid, use an elbow joint, which wiggles easily into place. As you begin laying down the tubing, make sure it's near the base of each plant. There are pre-drilled drippers every 18 inches. If you need more, you can punch them in with an easy-to-use tool made for the purpose. For plants that need extra water, you can install even smaller tubes that have pre-drilled drippers every six inches. Tie-down stakes are provided to anchor the tubing to the ground. As you assemble your drip system, you may have to cut the tubing to fit the garden bed area. You'll find that connecting everything together is pretty easy.
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