How to properly between a plant for drip irrigation. Drip irrigation: device, principle of operation, installation, reviews. Drip irrigation scheme. Drip irrigation: drippers, sprinklers, micro-sprinklers

Summer residents, who have the opportunity to come to their site only on weekends, are well aware of the situation when, after a working week, plants have to be literally “soldered” to bring them back to normal. For such cases, experts recommend the use of drip irrigation systems. This can be purchased in a kit, or you can do it yourself. But in any case, you will need to install drip irrigation, the correct implementation of which depends on the volume of the future crop.

Briefly about the composition and operation of the system

Drip irrigation is a set of pipelines stretched across the site. Water is supplied through them to the irrigation zone. However, it does not pour out in large quantities on the beds, but comes in drops with a flow rate of 1-2 liters per hour. This is achieved due to low pressure and small diameters of outlets.

Such a system must include:

• water source;
• main pipeline;
• drip lines;
• optional equipment.

General view of the drip irrigation system

The functions of a water feeder, as a rule, are performed by a storage tank. Plumbing can also be used as a source. But most often, irrigation requires water that has a temperature higher than that which is in the central network. For this reason, a storage tank is the more common option.

How to do the installation yourself

Having chosen drip irrigation as an option to provide plants in a summer cottage with a sufficient amount of moisture, it is necessary not only to perform the installation of a drip irrigation system with high quality, but also to take a responsible approach to designing and planning the purchase of necessary materials.

Scheme of assembly of an automatic system

Planning a drip irrigation system

It is advisable to plan the system before the plants are planted. In such a situation, it is easier to lay communications.

First you need to decide on the water source. If a storage capacity is used as such, then its volume is calculated based on the number of consumption points and the intensity of use of the system. Water consumption depends on which plants are planned to be watered, and what climate is typical for the region. Usually, as already mentioned, a flow rate of 1-2 liters per hour is sufficient. Moreover, the water supply is not carried out constantly, but as the earth dries up.

When planning the installation of a storage tank, it is better to choose its location based on the distance to the irrigation sites. It is desirable to make these distances as close as possible in magnitude. In this case, the container is installed at a height of at least 1 meter above the ground.

Plastic pipes are used for the main pipeline. The diameter is better to take 50 mm. This size will make it possible to install fittings for side branches (drip lines) without any problems. Although it is permissible to use smaller diameters.

Option for the location of the storage tank

For drip lines, you can use ½ or ¾ inch plastic pipes or use drip tape. Water supply to the outside can be done through small diameter holes in pipes or in a tape, or special drippers can be used. This option makes it possible to supply water exactly to the roots of the plant.

The use of droppers is more preferable also because they are all guaranteed to have the same diameter. Accordingly, the flow through them will depend only on the pressure, and since the pressures in such networks are small, the costs will be commensurate.

In order to install drip irrigation with your own hands, you will need:

• storage tank (pumping station);
• main pipeline;
• drip pipelines or tapes;
• droppers;
• fittings (start connectors, tees, plugs);
• cranes.

Scheme of installation with storage tank

Drip irrigation installation technology

You need to start with the installation of a water feeder. Then the main pipeline is connected to it. It is better to put a stopcock at the entrance to it. If necessary, it will be possible to block it and stop watering. It will also be useful to install a filter at the inlet to the pipeline. It will reduce the chance of clogging drippers or water outlets.

Next is going to the main pipeline. It is usually laid along the paths and the edge of the beds. At the points of connection of drip branches in the line, holes are drilled for connectors (diameter 14 mm). A union nut can be additionally used to seal the connection. Drip pipelines or tapes are connected through connectors. At the entrance to each branch, it is desirable to put a tap in order to be able to block a specific direction if necessary.

After drip pipelines are laid, holes for irrigation are drilled or droppers are installed, their far end is covered with a plug.

Upon completion of the assembly of the system, it is necessary to carry out hydraulic tests, check it for unauthorized leaks, adjust the amount of water flowing through the sections with stopcocks.

Connecting drip pipelines

Some nuances of installation

At the installation stage, it is advisable to pay attention to the presence of a slope towards the farthest droppers. Otherwise, there will be no movement of water in the system, operating due to the forces of the earth's gravity.

When connecting the main pipeline to a water source, it is better to put an additional tee in case it becomes necessary to add new irrigation directions. And if the functions of a water source are performed by a well and a pumping station, then this tee will allow the use of water for other purposes.

It is desirable to make all connections in the network detachable. This will allow at the end of the gardening season to dismantle the system and remove the equipment into the room. It will also make it possible, if necessary, to change the configuration of the irrigation network when changing the plan of planted beds.

Water consumption in individual sections can be controlled using water meters. Their readings will help you set up the system with the required accuracy - after all, different plants require different watering intensity.

To automate the entire system at the outlet of the water source, you can set a timer that will organize the supply of water according to the desired schedule during the absence of the owners.

This is how you can install drip irrigation from a pumping station or a storage tank, making life easier for yourself in the country during the gardening season. More detailed information is recommended to be gleaned from the video:

Good watering in a summer cottage is a guarantee of high yields of vegetable and fruit crops, accelerated flower growth. What caring gardener doesn't dream of having the most efficient, low-cost irrigation system to install?

Drip irrigation systems are widely available and inexpensive means of reclamation. The use of drip irrigation systems makes it possible to achieve early growth and ripening of plant fruits, to increase the yield of seeds, seedlings, planting material or trees by 2-2.5 times. Thanks to spot watering of the root system, the growth of weeds is slowed down, the spread of pests of cultivated plants and diseases is prevented.

As an alternative to traditional watering equipment, hoses and sprinklers, drip irrigation in the country reduces water consumption by half during irrigation. For those who want to automate the process of water supply, there are modern innovative developments. They allow you to program in the given parameters the operation of drip irrigation in time with the required sequence of functions. Arrange drip irrigation in the country or make drip irrigation in the garden under the power of any home master who does not have special knowledge of hydraulic engineering. It is enough to understand the principle of operation of the system under consideration and to have the initial skills of designing pipelines from plastic materials.

Drip irrigation system in the country. Photo

Types of drip irrigation

To arrange drip irrigation, you must first choose one of the most suitable types for irrigation:

The main element of this design is a thick-walled pipe. It is made, as a rule, of polyethylene and withstands pressure up to 3 atm. This allows water supply over a distance of hundreds of meters. At regular intervals, emitters or droppers are mounted in the hose sheath. They are designed for a certain flow of water. Usually it makes 1-2 l/hour. The system is mounted using plastic fittings. The system is convenient for use on the ground in private household plots. It is possible to dismantle the system in winter for closed storage until the next watering season.

Connected to the main hose. It is a thin-walled (0.12-0.6 mm) flexible tube with an internal diameter, most often OE16 or OE22 mm. It is sold in a folded state in the form of coils or small windings. Fittings and connectors of standard diameters 1/2 and 3/4 inches are suitable for such tapes. The length of the irrigation line from the tape can reach 400-450 m. The throughput of the tapes is up to 500 l / h.

With help external microdroppers(nozzles or various models of sprinklers) with a certain standard of water consumption. They provide irrigation with drops or micro-streams, the intensity of which, in some models, is adjustable. Droppers are placed on the outside of plastic pipes or attached tubular branches. They can be installed on a non-perforated (without holes) hose at any distance using self-piercing fittings.

How does gravity drip irrigation work?

Drip irrigation in the country can be carried out by gravity type of supply by gravity from the water tank. You can arrange drip irrigation using a barrel, tank or other reservoir filled from a network water supply, natural water intake or settled rainwater. Drip irrigation systems are susceptible to clogging by algae, zooplankton and particulate matter, including rust. Therefore, you can use water not from every open reservoir, but choose a container from a material that is not subject to corrosion or destruction. It can be a used barrel or tank made of synthetic material, plastic, galvanized iron, covered from the ingress of leaves, debris or dust, with a lid. The volume of the barrel is selected according to the needs in order to ensure sufficient watering without constant replenishment of moisture reserves. Water must flow continuously from the tank. The required flow rate for watering each suburban area is individual, but each summer resident must know the required daily water consumption in his garden, garden or greenhouse. Based on the consumption standard, 1 tomato bush needs 1.5 l of water, cucumbers and potatoes 2 l, cabbage 2.5 l daily, etc. Knowing the number of seedling bushes / tree trunks of growing crops, you can calculate the total water requirement. This will also be required in order to correctly select the appropriate model of the drip irrigation system in relation to a particular summer cottage.

It is better to place the tank at a height of 1.0-2.0 m from the ground in order to ensure the water pressure in the water supply network is 0.1-0.2 atm. From the tank, water should flow as clean as possible. It is better to cut a drain hole at a height of 10 cm from the bottom so that the accumulated sediment does not get into the hose. Such a home-made water intake unit should be equipped with a mesh, or other design, filter. When using herbicides and fertilizers, it is allowed to dilute liquid forms of preparations in a special fertigation unit. After fertigation, the irrigation system must be filled with clean water and allowed to run for a few minutes to clear it. The condition of the filter should be monitored, it should be cleaned and washed once a week. Gravity systems, due to low pressure, have a limitation - only non-compensated droppers can be used in them. Compensated drippers that maintain constant water pressure are not used due to low pressure.

Drip irrigation on a small area with your own hands. Video

Recommendations for installation and maintenance of the drip irrigation system

Any drip irrigation systems consist of components and components, without which the normal functioning of irrigation devices is impossible. When constructing a drip irrigation system for a summer residence, they are sequentially assembled and mounted:

• Water intake unit from a water supply system, tank, well / well. OE 3/4" components are required for assembly and connection to the water tank: male tap and tap with female thread.
• Filter mesh / disc, if the water contains hydrobionts or impurities with a particle size of more than 0.13 mm.
• Water saturation fertigation unit treaters and fertilizers or supplying nutrient solutions for hydroponics. Represents the container in which drugs are diluted. It is connected in the right place to the irrigation system through a tube with a dispenser - injector.
• Main distribution pipeline from a pipe of plastic polyethylene HDPE OE from 32 mm or other durable material that meets the requirements for the system.
• Distribution network from lines - microtubules or tapes with droppers / without droppers.

• A wide variety of accessories are additionally used as fasteners for connecting linear sections during the installation of a drip irrigation system. These are fittings - adapters or start - connectors for drip tape, corners and spurs. In more complex systems, tees, splitters or "spiders", as they are commonly called, minifolds are used. When laying drip irrigation with your own hands, important points should be considered:
• The main HDPE pipe is laid perpendicular to the rows of beds for the convenience of connecting branches.
• To make the drip irrigation system resistant to contamination, a plug is installed at the end of the HDPE pipe of the irrigation pipeline, which is removed when flushing / purging the main line.
• When using a tape design, a start-connector is first screwed into the drilled holes of the pipe, and then the tape itself is tightly put on it. From the opposite end, it is muffled. To do this, a strip in the form of a ring 1 cm wide is cut off from the tape. The end of the tape is tucked up and this removable ring is tightly put on it. This is done for the same reason - sealing with the possibility of washing or purging clogged sections of the tapes.

Choosing a Tape for Drip Irrigation

When choosing a tape to make drip irrigation in the garden, one must take into account the features inherent in different types of tape devices.

So, a feature of tapes like " labyrinth"is the presence on the surface of the material of a built-in structural element - a labyrinth. It slows down the movement of water in the tape barrel and streamlines its outflow through the outlet holes. However, this manufacturing technology with an external location of the labyrinth has a significant drawback. There is a high probability of damage to the labyrinth when laying the tape.

In tapes slot type Holes for water seepage are cut out by laser on the walls every 20-100 cm. A labyrinth is integrated along the entire length of the tape to eliminate the turbulence of the moving water flow. When unwinding, the tape is installed "labyrinth up" to ensure uniform outflow of water through the water outlets. These tapes provide the easiest and most inexpensive way to water. Please note that slotted tapes require good filtration up to 0.08 mm.

emitter type tapes are distinguished by the additional equipment of the holes with built-in flat droppers, "facing inward". This is a feature of this type: droppers are not located outside, but are placed on the inner surface of the wall of the tape conduit. The eddy turbulent flow of water inside the tape that occurs with this design contributes to the self-cleaning of droppers.

Tape conduits with a wall thickness of up to 0.16-0.2 mm are used when drip irrigation is required on the soil surface. For underground laying, tapes with a sheath thickness of more than 0.2 mm are used.

DIY drip irrigation system

Consider, using the example of a plot of 1.5 acres, the installation of a do-it-yourself drip irrigation design. It has 8 rows of planted plants 15 meters long. It will take 120-130 m of drip tape with a perforation / emitter pitch of 0.3 m, providing a throughput of 3.8 l / h. It should be noted that this water flow parameter corresponds to a pressure of 1 atm, which is unrealistic to create using a water tank in the country. It would be necessary to raise the container to a height of 10 m. Therefore, we focus on the pressure in the irrigation system of 0.1 atm, provided by installing the tank at a height of one meter. The spillway due to the low pressure will decrease three times and amount to 1.2 l / h. This will require an increase in watering time by 3 times. To make drip irrigation, we perform the following steps in sequence:

1. To the hose coming out of the tank, we connect a fitting with an external thread 3/4 ".
2. We connect in series a tap with a 3/4" internal thread, then a filter. We use, if necessary, a fitting to switch from an internal to an external thread.
3. We connect the main pipe through the PE coupling and lay it perpendicular to the irrigation strips. For an irrigated area up to 3 acres, an OE pipe diameter of 32 mm is sufficient. Usually it is laid along the fence or next to the wall of the greenhouse. We pay attention to the features of the relief: the main pipe is laid horizontally, and the drip tapes are sloped. We plug the end of the pipe at the other end of the land plot with a PE end cap with a handle or install a valve for preventive flushing.
4. We drill holes in the pipe at each of the 8 beds, screw fittings with rubber gaskets. Instead of fittings, it is recommended to use taps that allow you to turn off any irrigation line. When making drip irrigation with your own hands, you can avoid this operation. In the assortment of trade there are models of pipes for drip irrigation, already equipped with start-connectors.
5. We cut off segments from the emitter tape and lay them along the length of the beds. One end of the line is put on the fitting, the other is muffled by the previously discussed method.
6. To use one dropper for watering several bushes, we attach the minifold pipe splitters to the dropper and lay the tubes in the root zone of the plants.

Drip irrigation with your own hands. Assembly: video

Drip irrigation in a greenhouse

A feature of greenhouses is the cultivation of crops with a higher planting density: parsley, celery, dill and other herbs. And a denser way of sowing or planting vegetables compared to growing in open ground. Greenhouse cultivation, often, is distinguished by a small distance between plantings in the ridges and a narrow row spacing. Plants in greenhouses grow much faster, bushier and produce more shoots. It is important that some types of crops bring 2-4 crops per year. Therefore, drip irrigation should be laid taking into account the increased water consumption per m? glaze. It is required to adhere to the required dosage of water and the supply schedule, which varies greatly during the growing season and is individual for each of the crops.

When constructing drip irrigation with your own hands in a greenhouse, it is recommended:

• Decrease step connection of external droppers. If you cannot find a pipe with a standard 15 or 30 cm emitter arrangement, you can purchase a "blind" drip hose. It is used as a watering main, there are no water outlets on it, droppers can be inserted anywhere.
• Apply droppers, the design of which is designed for watering, at the same time, 2-4 consumers. To do this, you need to connect segments of tubes to each outlet and bring them to the plant boles. More often use tees and minifolds to feed several plants at once from droppers designed for watering one bush.
• Apply special pegs- holders or needles with tubes that are stuck in the right place and supply water to the substrate. Set water shutdown timers after a specified period of time or equip with automation systems.

How to organize a drip poly in a greenhouse. Video

How to organize automatic drip irrigation

Drip irrigation systems have become popular among summer residents not only due to the recognition by the owners of the irrigation method as a method of intensive farming. Or the general availability of systems - the ability to make a drip irrigation system with your own hands, especially without spending money on the purchase of components. They have also become a civilized part of the agrarian culture, due to being equipped with automation tools.

The control system using a pressure gauge and a reduction gear allows you to protect the irrigation structure from pressure surges when connected to the water supply network. Since the beginning of popularization, it has become an indisputable rule to complete models of drip systems with timers. First, mechanical, and then electronic timers with valves and valves were used. This allowed the summer resident, for example, to set the watering time for several hours and go about his business. The system automatically turned off after a specified period of time. The presence of a controller in modern programmable systems allows you to change the intensity and time of water supply according to a complex algorithm. Convenience lies in the non-interference of a person in the process of functioning for a long period, the ability, for example, to go on vacation. More complex automation systems are equipped with sensors and allow you to control the flow of water along the lines, to heat irrigation, to test soil moisture, to turn off the system during rain. To organize automatic irrigation, it is required to ensure the autonomy of the system as much as possible: connect it to the water supply network or supplement it with a well with a centrifugal pump for uninterrupted supply. After installing the drip irrigation system, the timer, controller and electrical devices must be powered from autonomous batteries or backup / uninterruptible power sources.

Drip irrigation in a greenhouse from a central water supply system: installation example

When powered from a drip irrigation water supply, it is necessary to choose a method of connecting to the water supply network. The system can be connected directly to a valve cock or via a storage tank. The standard pressure in the central water supply network is 4 atm. And in fact, taking into account pressure surges and water hammer, it can be 2-7.5 atm. However, low-pressure drip tapes of 0.2-1.5 atm are used in mass application. To prevent water under such pressure from breaking the drip irrigation system, a reducing pressure reducer is installed between the tap and the main pipe. A way to reduce the pressure for drip irrigation from the water supply to working values ​​can be to connect the system through a storage tank equipped with a bypass valve. Water from the water supply fills the tank to a certain level, the float valve is activated and shuts off the mains supply. Water from a filled tank located on a hill at any time flows by gravity through the water outlet into the drip irrigation system. Consider the simplest design for giving. Drip irrigation should be laid in the following sequence:

1. We assemble a filtration unit from 2 filters: a mud filter and a fine filter. We connect the filters with couplings and wind the connectors, connect the device to the main hose.
2. An OE20 mm hose is laid along the central path of the site. Next to each bed, it is cut, you get a series of separate segments.
3. The segments are connected to each other in a pipeline in series by tees having one OE15 mm outlet each.
4. Drip irrigation tapes are put on these outlets and fixed with metal clamps. The far end of the hose is also connected with a 20/15 connector. The open ends of the tapes are twisted and fixed with plastic clamps.

How to make drip irrigation in the garden: making droppers with your own hands

The design of home-made drip irrigation in the garden may include elements that are not directly intended for irrigation, but successfully replace components specially designed for it. First of all, these are disposable medical droppers designed for dosed supply of infusion solutions. They have a significant advantage. By means of a roller clip it is possible to regulate pouring speed - from drop to jet. Used for drip irrigation systems serving crops that differ in dosage and irrigation schedule. In the garden, they are suspended from portable pegs in a vertical position, water enters the soil through pipes.

Drip irrigation from bottles. Video

Providing water to plants and plantings is one of the concerns of homeowners. Someone waters vegetable beds, someone flower beds and lawns, and someone needs to provide water to the garden. In any case, the procedure takes a lot of time. But that's not all: with the usual method, a crust forms on the surface, which prevents plants from developing, so the soil has to be loosened. All these problems are solved by drip irrigation of plants. You can buy ready-made kits, order turnkey development and installation, or you can do everything yourself. Here's how to make drip irrigation yourself and will be discussed in this article.

Principle of operation and varieties

This technology was tested several decades ago. Its results were so impressive that the system was widely adopted. The basic idea is that water is supplied to the roots of plants. There are two ways:

• poured onto the surface near the stem;
• is fed underground into the root formation zone.

The first method is easier to install, the second is more expensive: you need a special hose or drip tape for underground laying, a decent amount of land work. For a temperate climate, there is not much difference - both methods work well. But in regions with very hot summers, underground laying proved to be better: less water evaporates and more of it gets to plants.

There are gravity-fed systems - they require a water tank installed at a height of at least 1.5 meters, there are systems with stable pressure. They have a pump and a control group - pressure gauges and valves that create the required force. There is completely. In its simplest form, this is a valve with a timer that opens the water supply for a given period of time. More sophisticated systems can control the flow rate for each of the water lines separately, testing soil moisture and determining the weather. These systems operate under the guidance of processors, operating modes can be set from the control panel or computer.

Advantages and disadvantages

Drip irrigation has many advantages and all of them are significant:

• Significantly reduced labor intensity. The system can be fully automated, but even in the simplest version, irrigation requires literally a few minutes of your attention.
• Reduced water consumption. This happens due to the fact that moisture is supplied only under the roots, other zones are excluded.
• Eliminates the need for frequent loosening. With a dosed supply of water to a small area, a crust does not form on the soil, respectively, it does not need to be broken.
• Plants develop better, yield increases. Due to the fact that water is supplied to one zone, the root system develops in this place. It has more fine roots, becomes more lumpy, absorbs moisture faster. All this contributes to rapid growth and more abundant fruiting.
• It is possible to organize root feeding. Moreover, the consumption of fertilizers due to the point supply is also minimal.

The economic efficiency of drip irrigation systems has been proven repeatedly, even on an industrial scale. In private greenhouses and gardens, the effect will be no less significant: the cost of creating a system can be reduced to a small amount, and all the pluses will remain.

There are also disadvantages, but they are very few:

• For normal operation water filtration required, which is an additional cost. The system can function without filters, but then it is necessary to consider a purge / flush system to eliminate blockages.
• Droppers get clogged over time and need to be cleaned or replaced.
• If thin-walled belts are used, they can be damaged by birds, insects or rodents. There are places of unscheduled water consumption.
• The device requires an investment of time and money.
• Periodic maintenance required- blow out the pipes or clean the droppers, check the fastening of the hoses, change the filters.

As you can see, the list of shortcomings is rather big, but they are not very serious. This is a really useful thing in the garden, in the garden, flower bed or.

Components and layout options

Drip irrigation systems can be organized with any source of water. A well, well, river, lake, centralized water supply, even rainwater in tanks will do. The main thing is that there is enough water.

A main pipeline is connected to the source, which brings water to the irrigation site. Then it goes along one of the sides of the irrigated area, at the end it is muffled.

Opposite the beds, tees are inserted into the pipeline, to the side outlet of which drip hoses (pipes) or tapes are attached. They have special droppers through which water is supplied to the plants.

Between the outlet from the source and the first branch to the garden, it is desirable to install a filter or filter system. They are not needed if the system is powered by domestic plumbing. If you pump water from a lake, river, rainwater tank, filters are required: there can be a lot of pollution and the system will clog too often. Types of filters and their number is determined depending on the condition of the water.

Drip Hoses

Hoses for drip irrigation are sold in bays from 50 to 1000 meters. They already have water points built in: labyrinths through which water flows before entering the outlet. These oozing hoses provide the same amount of water throughout the line, regardless of terrain. Due to this labyrinth, the flow rate at any point of irrigation is almost the same.

They differ in the following characteristics:

• • Tube stiffness. Drip hoses - there are hard, there are soft. The soft ones are called tapes, the hard ones are called hoses. Hard ones can be used up to 10 seasons, soft ones - up to 3-4. Ribbons are:
    • Thin-walled - with a wall thickness of 0.1-0.3 mm. They are laid only on the surface, their service life is 1 season.
    • Thick-walled tapes have a wall of 0.31-0.81 mm, the service life is up to 3-4 seasons, they are available for both ground and underground laying.

Watering can be organized with tapes or hoses

The maximum length of the irrigation line is determined so that the unevenness of the water output at the beginning and at the end of the tape does not exceed 10-15%. For hoses, it can be 1500 meters, for tapes - 600 meters. For private use, such values ​​\u200b\u200bare not in demand, but it is useful to know)).

Droppers

Sometimes it is more convenient to use not tapes, but droppers. These are separate devices that are inserted into the hole in the hose and through which water is supplied under the root of the plant. They can be installed in arbitrary steps - put a few pieces in one place, and then a few in another. This is convenient when drip irrigation of shrubs or trees is organized.

There are two types - with a normalized (constant) and adjustable release of water. The body is usually plastic, on the one hand there is a fitting, which is inserted with force into the hole made in the hose (sometimes rubber rings are used for sealing).

There are also compensated droppers - and non-compensated ones. When using compensated at any point in the irrigation line, the water output will be the same (approximately), regardless of the terrain and location (at the beginning or at the end of the line).

There are also spider-type devices. This is when several thin tubes are connected to one outlet. This makes it possible to simultaneously water several plants from one water outlet (reduces the number of droppers).

Spider-type dripper - you can water several plants from one point of water distribution

Main pipes and fittings

When creating a system for laying the main pipeline from the water source to the irrigation zone, plastic pipes and fittings are used from:

• polypropylene (PPR);
• polyvinyl chloride (PVC);
• polyethylene:
  • high pressure (HPV);
  • low pressure (LPD).

All of these pipes tolerate contact with water well, do not corrode, are chemically neutral and do not react to fertilization. For watering a small greenhouse, garden, lawn, a diameter of 32 mm is most often used.

Main pipes are plastic. Specifically, choose any type: PPR, HDPE, PVD, PVC

Tees are installed at the outlets of the lines, to the side outlet of which a drip hose or tape is connected. Since they are smaller in diameter, adapters may be needed, and their outer diameter should be equal to the inner diameter of the hose (or slightly less). You can attach tapes / hoses to fittings using metal clamps.

Also, taps can be made through special fittings, which are installed in a hole of the required diameter made in the hose (as in the photo above).

Sometimes, after the tee, a tap is installed on each water distribution line, which allows you to turn off the lines. This is convenient if drip irrigation is diluted for moisture-loving plants and those that do not like excess water.

If you are reluctant to choose components and select sizes, fitting diameters, you can buy ready-made ones from various manufacturers.

Do-it-yourself drip irrigation: device examples

There are many options for the device of the system - it easily adapts to any conditions. Most often, the question arises of how to organize irrigation independent of electricity. This can be done if you install a sufficiently voluminous water tank at a height of at least 1.5 meters. This creates a minimum pressure of approximately 0.2 atm. It is enough for watering a small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden or garden.

Water can be supplied to the tank from the water supply, pumped up by a pump, drained from the roofs, even filled with buckets. A tap is made at the bottom of the tank, to which the main pipeline is connected. Further, the system is standard: a filter (or a cascade of filters) is installed on the pipeline before the first branch to the irrigation line, and then the wiring goes through the beds.

For the convenience of introducing fertilizers on the highway, it is possible to provide for the installation of a special unit. In the simplest case, this is, as in the photo above, it can be a container with legs, in the bottom of which a hole is made and a hose is inserted. A shut-off valve (faucet) is also needed. It cuts into the pipeline through a tee.

If necessary, you can water both shrubs and fruit trees. The whole difference lies in the fact that the tape or hose is laid around the barrel at some distance. One line is assigned to each tree, bushes can be watered several pieces on one line. Only in this case, you need to use a regular hose, into which droppers with the required water flow should be inserted.

If the low pressure in the system does not suit you, you can install it on the main water supply (see the photo below) or a full one. They will provide water even far located areas.

Can water be supplied directly from the source? It is possible, but not desirable. And this is due not to technical difficulties - there are not so many of them, but to the fact that plants do not like cold water. That is why most small-scale drip irrigation systems - for greenhouses, vegetable gardens, orchards and vineyards - use storage tanks. In them, the water is heated, and then diluted around the site.

Drip irrigation: how to calculate the system

The capacity from which water is supplied to the system can be one - common, as in the picture above, or separate for each section. With a significant distance between the irrigation objects, this can be more profitable than pulling the main pipeline.

The required volume is calculated depending on the number of plants and the volume of water for their normal development. How much water is needed for watering vegetables depends on the climate and soils. On average, you can take 1 liter per plant, 5 liters per bush and 10 liters per tree. But this is the same as the “average temperature in the hospital”, although it is suitable for approximate calculations. Count the number of plants, multiply by the consumption per day, sum everything up. To the resulting figure, add 20-25% of the stock and you know the required volume of capacity.

There are no problems with calculating the length of the line and drip hoses. The main is the distance from the tap on the tank to the ground, then along the ground to the place of irrigation, and then along the end side of the beds. Adding all these lengths, the required length of the main pipeline is obtained. The length of the tubes depends on the length of the beds and on whether water will be distributed from one tube to one or two rows (for example, using spider droppers, you can dilute water for two to four rows at the same time).

By the number of tubes, the number of tees or fittings and taps (if you install them) is determined. For each branch using tees, we take three clamps: press the hose against the fitting.

The most complex and expensive part is the filters. If water is pumped from an open source - a lake or a river - a coarse filter is needed first - gravel. Then there should be fine filters. Their type and quantity depend on the state of the water. When using water from a well or a well, a coarse filter can be omitted: primary filtration occurs on the suction hose (if used). In general, there are so many cases, so many solutions, but filters are needed, otherwise the droppers will quickly clog.

Homemade drip hoses and drippers

One of the most significant cost items for an independent device of a system from ready-made components is droppers or drip tapes. They, of course, provide the supply of the same amount of water throughout and the flow is stable, but in small areas this is not so necessary. It is possible to regulate the supply and flow with taps built into the beginning of the irrigation line. Therefore, there are many ideas that allow you to distribute water under plants using ordinary hoses. See one of them in the video.

It is difficult to call this system drip irrigation. It is rather root watering: water is brought under the root in a trickle, but it works, maybe only a little worse and is more suitable for plants with a root system developed in depth. This method will be good for trees, fruit bushes, grapes. They require a significant amount of water, which must go deep into a decent distance, and this homemade drip irrigation system can provide this.

In the second video, really drip irrigation is organized. This was done with the help of medical droppers. If you have the opportunity to stock up on such used material, it will turn out to be quite cheap.

The amount of water supplied is regulated by a wheel. From one hose, you can supply water to three and four rows - if you take a hose of sufficient diameter, you can connect not three devices to it, but more. The length of the dropper tubes makes it possible to water two rows on each side. So the costs will be really small.

Droppers can be used almost without altering. This is if the system was with a bag. An example is in the photo.

Waste into income - watering for young plants is provided

You can almost also do drip irrigation for houseplants. It is suitable for those flowers that like constant moisture.

Constantly moisturizing your flowers on the balcony? Easily! Watering from a drip

The cheapest drip irrigation: from plastic bottles

There is the cheapest and fastest way to organize the supply of water to plants without hoses and large containers. You will only need plastic bottles and small lengths - 10-15 cm each - thin tubes.

Cut off the bottom of the bottles. So that a cover is obtained from the bottom. So the water will not evaporate. But you can cut off the bottom and completely. At a distance of 7-8 cm from the cap in the bottle, make a hole into which a thin tube is inserted at a slight angle. Dig the bottle with the cork down or tie it to the peg, and stick the peg into the ground next to the plant, pointing the tube to the root. If there is water in the bottle, it will run down the tube and drip under the plant.

The same design can be done by turning the bottle upside down. But this option is less convenient: it is more difficult to fill in water, you will need a watering can. How it looks like, see the picture below.

As you can see, there is a second option for drip irrigation from plastic bottles. A wire is stretched over the bed, bottles are tied to it in the bottom or lid of which holes are made.

There is another photo option for using bottles, but with standard drippers for irrigation. They are fixed on the neck of the bottles and in this form are installed under the bush.

This option, of course, is not ideal, but it will enable plants to develop better if you can rarely visit the country house. And two liters from a bottle can be decisive in the battle for the harvest.

Drip irrigation was invented by agronomists not from a good life, it was first used in very arid and poor rainfall areas of Israel. Today, these are complex, expensive, fully automated and multifunctional systems that allow growing agricultural products on very poor soils. Moreover, due to the competent use of the latest agricultural technology, it is possible to obtain very high yields.

Not everyone can afford to buy and install such a system, and not everyone needs it. Drip irrigation can bring economic profit only to specialized farms; ordinary summer residents cannot recoup the costs. The way out is to do drip irrigation yourself. Let it not perform many of the functions that industrial designs have, but the work will be cheap. And the system will cope with the main tasks of watering normally. True, under one condition - you will have to control the irrigation parameters yourself.

Before you start building drip irrigation, you need to decide on its concept. It can be stationary for perennials and mobile for annuals. Each has its own disadvantages and advantages, the final choice should be made consciously.

1. Draw a sketch of the greenhouse indicating the dimensions of the structure, the size and location of the beds.

   

2. Select hose type. For water supply and preliminary wiring, it is better to use rigid plastic pipelines. Fittings and pipe fittings will be attached to them. The wiring in the beds is carried out with flexible hoses (for the mobile version) or rigid hoses (for the stationary one).

   

3. Consider the placement of water tanks, their volume, filling method, piping layout and valve locations. The volume of water tanks is selected taking into account the size of the greenhouse, but practice shows that in any case, you should always have at least 100 liters in stock. If possible, then you can collect water from the drains of buildings in the summer cottage. Rain water is the most beneficial for plants, its chemical composition and temperature meet physiological needs. True, there is one limitation - the height difference between the lower level of the tank and the beds should be at least a meter. Otherwise, too little water pressure will greatly complicate the irrigation process. As a guarantee, it is desirable to ensure that the containers are filled from other independent sources at the same time.

   

4. Calculate the required number and range of spare parts. Separately flexible hoses and pipes, their diameter and length, number of shut-off valves and specific installation locations. Immediately you need to have connecting elements, tees and plugs. If you plan to do elementary automation in the future, it is recommended to purchase sensors and regulator blocks.

   

5. Prepare the necessary tools. To create drip irrigation from improvised materials, the use of special equipment and fixtures is not required; an ordinary set of tools that every summer resident has will do.

If everything is thought out and prepared, then you can begin to build a system.

Instructions for making the simplest drip irrigation

For example, we will take the simplest option - drip irrigation individually for each plant with a flexible hose.

Step 1. Installation of water storage tanks. For these purposes, you can use plastic canisters or barrels from various building materials. If the capacity of one is insufficient, then several should be connected in series so that the total amount of water is at least 100 liters.

The containers are connected at a distance of ≈ 5 cm above the bottom. This is to ensure that dirt does not get into the hoses. For guarantees, a special filter for water purification can be installed at the common outlet. Tanks must be raised above ground level by more than one meter. The best option is to fill them with rainwater, for this purpose you can connect downpipes.

Step 2 Installation of hoses and pipelines. Make a preliminary wiring of hoses, estimate the location of the droppers.

Practical advice. It is impossible to foresee all options for the future. In this regard, we strongly recommend that the length of the hose and the number of holes be done with a margin. If unnecessary, they can be turned off, and as soon as the need arises, the “power” of drip irrigation increases without problems.

Step 3 Install faucets and plumbing. The number of taps and additional equipment depends on the specific characteristics of drip irrigation. But all of them must ensure the full functionality of the system, smooth operation and ease of management. Practitioners are strongly advised to use the simplest cranes, they are easy to maintain, they are unpretentious in operation.

Step 4 Make drips. There are several options for solving the problem here.

1. First. Buy a ready-made sleeve in the store. It has calibrated holes, it can be laid in any place. In greenhouses, such a sleeve can serve for at least ten years, in the open air, due to the influence of hard ultraviolet rays, the service life is reduced to two years.
2. The second way is to make holes with a small, very hot carnation. The spacing of the holes is selected in accordance with the cultivation technology used in greenhouses. The advantages of this method are simplicity and speed of execution. Disadvantages - plants in the beds need to be planted in even rows.
3. The third way. Make holes mobile. To do this, additional small-diameter “antennae” bends are inserted into the main hose at certain distances. The length of the branches is approximately 20-30 cm on each side, the diameter is 3-4 mm. For their manufacture, you can use any plastic or rubber flexible hoses.

How withdrawals are made? A through hole must be drilled in the central hose, the diameter of which is 1-2 mm smaller than the diameter of the outlet hose.

Important. Holes should have as smooth edges as possible, use only a sharp drill for drilling, reduce the number of revolutions of the chuck.

Prepare the "mustache". Cut pieces about 50 cm long, bend them in half and cut a hole in one wall at the bend. The hole should not violate the strength of the hose, but should fit along the length into the inner diameter of the central conduit.

In boiling water, you should pre-heat the cut of the central hose, so you can make it much more plastic, which will facilitate threading into the outlet holes.

Practical advice. In order to speed up the process of pushing, you can use an ordinary self-tapping screw of the desired diameter and length. Insert it into two holes on a large hose, thread a thin thread a little and, holding on to the head of the self-tapping screw, pull it through two holes. Next, you need to install the antennae in such a position that the hole made in the middle is inside the main hose. If you perform all the operations correctly, then the junction will be tight. If some connections will "undermine" is not a problem, let the beds be watered in these places.

The advantages of the "antennae" are quite significant. First, you can always change their position, taking into account the development of plants. Secondly, crops need not be planted in even rows. Practitioners advise using this particular method, even if it requires more time and effort.

Now the preparatory work has been completed, it is possible to connect the individual elements into a single system and start drip irrigation in action.

Drip irrigation for open area

There are almost no differences in the manufacturing method, but there are several features associated with operating conditions.

1. As a rule, open areas have a larger area than greenhouses. In this regard, it is necessary to significantly increase the storage capacity for water. Rain will not be enough, it is imperative to consider options with water supply from an external source.
2. Hoses and pipes will be constantly in the open air. Plastic is most afraid of ultraviolet rays. This means that you need to purchase special modified resistant species. For the price they are, of course, more expensive.
3. There is a chance that during the spring or autumn frosts, the water in the hoses and pipes will freeze. It is necessary to select plastics that can work in a wide range of temperatures and at the same time maintain their declared physical characteristics. Such materials can significantly increase the linear dimensions without loss of physical strength indicators, frozen water will not cause breaks.

If the distances are very large, then you will have to connect a pump with a hydraulic accumulator to the drip irrigation system. It does its job perfectly, automatically turns on / off and maintains a constant pressure in the pipelines.

For indoor flowers

There are situations when you have to leave home for several weeks, and there is no one to ask to look after the flowers. In such cases, you can quickly make the simplest drip irrigation for them. We offer an option for simultaneous watering of several flowers, moreover, the device can be used repeatedly.

Step 1. Choose a suitable water container. The volume is calculated taking into account the number of plants and the time of watering. It can be a plastic canister or bucket, large bottles of purchased water, etc.

Step 2 Install droppers in containers. The ideal solution is to use medical systems for this purpose. They are very cheap and can last for years. Droppers can be installed in two ways.

1. Simply insert them through the top opening of the storage tank. The first drawback is that it is difficult to “start” the dropper. You will have to suck in water with your mouth until the entire hose is full, and then reduce the speed of its outflow. Second drawback. There is a possibility of the hose falling out of the container. Attempts to fix it can completely block the conditional passage.
2. Make special holes at the bottom of the container and insert hoses into them. To do this, you need to carefully drill holes with a sharp drill, the diameter should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the dropper hose. Heat the end of the hose in boiling water until softened and firmly insert into the holes. For a guarantee, after cooling, the junction can be additionally sealed with silicone or glue. It will take longer to make a dropper, but it will work automatically and very reliably.

Automatic watering system - drip

By the way, with the help of such a simple device, you can organize the feeding of flowers.

Disadvantages of drip irrigation

They, unfortunately, are, and quite significant. None of the manufacturers of drip irrigation systems mention the shortcomings, but competent agronomists know what threatens the inept use of modern technology.

Plants are complex biological species that have their own natural laws of development, no one can change them. One of the main parts of all plants is the root system. With its help, nutrition is carried out from the soil, the more powerful the root system, the more nutrients the plant receives. Roots can develop and absorb nutrients only in moist soil, the size of the root system, depending on the type of plant, can be several meters in diameter and depth, for greenhouse plants, these parameters range from 10–20 cm. This is an axiom.

Drip irrigation - disadvantages

What does drip irrigation do?

It moistens the soil in a very limited area. As a result, the root system is oppressed, development in width and depth does not occur. And this significantly reduces its efficiency, the return of fertilizers falls. You can apply any dose to the soil, but only those that are located near the dropper in moist soil will benefit. All the rest will be useless and will only harm the soil. The only way to minimize the disadvantages is to install 3-4 droppers near each plant. But this significantly complicates the system, requires more time and money for its manufacture.

Another problem is the abundance of watering. The earth should get wet at least 10 cm deep, for this you will need to use drip irrigation for more than one hour. If the soil gets wet only a few centimeters, then the root system will not develop downward, the consequences are obvious. You can only know the watering time practically; before starting the system, preliminary measurements of the time and depth of water penetration should be carried out. Bottom line - do not rush to install droppers, there are more effective means of automatic watering.

Automatic watering - photo

Video - Drip irrigation with flexible hoses

Drip irrigation systems save a lot of effort, but without proper technical training, installing them yourself turns into a waste of time and money. Knowing the basic rules of the device and technical features, you can mount a convenient and durable irrigation system.

It is possible to fully use drip irrigation only on a flat or carefully planned area. The drip pipe should not have a height difference of more than 0.6-1 m, but the main pipes can be laid with almost any slope. Therefore, the irrigated area should be a relatively uniform slope, on which drip pipes are laid along its strike.

The right choice of capillary tubes

There are two types of capillary tubes, the use of certain materials is determined by the specifics of plants and the conditions of their planting.

The most versatile and budget option is drip tapes. They have built-in droppers located along the entire length with a certain step (10-40 cm). The belts have a limited laying length (250-450 m) and a maximum height difference (less than 2%). Since the built-in drippers are not compensated, the water flow in different areas may not differ significantly. The throughput of the dropper varies from 0.6 to 4 l/h and depends on the inlet pressure.

Tape droppers come in three types. Labyrinths are morally obsolete and are inferior to slot and emitter ones. The latter are a little more expensive, but less demanding on irrigation water filtration. Tapes also differ in wall thickness. In greenhouses and greenhouses, the thinnest ones are used, the more durable ones are used on open rocky ground, where there is a significant risk of damage.

The most specific in application are capillary tubes of different thickness, which are equipped with compensated droppers. Regardless of the pressure, they pass a strictly metered amount of water, which does not depend on the length of the line and the height difference. Some droppers are adjustable.

The advantage of tubes is that they are easy to turn and bend if the plants are not in a straight line. For this reason, pipes are more often used in multi-tiered greenhouses and nurseries, in vineyards and melons. It is easier and cheaper to roll out ribbons, but you need to control the planting process, maintain the same distance between seedlings and the linearity of the beds.

Which main pipes are better to use

The main pipes of the system are divided into supply and distribution, their main task is to deliver water to the irrigation fields in the right amount.

Pipes of distributing units can be specialized for drip irrigation, or general purpose. There are no special differences in them, both types are made of light-stabilized polyethylene, they serve for several decades. Special pipes are designed for use by inexperienced users and this is expressed in the simplicity of fitting connections that do not require tools and additional sealing.

Standard HDPE pipes are less flexible, some connections will need to be threaded, but this option is much cheaper (20-40 rubles per meter).

It is strongly not recommended to use irrigation hoses, metal-plastic pipes and other products that are not suitable for such systems on distributing nodes.

Drip irrigation fittings

Drip irrigation uses fittings and fittings for both general and special purposes. Among them:

1. Mini taps used as shut-off valves for individual capillary lines. The valve is inserted into the opening of the main pipe and pressed with a nut; tubes or tapes of various types can be connected to the opposite end.
2. Connecting fittings are used for building and branching tapes and tubes.
3. Branded filters are designed for special pipes and hoses. In the case of standard HDPE pipes, conventional water filters are used: mesh or cartridge filters.
4. Injectors are used for automatic application of fertilizers-fertigators.

A separate type of fittings is irrigation automation devices. The simplest and most common are flow controllers that operate on a built-in timer. In different models, there are from one to four outgoing lines, for each of which you can set an individual operating mode.

In order for the pressure in different parts of the system to correspond as much as possible to the characteristics of the tapes and droppers used, water reducers are used. They do not allow the pressure to rise above the set value, which is indispensable when connecting drip irrigation directly to the water supply.

In areas with a large slope, after the water supply is closed, air is often sucked from the droppers from the upper level when the water drains to the lower one. At the same time, droppers become clogged with particles of liquid dirt and quickly fail. If tapes or tubes are laid along the surface of the soil, air valves installed at the beginning of the supply line will help to avoid this phenomenon.

The main subtleties of installation

The installation of the drip irrigation system begins with the distributing nodes, placing the pipes parallel to the beds. A mesh water filter should be installed at the inlet of each unit, and on sloping plantations a pressure reducer should also be installed.

Further, from the distributing nodes to the point of water intake, a main pipe is laid. Distribution pipes are optimally connected to the main line with a flexible hose through a tee. If tapes less than 16 mm are used, which are not supplied with mini-cranes, a ball valve should also be installed at the inlet of the distribution unit.

Water can be taken either directly from the water supply or from a storage tank. The latter is traditionally installed at the highest point of the site, the pressure in the irrigation system depends on the height of the tank: on average, about 0.1 atmospheres per meter. Tanks are recommended to be used both for pressure stabilization and for easier application of fertigators. The filtration and fertilization unit is usually installed at the very beginning of the supply line near the water intake point.

There are three options for mounting drip tape and tubes:

1. Tie to the beds.
2. Ground laying.
3. Cover lining.

In the latter cases, tapes and tubes are placed with droppers up to avoid clogging. To slow down the evaporation of moisture from the soil, mulch is laid on top of the tape with a layer of 7-10 cm.

Seasonal work and winter storage

The laying of the irrigation system begins at a steady positive temperature immediately after spring tillage. Cultures are planted after installation, so that the seedlings are located exactly under the droppers. During the summer, maintenance of the drip system is reduced to cleaning filters and minor repairs to damaged tubes and tapes.

At the end of the season, water is drained from the system and left for 4-5 days to dry. Drip lines are turned off and moved to storage. As practice shows, almost all drip tubes and tapes normally tolerate low temperatures, they are more harmed by numerous kinks when wound into coils. Therefore, storage in a stretched state is recommended, you can simply tie the tapes to the fence.