How to organize drip irrigation on a personal plot?
The best solution for irrigating the soil is on a personal plot. This system is used in many economic farms. The point of such a device is regular watering of the soil to ensure constant moisture during the period of active plant growth. This system relieves plants from the stress that can occur in the natural environment in case of sudden changes in humidity levels when using simple watering.
Drip irrigation has a number of advantages, among which it is worth highlighting low cost, ease of installation and use.
The high level of efficiency is also important.
What are the benefits of drip irrigation?
The organization of drip irrigation has a large number of advantages that distinguish this system from others.
- The release of the owner of the site from the physical work associated with watering plants. This is especially important if the climate is very dry and the area of the site is quite extensive.
- No need for water heating. While the water flows through the pipeline and hose, it has time to heat up.
- The ability to water at a certain time, which will be convenient for the plant, and not when the owner has the opportunity.
- Implementation of watering directly to plants, not weeds.
- Possibility of uniform watering of plants.
- Substantial water savings.
- Ensuring watering the plant, based on its necessary requirements. For example, tomatoes need to be watered directly under the root, this type of watering is easier to do by drip than using a hose or bucket.
- Drip irrigation can be applied to any crop.
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What is the scheme of drip irrigation system?
Of course, drip irrigation also has disadvantages, among which is the acquisition of a certain amount of materials for this system. But all these costs pay off in the shortest possible time, as soon as the system begins to be used.
The process of irrigating plants through spot irrigation is complemented by the fertigation process. This is the introduction into the soil directly under the root through numerous droppers of micronutrients and mineral fertilizers dissolved in water.
Thanks to this scheme of the system, the applied fertilizer is absorbed by about 90%, which helps to increase the yield by almost 2 or 3 times and save up to 50% of water. Due to the use of an accurate dosage of fertilizers, there is no pollution of groundwater, this method is considered environmentally friendly. And the balance of top dressing allows you to increase the resistance of plants to frost.
The fertigation process can reduce physical labor by about 4 times.
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What types of drip irrigation can be used in home gardens?
A drip irrigation system is the ideal solution for watering plants in a small garden. This is an effective way to organize the cultivation of vegetables of various crops, flowers, orchards and even vineyards. It is very important that water enters exactly the place where the roots of the plant are located, where nutrients are delivered. Thanks to evaporation from the surface, plants are protected from temperature drops and early frosts.
Consumer characteristics lead to the first place in the world. The drip irrigation system is known in 2 types: with built-in and external droppers.
- The type of external dropper is a separate product that is connected to the water supply with special fittings. From the ends of the dropper, water enters the soil in one case, and in the other case, water is supplied directly to the roots using tubes and tips. The fitting, located at the outlet, has in its kit special branches that allow you to distribute water in several directions (2, 4, 8). This system is very convenient for plants that are located at large distances from each other or planted simply in a chaotic manner (flowers, trees, shrubs).
- Built-in drip type. The droppers are built right into the hose along its entire length, representing an inseparable system made at the factory. Droppers in this case are located at a fixed distance. The diameter of such a hose is approximately 12-25 cm, and the built-in droppers have a capacity of 0.5-6 liters per hour. Such a system is suitable for watering plants that are planted in a row (peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots).
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What are the components of drip irrigation?
Drip irrigation is a system that can be of varying degrees of complexity. The principle of operation is the same for them, but each system may have separate auxiliary systems that provide a control system and automation of the entire process. But for the organization of drip irrigation on a personal plot, the most minimal set of equipment will suffice.
- Water. As a source of water supply, you can use a nearby well, well or water supply. But the use of lakes, ponds and other bodies of water should not be allowed. This water from reservoirs can only be used if it is pretreated. And the point is not that this water is dirty, but that the reservoirs contain a large amount of vegetation and algae, which, if the system enters, can contribute to clogging and rendering it unusable. For example, large enterprises use water from reservoirs, but they install filters to purify it, which will be unprofitable for home use due to the high cost. For this money, a separate well can be organized on the site.
- Tubes for water supply. They are plastic tapes that acquire a circular cross section when filled with water. Droppers are installed inside such tubes to evenly distribute water to the soil. Such tapes can be of different diameters, with walls of different thicknesses, as well as with different intervals between droppers. The purpose of the entire system depends on these parameters. For example, for irrigating tomatoes, a distance of 30 cm is necessary, and for carrots or beets, only 15. Within an hour, about 1 liter of water “runs” through the dropper.
- Pressure regulator. Necessary to protect the system from erosion in the event of an increase in pressure.
- Disc filter. Installed at the entrance to the system to protect droppers from clogging with various particles. A cassette is inserted inside the filter to hold contaminants, which is then washed.
- Distribution pipeline. It is to him that the pipes for irrigation are connected. It must be made of polyethylene pipe. The use of another pipe made of recycled polyethylene threatens with deformation from heating and leaks.
- Connecting valves. The irrigation system must be equipped with a fitting, they can be equipped with a tap to provide manual control of irrigation.
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Design and installation of a drip irrigation system
Designing a drip irrigation system involves a preliminary drawing up of a plan for planting plants around the site. Each plant needs a certain amount of water, and knowing this, you can calculate the total consumption for the entire garden. It is very important to ensure that the productivity of the source that is responsible for the water supply does not exceed. In cases where running water is used, it is important to know in advance about the amount of water delivered per hour.
If a large number of different crops are grown on the site at once, then several subsystems will be required to provide irrigation, each of which will correspond to the needs of a particular plant.
When the project is prepared, it will be possible to start acquiring the necessary equipment and materials. Then you can proceed to the installation of the entire system on the site.
- We are laying a distribution pipe.
- Drills holes in the pipe to accommodate fittings.
- Rubber seals are inserted into the holes, and fittings are inserted into them.
This order must be observed, it must not be violated. Further:
- We wash the pipe to clean it of dirt and chips after drilling.
- We fix the tape with the fitting on the fittings with the help of nuts.
- We connect the distributing pipe to the water supply.
- We connect the system to check the work.
Assembly is not particularly difficult due to the fact that the entire purchased system is similar to the designer, so the most difficult thing is the exact calculation.
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Do-it-yourself drip irrigation
To organize spot watering of plants both at home and at their summer cottage, you can use do-it-yourself devices. Most often, a do-it-yourself system is organized from old hoses and plastic bottles. To do this, you need to cut off the bottom of the bottle or just make a hole in it. We insert the hose into the neck and fix it with tape or plasticine. The hose can be automotive or medical (from droppers).
To organize a device for irrigation, you will need the following materials:
- tee;
- pipe branch;
- tap;
- rack;
- hose with clamp.
The device is not difficult: not far from the roots of plants, the end of the hose is placed directly into the ground. Above the ground, we fix the bottle with the neck down to ensure that water flows off on its own. For a slower runoff of water, we use a medical clamp, adjusting it in such a way as to ensure that the required water flow is obtained.
In cases where the system is watering long boxes, and not a free-standing plant, it is necessary to use a hose in which small holes are made (for example, with a needle). A very long hose is laid on the surface of the soil with a snake.
Such methods are suitable for temporary irrigation. This is convenient when it is not possible to water the plant: for example, when you have to leave the country house for 1-2 days, and there will simply be no one to water the plant. But this system will not allow it to be used on a very large area.
A personal plot will require a slightly different organization system that you can organize yourself.