Do-it-yourself root watering. Advantages of using drip irrigation in a summer cottage. There are several methods of irrigation from eggplants

We all love fresh fruits and vegetables that grow in our gardens and summer cottages. But it is impossible to grow them without regular watering. This opportunity can be provided by a dacha irrigation system made of plastic pipes. Why plastic? This is a relatively inexpensive material that you can install yourself without using bulky electromechanical devices and tools. In addition, plastic pipes are superior to metal products in their basic characteristics.

There are various options for forming an irrigation system, each of which has certain features and fundamental differences.

This is the least expensive method of irrigation, in which water is supplied to the plants from a source through dug grooves. The entire system is located on the surface of the soil, so the question of how to water your dacha with your own hands is practically non-existent. Water is poured into the soil directly next to the plants. With this method of watering, the roots are deprived of some oxygen, so it is undesirable to carry out such irrigation.

Sprinkling

Water moisturizes the plants, reaching them in the form of sprayed drops. This spraying is created using special sprinklers installed in certain areas of the site. Sprayers can be static or rotating. Such watering does not harm the soil structure, which is well and deeply moistened. In addition, the above-ground parts of plants are also saturated with moisture, which increases their productivity. As a disadvantage, we can note the unevenness of water spraying during watering in strong winds. The problem can also arise if there is insufficient water pressure in the main line.

Drip irrigation

This is the most rational and economical method of irrigation, during which water flows directly to the roots of plants through a drip tape connected to an irrigation pipe. Such watering is possible even from a storage tank if there is no water in the main pipeline. Air access to the roots is maintained, and the soil structure is not affected.

The disadvantage of the drip system is the likelihood of frequent clogging of the pipe due to soil particles and various debris getting into its holes.

Subsoil irrigation

This is a dacha irrigation system made of plastic pipes laid inside the soil layer, at a depth of about 30 cm. Holes are made in the pipes through which water flows to the roots of growing plantations. The system is good for greenhouses and stationary plantings where regular digging is not carried out. However, you can lay the pipes once, and then plant annual plants in relation to their location. Subsoil irrigation relieves the summer resident from the need to loosen the soil surface. This also has a beneficial effect on the supply of oxygen to the roots.

The openings of the pipelines can become clogged, so it is necessary to provide a filter at the entrance to the irrigation pipe.

Advantages of plastic pipes

Typically, polypropylene products and HDPE pipes are used for irrigation in the country. If you make a choice between these options, it is recommended to give preference to polyethylene products, since their installation is simpler, and the pipes themselves have exceptional strength and durability. Let us list their main advantages, thanks to which plastic pipes have gained popularity and appreciation among summer residents:

The inner walls of the pipes are exceptionally smooth, which eliminates the formation of deposits inside the pipelines. This achieves better throughput with smaller diameters of the pipes themselves;
The strength of the pipe walls ensures the safety of the products even if they are exposed to relatively heavy garden equipment;
Plastic products are more durable than their metal counterparts;
Plastic is inert in relation to an aggressive environment such as soil, so pipelines can be laid even inside the soil layer;
HDPE pipes do not collapse even with;
Installing polyethylene pipes for irrigation at your dacha is extremely easy to do yourself. There is no need to use electrical equipment or any complex tools to connect sections of the highway and insert additional elements.

We described how they are mounted in a separate article with a video example.

If you are interested in how to make a street one, then various options for its production are described on our website.

And about the correct design of a compost pit.

Automatic and manual irrigation control

A do-it-yourself irrigation system at the dacha can be configured with the possibility of manual, semi-automatic or automatic control.

Manual control is the simplest. The system, in this case, consists of a pressure pipeline to which rigid or flexible hoses are connected. Watering is done manually. The order in which water enters the hoses is carried out by opening the ball valves.

A semi-automatic system involves manual control of the water supply to the common main. Next, the system distributes water through the pipes independently, and also regulates the pressure and flow of water.

Tip: At any time, you can switch from a semi-automatic system to automatic watering without turning off the water supply shut-off valve.

An automatically controlled irrigation system for a dacha plot fully automates the process of irrigating the plot. A person may not be present at the dacha at all, but at this time the plants will be watered at a given time, with a strictly defined amount of water. Sensors responsible for measuring temperature and humidity will give a timely command to stop watering if the temperature drops or soil moisture rises to normal levels.

Installation of irrigation system

To lay the irrigation system, polyethylene or polypropylene pipelines with a diameter of 20-40 mm can be used (usually the main line has a larger diameter, and the outlet lines are smaller). The connection of HDPE pipes to system elements is carried out using compression fittings. This work does not require tools. Polypropylene products are joined using a soldering iron, so the presence of electricity in the country is mandatory. Both types of pipes have sufficient rigidity and durability, allowing you to operate the irrigation system without dismantling it in the winter.

Let's look at how to lay pipes in a dacha for irrigation correctly. Such a gasket can be superficial or deep:

1. Surface Mount involves placing all pipelines on the soil surface. Such a system is assembled very quickly, and if breakdowns occur, they can be eliminated very quickly and conveniently. But there are also disadvantages. The surface location of pipes increases the likelihood of accidental damage. It also becomes more difficult to move around the area. And pipelines can become easy prey for criminals if you only visit your dacha occasionally.

2. Deep installation plastic pipes for irrigation in the country. This option is more preferable, so we will consider it in more detail:

An irrigation system assembled with your own hands from plastic pipes will provide your area with moisture for many years, saving you from monotonous and routine manual work.

The video will tell you in detail how to make watering at your dacha using plastic pipes, indicating all the necessary elements of the system.

In order for vegetation to grow and develop normally, it needs moisture. However, the weather conditions are often not pleasant with their surprises - scorching sunny days are replaced by torrential rains. Doing drip irrigation with your own hands is one of the best options for organizing an irrigation system in a suburban area.

This is a solution with numerous advantages. Do-it-yourself drip irrigation for a summer residence does not require the regular presence of a person, which is very important for those who travel out of town exclusively on weekends. Therefore, many owners of suburban areas are interested in the question of how to do it?

A person who does not have special knowledge and experience can create drip irrigation with their own hands for a summer residence. This system is very economical and has earned many positive reviews due to its undeniable advantages:

water is not overused, since the plants are irrigated locally;
the level of moisture in the soil can be adjusted;
the number of weeds is reduced;
the balance of air and water is maintained in the soil;
the root system is fed and watered synchronously;
there is no need for constant monitoring;
minimal energy consumption;
gives plants resistance to fungal processes;
it is much easier to grow garden plants.

After the drip irrigation system was invented, it gained great popularity. At first, the main industry for its application was greenhouse farming, and then open soil where vegetables and fruits are grown. This system is also used in viticulture.

A modern drip irrigation device is a flexible hose into which droppers are mounted. Droppers help to even out the moisture supply around the entire perimeter. This hose is installed on the surface of the earth. In some cases, it is buried in the soil along the entire required irrigation perimeter. Today, drip systems are presented on the market in a wide range.

It will also not be a problem to create drip irrigation for your dacha with your own hands. However, the drip irrigation device, despite the differences in different models, has no fundamental differences. It consists of the following mandatory elements:

node that takes in water. Its role can be played by various containers that rise to a height of one to two meters. Water is supplied either independently, or a suitable pump is used for this purpose. Water can come from a river, pond, well, borehole, lake or water pipe. It all depends on your desires and capabilities;
The filtration unit is one of the most important elements of the system, determining its performance indicators and service life. It is designed to purify water and protect droppers from clogging;
main-type pipeline - its task is performed by pipes made of polyethylene or PVC with a diameter of at least 32 mm. This is where the drip tape or tube fittings are installed. When creating drip irrigation with your own hands, you can use the simplest option, like a regular garden hose, with which you water your garden. The only condition is that it should not allow light to pass through so that algae does not grow inside;
distribution-type pipeline – these are pipe lines into which droppers are mounted. They can have different shapes - flat or cylindrical, a certain gap must be maintained between them, ranging in size from 10 centimeters to one meter;
hardware elements and fittings – connect all of the above elements, creating a single system. It is possible to use both threaded connections and adapters in this capacity. To connect the system to the water source, a variety of elements are used in the beds, such as tees, corners, reducers, couplings, plugs and fittings. The latter can be with or without a faucet. Taps allow you to water crops that require different amounts of water. When creating drip irrigation with your own hands, you should keep in mind that the use of fittings made from ferrous metal alloys is prohibited. This material is not resistant to corrosion processes, and rust subsequently clogs the system.

Drip irrigation scheme

A drip irrigation scheme is an extensive water supply network that supplies moisture to the root systems of plants. The drip irrigation scheme is very simple - first, it is supplied from a well, lake, water pipe or other source of water to the water intake unit, and then, through main pipes and drip tubes, it moves directly to the roots of the plants. Drip irrigation, compared to conventional irrigation, does not disturb the natural structure of the soil. Plants will not get burned even with excessive sun activity, which is caused by moisture getting on the leaves.

You can create a similar scheme both in a greenhouse and in open ground. You should do drip irrigation in a greenhouse with your own hands in order to provide plants that are not provided with precipitation with the necessary amount of moisture. Lack of water will lead to their death. Do-it-yourself drip irrigation in a greenhouse is a significant help for a person who does not have the opportunity to constantly care for cultivated plants.

After you create drip irrigation in a greenhouse with your own hands, you will notice a significant increase in plant productivity, the incidence of plant diseases will decrease, and their appearance will improve. This will provide you with economical water consumption. In this case, excessive moistening of the surface layer of soil will not occur, with normal moistening of the deeper layers. Each plant will receive water in the required quantity.

The design of a modern drip system can be automatic - this allows you to determine the exact dosage for each plant and will facilitate the organization of fractional watering. The circuit can be equipped with connected rain sensors - if it rains in sufficient quantities, water will not be supplied.

Automatic elements allow you to determine convenient conditions for turning on irrigation, for example, at night, when a sufficient amount of water is collected in the water supply system or well. The fairly high price of automatic elements is justified by the numerous advantages of such a scheme - it absolutely does not require human participation, so you can leave the dacha for a fairly long period of time.

How to make drip irrigation with your own hands

Even a novice summer resident can create drip irrigation himself. Some components should be purchased in specialized shopping centers. When choosing distribution pipes, you must first determine their exact suitable length and diameter. This should be decided based on the planned water flow and a suitable irrigation scheme.

However, when doing drip irrigation yourself, it is better to choose the simplest possible scheme, with a minimum number of branches and components. Since each element that is part of this system represents a kind of blocking zone, which leads to the accumulation of dirt.

Creating drip irrigation yourself is a fairly simple task. It is enough to create a simple plumbing system, since its excessive complexity will lead to difficult movement of water and will require frequent repairs.

In various shopping centers and stores you can purchase all the necessary elements to create such a structure. They have a wide price range. The cost of a specific component is determined by its quality, materials used to create it, operational and technical characteristics.

How to make drip irrigation with your own hands from scrap materials? It is possible to use various plastic pipes or flexible hoses, however, certain conditions must be met:

water should be supplied in the same volume through which it comes out through the holes so that it evenly irrigates all the plants;
The droppers should not be too narrow to avoid clogging.

To create a reliable, convenient and effective drip irrigation system, flexible soft medical hoses are suitable. The diameter of the main hose should be 1-2 centimeters. It is also possible to use used medical systems with thick needles (for containers with solution) as hoses. Half-meter-sized tubes that fit over the needles are also useful. The needles are inserted diagonally into the main hose - and the irrigation system is ready.

Clogging of such droppers occurs quite rarely, and they are very convenient to clean. This system has the only drawback - it quickly becomes overgrown with algae, subject to direct sunlight. However, this drawback can be easily corrected - the structure can be covered with black material that does not allow sunlight to pass through.

Before starting installation, you should mark out the planting plan, determining the duration of each bed and the gap between them. If all the plants on the site are evenly distributed, you can create a structure based on the finished plantings and the space between them. The tubes are cut into pieces of suitable length and connected into a single system. It is better to place the tubes with a slight slope, adding strength to the structure using pegs.

The length of the line should not be too long, and should be approximately 6-8 meters. Holes are punched in suitable places where tubes and needles are inserted. After installation is complete, the system should be tested under high pressure conditions. You also need to check how quickly the water flows out. The speed is adjusted by changing the inclination of the hoses.

To prevent frequent clogging, a filter should be placed on the hose. In its role, you can use foam rubber, which is easily removed and washed. To prevent direct sunlight from causing algae to grow, a lid covers the water tank and foil covers the tubes.

DIY drip irrigation system

The DIY drip irrigation system comes in two main varieties. The most popular is the do-it-yourself drip irrigation system, which is based on drip tubes or drip tapes. The drip tube is made of polyethylene, its diameter can reach 20 millimeters, and the wall can be two millimeters thick. The droppers are connected to the tubes externally or internally.

The material used for making drip tapes is also polyethylene. They roll up into a tube and join under the influence of temperature. The role of droppers is played by miniature holes that remain after the connection, or are made on the outside. Such tapes have a thickness of up to 300 microns. A suitable do-it-yourself drip irrigation system is selected based on individual preferences, capabilities and requirements, the size of the irrigated area and the types of crops.

The drip tube system is designed for high pressure and long-term use. Similar systems are used to irrigate orchards and vineyards, as well as in landscape design. They allow you to supply water over long distances, and are capable of supplying up to 2 liters of water within an hour. For the winter, such a structure can be disassembled and reassembled in the spring.

Drip tape systems are designed for use in low pressure conditions and are used to water vegetable crops in garden beds. Such a system consumes water according to certain standards. Some models have adjustable water supply intensity.

Drip irrigation from a barrel

Drip irrigation from a barrel supplies water using gravity; the water intake tank supplies it by gravity. Instead of a barrel, you can use any type of container filled with a network plumbing system or a natural water source. Drip irrigation from a barrel can also be provided by rainwater.

Drip irrigation from a barrel can become clogged with algae, plankton or suspended particles, as well as the result of corrosive processes. Therefore, the material used to manufacture the barrel must be a material that is not susceptible to corrosive or destructive processes. It can be a material of synthetic origin, plastic, galvanized iron. The barrel must be covered to prevent leaves, debris or dust from falling into it.

The volume of the barrel should be selected based on individual requirements and the general need of the vegetation of the site for water. So that the system is able to irrigate the garden, and there is no need to constantly replenish moisture reserves. The process of water supply must be continuous.

It is better to place the barrel at a height of 1 to 2 meters above the ground to ensure suitable pressure. The water should be as clean as possible. The drain hole should be located approximately 10 cm from the bottom to prevent accumulated sediment from entering the hose. Any type of filtration element is suitable for this design. The filter must be washed regularly. Droppers designed for use in low pressure environments should be used. Drip irrigation for a greenhouse from a barrel is the best option.

When creating drip irrigation for a greenhouse from a barrel, you should start by installing a submersible pump with a power capable of providing water supply along the entire perimeter of the site. To remove the tube, you can drill a special hole in the lid or in the bottom of the barrel. The sealant and sealant are placed here. The main pipe around the perimeter of the greenhouse is routed with a fitting. Each pipe or hose is equipped with a plug. The design can be supplemented with various automatic, electronic or mechanical elements, such as a timer.

DIY drip irrigation from plastic bottles

Do-it-yourself drip irrigation from plastic bottles is a solution that is very popular due to its many advantages. One of its main advantages is its simple device - a bottle made of plastic is dug around each plant. Small holes are made in it. The bottle is filled with water, it gradually seeps through the holes made. Thus, the root system of plants is evenly supplied with moisture.

Creating drip irrigation from plastic bottles with your own hands requires minimal financial costs, since empty plastic bottles can be bought for a completely symbolic price, or found at home at home or in your neighbors. Also, its arrangement is simple. This does not require special knowledge or skills. Anyone can create drip irrigation from bottles with their own hands. Its creation will greatly simplify caring for plants in a greenhouse. You can safely leave the area for quite a long time.

Another advantage of the decision to make drip irrigation from bottles with your own hands is the autonomous operation of the system. Unlike other systems, it does not require a water tank - just fill the bottles with water. Thus, the question of how to make drip irrigation in a greenhouse is solved very quickly and simply.

In addition, the plants are irrigated with water corresponding to the air temperature in the greenhouse. This helps to improve the condition and increase the yield of various crops. If any element of the system fails, it is very easy to replace it with a new one - to do this, you just need to dig out the bottle and replace it with a new one.

Do-it-yourself drip irrigation from polypropylene pipes

Compared to using conventional metal pipes, DIY drip irrigation using polypropylene pipes has numerous advantages. They are light in weight. Such drip irrigation can be done with minimal financial costs.

The internal walls of such pipes are almost completely free of various deposits. Pipes made of polypropylene can last more than half a century. They are suitable for constant intensive use and are resistant to condensation. Installation of such a system is simple.

Drip irrigation design mistakes

When looking for an answer to the question of how to make drip irrigation in a greenhouse, people often make mistakes at the design stage, as well as during operation:

excessive water saving, and small volume of supplied moisture. Since the drip system results in increased yield and growth, the root system requires more moisture. The drip system can rationalize water consumption. However, water should be provided in the amount the plants need to avoid the exact opposite of the desired result. Therefore, the container should be selected in accordance with the needs of the crops being grown;
choosing the wrong drip irrigation system. The system should be selected based on the conditions of a particular site. A pipeline with a diameter that is too small is not suitable for a large area. You should also pay attention to the system pressure level;
choosing a dripper with the wrong flow rate - it may not be suitable for the soil type. A properly selected dripper turns the ground into a smooth, damp strip;
errors made during installation. When installing an irrigation system, you should strictly follow the instructions.

The following tips will help you understand how to make drip irrigation in a greenhouse as efficient as possible:

before installation, draw a detailed diagram of the room, indicating its size and location of plants;
select hoses of the appropriate type;
think about how the water containers will be located. What volume will be optimal for your site, how the tank will be filled, how the pipelines will be laid, and where the fittings will be located;
if possible, it is best to use rainwater for irrigation;
the water container must have a minimum volume of one hundred liters, regardless of the size of the greenhouse;
calculate what spare parts and system elements you will need, and in what quantity.

How to make drip irrigation with your own hands. Video.

Providing water to plants and plantings is one of the concerns of homeowners. Some water vegetable beds, some water flower beds and lawns, and some need to provide water for their garden. In any case, the procedure takes quite 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 you have to loosen the soil. All these problems can be solved by drip watering the plants. You can buy ready-made kits, order turnkey development and installation, or you can do everything yourself. This article will discuss how to make drip irrigation yourself.

Operating principle and varieties

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

poured onto the surface near the stem;
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 installation, and a decent amount of excavation work. For temperate climates there is not much difference - both methods work well. But in regions with very hot summers, underground installation has shown itself to be better: less water evaporates and more of it gets to the plants.

There are gravity 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, it is a valve with a timer that opens the water supply for a specified period of time. More sophisticated systems can monitor the flow of each water supply line separately, testing soil moisture and sensing the weather. These systems operate under the guidance of processors; operating modes can be set from the control panel or computer.

Pros and cons

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

Labor intensity is significantly reduced. 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 to the roots, other zones are excluded.
Eliminates the need for frequent loosening. When water is dosed into a small area, a crust does not form on the soil; therefore, it does not need to be broken.
Plants develop better and productivity increases. Due to the fact that water is supplied to one zone, the root system develops in this place. It has a larger number of fine roots, becomes more lumpy, and absorbs moisture faster. All this contributes to rapid growth and more abundant fruiting.
It is possible to organize root feeding. Moreover, fertilizer consumption due to point supply is also minimal.

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

There are also disadvantages, but there are very few of them:

For normal operation water filtration required, and these are additional costs. The system can function without filters, but then it is necessary to consider a purge/rinse system to remove blockages.
Drippers become clogged over time and require cleaning or replacement.
If thin-walled tapes are used, they may be damaged by birds, insects or rodents. Places of unplanned water consumption arise.
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 quite long, but all of them are not very serious. This is a really useful thing in the garden, garden, flower bed or.

Components and layout options

Drip irrigation systems can be organized using any water source. A well, borehole, 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 supplies water to the irrigation site. Then it goes along one side of the irrigated area and is muffled at the end.

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.

It is advisable to install a filter or filter system between the outlet of the source and the first branch onto the bed. They are not needed if the system is powered from the home water supply. If you pump water from a lake, river, rainwater tank, filters are required: there can be a lot of contaminants and the system will clog too often. The types of filters and their number are determined depending on the condition of the water.

Drip hoses

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

They differ in the following characteristics:

- Tube stiffness. Drip hoses can be hard or soft. The soft ones are called tapes, the hard ones are called hoses. Hard ones can be used for up to 10 seasons, soft ones - up to 3-4. Tapes 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, a service life of up to 3-4 seasons, and are available for both above-ground and underground installation.

Watering can be organized using tapes or hoses

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

Droppers

Sometimes it is more convenient to use droppers rather than tapes. These are separate devices that are inserted into a hole in the hose and through which water is supplied to the root of the plant. They can be installed in arbitrary increments—put several pieces in one place, and then several in another. This is convenient when organizing drip irrigation of shrubs or trees.

There are two types - with standardized (constant) and controlled water release. The body is usually plastic; on one side 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 and uncompensated droppers. When using compensated ones at any point in the irrigation line, the water release will be the same (approximately), regardless of the terrain and location (at the beginning or end of the line).

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

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

Main pipes and fittings

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

polypropylene (PPR);
polyvinyl chloride (PVC);
polyethylene:
- high pressure (HPP);
- low pressure (LPP).

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

Main pipes are plastic. Choose any specific type: PPR, HDPE, LDPE, PVC

Tees are installed in the places where the lines are drained, and a drip hose or tape is connected to the side outlet of them. 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 be slightly smaller). You can attach tapes/hoses to fittings using metal clamps.

Bends can also be made through special fittings, which are installed in a hole made in the hose of the required diameter (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 used for moisture-loving plants and those that do not like excess water.

If you don’t feel like choosing components and selecting sizes and diameters of fittings, you can buy ready-made ones from various manufacturers.

Do-it-yourself drip irrigation: examples of devices

There are many options for designing the system - it easily adapts to any conditions. Most often the question arises about how to organize watering independent of electricity. This can be done if you install a sufficiently large water container at a height of at least 1.5 meters. This creates a minimum pressure of approximately 0.2 atm. It is enough to water a small area of a vegetable garden or garden.

Water can be supplied to the container from a water supply system, pumped by a pump, drained from roofs, or even poured into buckets. A tap is made at the bottom of the container, to which the main pipeline is connected. Next, the system is standard: a filter (or a cascade of filters) is installed on the pipeline up to the first branch on the irrigation line, and then there is distribution to the beds.

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

If necessary, you can water both shrubs and fruit trees. The whole difference is that the tape or hose is laid around the trunk at some distance. One line is allocated for each tree; bushes can be watered several times on one line. Only in this case you need to use a regular hose into which to insert droppers with the required water flow.

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

Can water be supplied directly from the source? It is possible, but not advisable. And this is not due to technical difficulties - there are not 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. The water is heated in them and then distributed throughout the area.

Drip irrigation: how to calculate the system

There can be one container from which water is supplied to the system - common, as in the picture above, or separate for each area. If there is a significant distance between irrigation objects, this may be more profitable than pulling a 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 to water vegetables depends on the climate and soil. On average, you can take 1 liter per plant, 5 liters for bushes and 10 liters for trees. But this is the same as the “average temperature in the hospital,” although it is suitable for approximate calculations. You count the number of plants, multiply by the consumption per day, and add everything up. Add 20-25% of the reserve to the resulting figure and you know the required volume of capacity.

There are no problems with calculating the length of the main line and drip hoses. The main line is the distance from the tap on the tank to the ground, then along the ground to the watering site, and then along the end side of the beds. By adding up 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 to one or two rows from one tube (for example, using spider drippers you can distribute water for two to four rows at the same time).

The number of tees or fittings and taps (if you install them) is determined by the number of pipes. For each branch using tees, take three clamps: press the hose to the fitting.

The most difficult and expensive part is the filters. If water is pumped from an open source - a lake or river - you first need a coarse filter - gravel. Then there should be fine filters. Their type and quantity depend on the condition of the water. When using water from a well or a well, you do not need to install a coarse filter: primary filtration occurs on the suction hose (if used). In general, there are as many cases as there are solutions, but filters are needed, otherwise the droppers will quickly clog.

Homemade drip hoses and droppers

One of the most significant costs when constructing a system from ready-made components yourself is droppers or drip tapes. They, of course, provide the same amount of water throughout and the flow rate is stable, but in small areas this is not necessary. You can regulate the supply and flow rate using taps built into the beginning of the irrigation line. Therefore, there are many ideas that allow you to distribute water to plants using ordinary hoses. Watch one of them in the video.

It is difficult to call this system drip irrigation. This is more of a root watering: water is supplied in a stream under the root, but it works, perhaps only a little worse and is more suitable for plants with a root system developed deeper. This method will be good for trees, fruit bushes, and 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, real drip irrigation is organized. This was done using medical droppers. If you have the opportunity to stock up on used material, it will turn out to be very cheap.

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

Droppers can be used almost without modification. This is the case if the system had a bag. An example is in the photo.

Waste into income - watering for young plants is provided

It is almost also possible to do drip irrigation for house plants. It is suitable for those flowers that love constant moisture.

Constantly moistening 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 water supply to plants without hoses and large containers. You will only need plastic bottles and small lengths - 10-15 cm - thin tubes.

Partially cut off the bottom of the bottles. So that you get a lid from the bottom. This way the water will not evaporate. But you can cut off the bottom completely. At a distance of 7-8 cm from the cap, make a hole in the bottle into which a thin tube is inserted at a slight angle. Bury the bottle with the cork down or tie it to a peg, and stick the peg into the ground next to the plant, pointing the tube towards 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 made by turning the bottle upside down. But this option is less convenient: it is more difficult to pour water, you will need a watering can. What this looks like, see the figure below.

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

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

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

Good watering in a summer cottage is the key to high yields of vegetable and fruit crops and accelerated flower growth. What caring summer resident does not dream of having the most efficient irrigation system that does not require large installation costs?

Commonly available and inexpensive means of reclamation are drip irrigation systems. The use of drip irrigation systems allows you to achieve early growth and ripening of plant fruits, and increase the yield of seeds, seedlings, planting material or trees by 2-2.5 times. Thanks to targeted watering of the root system, weed growth slows down and the spread of crop pests and diseases is prevented.

Being an alternative to traditional watering equipment, hoses and sprinklers, drip irrigation in the countryside reduces water consumption during irrigation by half. For those who want to automate the water supply process, there are modern innovative developments. They allow you to program the operation of drip irrigation in given parameters in time with the required sequence of functions. Any home craftsman who does not have special knowledge of hydraulic engineering can install drip irrigation in a dacha or make drip irrigation in a garden. It is enough to understand the operating principle of the system in question and have basic skills in constructing pipelines from plastic materials.

Drip irrigation is considered one of the most modern methods of moistening beds in greenhouses and open ground. How to make a drip irrigation system with your own hands is of interest to many greenhouse owners, because this method of watering plants is cost-effective and convenient. This is explained by the fact that plants receive the necessary moisture with virtually no human intervention.

Methods for installing a drip irrigation system and DIY options are described in this article.

How to make a drip irrigation system with your own hands

You can do such irrigation with your own hands, but it is much faster and more convenient to buy a ready-made structure and assemble it on site.

How to assemble the structure with your own hands will be described below, but first we will try to figure out what preparatory work needs to be done in order for it to function without failures.

Preparing the area

Before you do such irrigation, you need to prepare the site. In our case, we are considering the installation of irrigation in a greenhouse, so we will take the structure of closed ground as an example (Figure 1).

Automatic irrigation involves installing a reservoir to store water and distribute tapes across the beds. It is important that the structure must be installed immediately on the finished beds, and it is not recommended to change their location in the future. Of course, you can increase or decrease the number and size of the beds, but in this case you will need to reassemble.

Figure 1. Preparing the room for installation of an irrigation system

The tapes are laid out in the beds so that the droppers are located near the main plants. Plugs are installed at the ends of the pipes to prevent water loss. They must be removable so that water can be quickly drained when cleaning the system.

Installing the container

The water storage tank should be located at the beginning of the building. It must be placed at a height (about 2 meters above the ground surface) so that water flows into the pipes under the influence of gravity (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Installing a water storage tank

If there is not enough space for a tank in the room itself, it can also be installed outside the structure by laying pipes on the ground. But in this case, the water must be drained during the winter so that it does not damage the tank when it freezes.

Starter installation

In ready-made kits, all necessary elements (except for the tank) are provided as a set. On site, you only need to connect the hose to the tank, install the starter on the tank and program it to turn on and off automatically using a sensor.

The starter is connected to the tank by drilling a hole with a diameter of approximately 14 mm in the main pipe. It is this device that starts the water and stops it if necessary. If you are not buying a finished product, but only parts of it, choose your starter carefully. It must be powerful enough to provide water to all the plants, so when purchasing, be sure to take into account the number of beds and the area of the room itself.

How to calculate drip irrigation for your plot

To ensure that the soil moistening structure exactly matches the size of your greenhouse, you need to accurately calculate the length of the tapes and their number.

To do this, you need to measure the length of the beds. For example, if you have 10 beds 15 meters long, you need to buy a little more than 150 meters of tape. The reserve is necessary in order to eliminate possible losses during installation. Plugs must be installed at the end of each tape, and fine filters must be installed near the water tank so that the hoses do not become clogged with debris, sand or plant debris.

How to make your own drip irrigation

The tips below will tell you how to make drip irrigation in a greenhouse yourself without large financial costs.

From bottles

For small buildings, homemade structures made from plastic bottles are perfect.

To water your dacha or greenhouse yourself using this method, you need to use the following step-by-step instructions (Figure 3):

A hose is laid out along the beds and holes are drilled in it. The hose can be laid out both on the surface of the earth and underground. The latter method is more acceptable for closed ground structures.
A plastic bottle with holes in the bottom is placed near each plant.
A medical dropper is inserted into the neck of each bottle and connected to a hose.

Figure 3. Installation of bottle irrigation

This design will ensure a constant supply of moisture directly to the roots of the plant. But for this it is necessary that there is stable water pressure in it, the container is installed on an elevation, and the main pipe is equipped with a starter.

The video shows how to make a similar design from plastic bottles.

From medical droppers

You can do this kind of watering in a greenhouse yourself using medical droppers. The principle remains the same as when installing a structure made of bottles (Figure 4).

A flexible hose is laid out along the entire length of the beds, which is connected to the main pipe and a water storage tank. Holes are drilled in the hose into which droppers with special valves are inserted, through which water will flow to the plants.

Figure 4. Installation diagram of irrigation from medical droppers

The main difference of such a system is that water does not flow to the roots, but to the surface of the soil, and the number of droppers can be any.

Automatic drip irrigation

Automation of moisture application greatly facilitates plant care, since the soil is saturated with moisture practically without human intervention.

To install such a structure, a controller running on an autonomous battery is installed on the water tank. The tank, in turn, is connected to the water supply, and when it is empty, it is automatically refilled. Automation also involves installing sensors that will start and stop soil moisture based on time.

How to make drip irrigation in a greenhouse yourself

Assembling a point irrigation system yourself is a completely feasible task. To do this, you need to buy a ready-made kit and simply install it on site.

Note: At the moment, the most popular products are Dusya and AquaDusya. The latter is fully automated, while the former is considered simple and suitable even for small greenhouses.

To carry out installation correctly, you need to follow some recommendations:

Make an installation plan and schematically draw the location of hoses and droppers;
Install a water container above the ground surface to maintain stable pressure in the pipes;
Place pipes or flexible hoses over the beds to supply water;
Install a starter and electronic sensors on the main pipe and water tank to automate watering.

At the final stage, the finished structure is necessarily tested to check whether water flows normally and whether the hoses are leaking.

From the central water supply system

If your site has running water, automatic watering in the greenhouse will not be difficult. To do this, just connect the water storage tank to the central water supply and install a special sensor that will fill the tank.

This design makes it possible to almost completely automate watering, but it should be remembered that in the winter all its elements are dried and removed.

How does a drip irrigation system work for a greenhouse?

The operating principle of such structures in a greenhouse is quite simple. Water is constantly stored in a special tank and enters pipes or hoses under pressure.

Holes are made in all hoses into which droppers are inserted. Through them, water seeps in small drops and enters the soil. This method of providing moisture is considered the most convenient, since all plants, without exception, receive the right amount of water. However, the irrigation structure cannot be left without attention either: valves, hoses and drippers must be checked periodically in order to eliminate the blockage or malfunction in time.

In greenhouses, not only vegetables, fruits and herbs are often grown, but also indoor plants in pots, which also require high-quality watering (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Diagram and example of installation of an irrigation structure for closed beds and indoor plants

In this case, the system will be beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, it can be installed not only on the ground, but also on vertical racks. Secondly, the design allows you to connect tubes to each pot and plant.

How to choose drip irrigation for a greenhouse

The success of soil moistening largely depends on the quality of the chosen system. To buy a truly good product, pay attention to several important parameters (Figure 6):

Pump power and its functions: in high-quality products, it not only starts the system itself, but also creates the required level of pressure.
The walls of the hoses must be strong so that water does not break through them during operation.
Sensors must be easy to operate: ease of use will depend on this.

Figure 6. Tools for assembling the system yourself

As a rule, high-quality products are more expensive, but since their operation lasts for years, it is not worth saving on such a purchase.

How to choose drip tape for irrigation

A key role in the use of such irrigation is played by the tape - a flexible hose that is laid out over the beds and brought to the plants.

When purchasing, carefully inspect the tape. It must be strong enough, but at the same time flexible, so that creases form on it, which could cause the entire system to fail in the future.

The technology for assembling such irrigation structures is shown in the video.