Content of the article:
The device at the cottage or garden irrigation system is one of the main factors for obtaining a good harvest. The most effective method of irrigation is recognized as a point dosed system of moisture intake under the root of each plant bush. Gardeners, unlimited in finance, buy industrial irrigation systems, and savvy craftsmen make drip irrigation using improvised means with their own hands.
How to make drip irrigation from improvised means with your own hands
Dark plastic packaging that is available in abundance in summer on any household plot is a suitable material for building a simple drip irrigation system with your own hands.
Option No. 1
We tear out a small hole between the beds and place a 1- or 2-liter plastic bottle there. At the top of the cork we make openings for the access of air. On the sides of the tank, we pierce in thin, staggered holes for the moisture from the bottle to the roots of nearby plants.
For plants located a little further from the bottle, water can be supplied through additional tubes inserted into the openings of the bottle.
Option number 2
Install supports on both sides of the bed on both sides. On the supports a beam is placed, to which water bottles are suspended. Small holes are punctured in the lids to drain water from tanks horizontally laid on the beam. Another way: the bottles are hung vertically down. The required water will flow to the roots through the thin holes made in the lid or through the cleaned used handle pins inserted into the containers with the writing tip removed.
Before use, the bottles are cleaned of labels, washed thoroughly and dried.
Option No. 3
A little patience and skill is needed to set up a drip irrigation system with your own hands from medical droppers.
This will require:
- hoses made of rubber or pipes made of polyethylene, PVC;
- connecting adapters, fittings, tees, end caps;
- used medical droppers.
To collect the irrigation system according to a pre-established pattern:
- hoses( pipes) are laid out;
- through adapters, they are interconnected and with a source of water.
- at the edges set stubs.
- in the hoses( pipes) in front of each plant with the help of sewing, we make small holes into which we insert plastic ends of the droppers tightly. By means of a castor it is adjustable a water pressure.
Before use and every subsequent season, the entire system must be thoroughly rinsed. Thin holes of the irrigation system can gradually become clogged. It is recommended to install a fine filter when water enters it.
Summer residents have learned how to make homemade filters for drip irrigation with their own hands using pieces of nylon socks or tights. For the manufacture of the filter can be used an empty plastic container in which the medicine was stored. The connecting tubes that are inserted at the entrance to the irrigation system are tightly attached to it. Nylon elements are inserted into a plastic jar, which is tightly screwed with a lid. It is recommended to use filters with the dimensions of the pass-through cells that are three times smaller than the openings of the used droppers.
Do-it-yourself hose drip
If a homemade drip irrigation system is being constructed with a conductive hose laid out on the ground or laid on a support, its functions can be performed by:
- a conventional single-layer or multi-layer rubber hose;
- hose made of polyvinyl chloride;
- silicone hose.
When planning a plumbing system to be buried in the soil, it is safer to build it from plastic or polypropylene pipes. Such a conductive hose will be less susceptible to corrosion and temperature changes.
In any case, the conductive hose must be suitable for making holes in it for inserting medical or other types of droppers with tips and not letting water in places not intended for irrigation.
Homemade drip irrigation system
Drip tapes are popular with gardeners. They also make their own. The tape drip irrigation system consists of:
- main pipeline;
- main distribution pipe;
- made of plastic tapes with holes located at equal distances from each other or perforated hose-tapes.
The optimal choice of material for the manufacture of wiring - polyethylene pipes for irrigation. It is convenient to install distributing connectors on them, tees, transitions, valve and ball valves, the remaining connecting elements with a source of water intake and drip tapes. After pre-cleaning and checking the wiring of pipes, plugs are put on their edges. Drip tapes are attached to the distribution pipe with starter fittings and adapters. During the pre-test checks the operation of each dropper. In case of clogging, mechanical cleaning is carried out. Drip tape or seamless tubes are buried at a shallow depth of 2 to 3 centimeters to avoid penetration of the watered roots into the system.
A typical do-it-yourself drip irrigation scheme looks like this: 
Instead of drip tapes for homemade drip irrigation, seamless PVC tubes with emitters are used.
A volumetric filling plastic reservoir installed at a two-meter height to provide the required water pressure in the system is used as a water source. The calculation of the water supply is carried out on the basis of taking into account the useful area occupied by the beds, the type of soil, the number of plants and the need for moisture( from 0.8 to 1.5 l / hour).Soft rain or melt water is preferable for irrigation compared to tap water. For plants it is more useful when its temperature is identical to the temperature of air and soil.
Fighting clogging of
pipes. Fertilizers are often added to feed vegetables at the same time. It should be remembered that in order to prevent them from clogging conductive hoses, it is necessary to use only special soluble fertilizers.
The tank should be connected to the entrance to the irrigation system just above the bottom. This will reduce the likelihood of pipe clogging by debris particles settling at the bottom of the tank.
To prevent clogging of pipes with chemical impurities of oxides of iron, aluminum, magnesium, phosphorus that accumulate in hard water, acid additives are used. From contamination with mucus, microorganisms, periodically thorough flushing with the removal of plugs and the chlorination of water.
Upon completion of the field work, we disassemble the irrigation system, thoroughly wash and dry to prepare for work next year.
Automated drip irrigation
Advanced masters learned how to customize drip irrigation automation with the help of:
- minicomputer processor, solenoid valves, humidity sensors, temperature, working pressure level, single or multi-channel controllers;
- timer installed on the water supply pump, it is regulated by the time of the supply and shutdown of water.
The Minicomputer configures up to 12 individual water supply modes for each branch of the irrigation distribution over the section. The volume of water in the system is adjusted based on automatic analysis of incoming information from temperature and humidity sensors. Programmable controllers are installed at the entrance to the irrigation system after the valve tap and on the wiring at the connection points of drip tapes or special seamless pipes. They automatically give the command to turn the irrigation on and off to the installed solenoid valves.
Automatic drip irrigation systems significantly reduce the need for water use, time for observation and care of beds.
The main advantages of using a self-made drip system.
. Drip irrigation using improvised resources with their own hands saves significant financial resources for the purchase of necessary materials and equipment. The second advantage is the quick possibility of replacing the spoiled part of the spare system: the craftsman who built drip irrigation in his area will quickly see its weak points and repair them with the available spare materials( or purchase them at already familiar points of sale).
General advantages of homemade drip irrigation:
- Beneficial effects on plants. Moisture comes dotted under the roots, not clogging the soil, not creating a crust. Waterlogging is excluded, the roots intensively breathe the entire cycle of growth and ripening of fruits and vegetables and berries. Plants are not injured, in contrast to contact with them a significant flow of water from above when sprinkling.
- Significant savings in water consumption, reduced wear and clogging of impurities, mucus irrigation system.
- Reduced crop losses from pests and diseases. Fungicides, insecticides, and other means of protection applied to leaves are not washed off with running water during irrigation.
- Drip tapes are conveniently located even in areas with uneven terrain; puddles are not allowed in some places and drought in other beds.
- Less weeds grow, as water does not flow to them. In the places of their growth the soil remains dry.
A uniform point of water supply to the roots with a temperature close to the temperature of the soil provides stable yields in the beds.
Have patience and skill, make your own drip system in your backyard. Save labor costs and water consumption in the future, enjoy a good harvest!
