A Spectacular Spring

How To Design And Install A DIY Drip Irrigation System For Your Residential Garden

13 April 2017 by Terri Holmes

As a homeowner that loves to garden, you know how much water, time, and effort it takes to thoroughly irrigate your garden by hand. To simplify your garden irrigation, you can install a drip irrigation system, which is a series of connected irrigation tubes and water dispensers that carry water from a water source to all parts of your garden. Here is a plan to design and install a simple DIY drip irrigation system for your residential garden: 

Plan Your Drip Irrigation System:  Measure the linear feet in your garden where you wish to have a drip irrigation system. Include the distance between your garden containers, the distance on both sides of your flower beds, the distance between the rows in your vegetable garden, and down your garden paths. Count your container and hanging plants and calculate the distance between them. In this way, you can calculate the total length of flexible drip tubing you will need to irrigate your garden. 

Design Your Drip Irrigation System:  Design your irrigation system to run from an outdoor spigot to each of the areas of your garden. You can use flexible tubing of different diameters in each section of your garden that is based on the amount of water you will need for those particular sections. A vegetable garden will need a lot of water, so you can begin your irrigation system there. Your irrigation system can branch out from there with smaller diameter tubing going to other garden areas. When you want to change the direction of water flow in your irrigation system, use a barbed tee fitting between tubing sections to divert the water. At the end of each irrigation section, you can use an end cap to stem the flow of water.  

Water Source:  Your drip irrigation system begins at an outdoor spigot. It is best to install a backflow preventer on your water tubing next to the outdoor spigot to prevent water from leaking back into your water line. You can install a pressure regulator next to your backflow preventer so that you can manually adjust the flow of water that you are using when you irrigate. You can also install a fertilizer dispenser on your main water tube line to use when you wish to feed nutrients to your garden plants.

Vegetable Garden:  For vegetables and fruits that need a lot of water, you can use soaker tubing that runs the length of your vegetable garden. Soaker tubes are porous and dispense water along their entire length. Use soaker tubes often to thoroughly irrigate all parts of your vegetable garden. 

Flower Beds and Ground Cover:  For flower beds and ground cover, you can also use soaker tubing that is buried beside the rows of your plants. Alternatively, you can use drip stakes, mini-sprayers, or mini-sprinklers, to irrigate your plants from the top and allow water to seep into the ground to irrigate plant roots. 

Container Plants and Hanging Plants:  Container plants and hanging plants can be irrigated with small tubing that is 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch in diameter. Use mini-sprayers, drip stakes, water emitters, or water misters, on this tubing to irrigate your plants. 

Trees:  Irrigate the trees in your garden on a separate line that can be attached to your water spigot as needed. Trees do not require frequent waterings but when you water them, you should water them thoroughly. For adequate irrigation, bury soaker tubing in the ground to completely surround your trees.  

All drip irrigation tubes, couplings, fittings, sprayers, emitters, soaker tubing, and drip lines can be obtained at a home improvement store with a complete garden section. Once you set up your system, you can expand it as you get more plants and sections of your garden that you wish to irrigate. With a well-designed drip irrigation system, you can easily keep your garden healthy and thriving during all seasons of the year. If installing your own system seems like too involved of a project, consider hiring a company like the one represented at http://sprinklersdfw.com/ instead.

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