First of all, let’s start with the starting point: A vegetable patch cannot be watered with the same irrigation system as the lawn, because the water jet used in lawn irrigation is far too rough for the fine plants in the patch and would damage them, and it would also wash the soil out of the patch. Therefore, a vegetable patch and all other types of patches such as herb patches, flower patches or fruit patches require the much gentler micro-irrigation.

This works with significantly lower water pressure and releases the water in fine droplets. The following two types of micro-irrigation can be used to irrigate patches:

• Micro-irrigation using a drip hose
• Micro-irrigation using sprayers

I will go into both variants in more detail below and explain what their advantages and disadvantages are.

What is always the same with micro-irrigation, regardless of whether it is implemented with drip hoses or sprayers, is the way in which it is connected to the water source.

How do you connect the micro irrigation to the water connection?

• A large 3/4 inch pipeline pipe or 3/4 inch hose is run from the water source to the location where the micro irrigation takes place (even larger is always possible, of course). There are a wide variety of connection and control options for how this pipe is connected to the water source and whether an irrigation computer is used to control it, from the simplest and cheapest possible to the most sophisticated and very convenient solutions.
• The pipe or hose leads into a pressure reducer, which reduces the water pressure to a level suitable for micro irrigation (usually around 20 to 35 psi).
• The 1/2 inch micro irrigation supply pipe leads away from the pressure reducer. This is either used directly as a drip pipe or feeds micro irrigation sprayers. Additional small 1/4 inch distribution hoses can lead away from this and end in drippers or sprayers.

The following illustration shows a typical connection for micro irrigation. This also includes a filter built in, which is essential for micro-irrigation solutions.

On the left is the supply line with 3/4 inch PE pipe leading away from the water connection. This is connected to the pressure reducer with a connector. To the right of the pressure reducer it continues with the 1/2 inch micro-irrigation distribution pipe. At the very right edge of the picture a 1/4 inch distribution hose branches off.

Bed irrigation with drip tube

• Advantage: The water is released close to the ground so that the leaves do not get wet when watering (less risk of rot and fungal attack)
• Disadvantage: When working in the bed, you have to pay attention to the drip tube and navigate through the tube tracks when crossing the bed

Note: In raised beds, the drip tube is usually always preferred. Sprayers are only used in exceptional cases, e.g. when planting new plants or with particularly delicate plants.

Drip tube laid in strips through the bed

In this variant, you lay the 1/2 inch drip pipe in strips through the bed, starting from the pressure reducer. The distance between individual strips should be about 12 inches. If it is not a normal bed but a raised bed, then it is better to leave a little less.

Such drip pipes are available ready-made with emitters built into them, or you can use the normal 3/4 inch micro-irrigation pipeline pipe and screw drippers into it yourself. This is only slightly cheaper than a ready-made drip pipe, but can be useful if not all plants in the bed have the same water requirements: By selecting different drippers, you can specifically determine where and how much water should be released. And if the distances between the individual plants are irregular, you can also deliberately place the drippers accordingly.

Irrigating the bed with micro-irrigation sprayers

• Advantage: The sprayers are located at the edge of the bed and do not interfere with work in the bed. You can move around freely, dig, etc.
• Disadvantage: When spraying, the leaves get wet and tall plants can hinder watering

Irrigation with sprayers placed at the edge of the bed

Unlike irrigation with a drip pipe, where the pipe is laid above ground in strips through the entire bed, the supply pipe when irrigated with sprayers either remains at the edge of the bed or is not visible at all. This can be achieved, for example, by laying it completely underground along the edge of the bed and only having thin 1/4 inch distribution hoses branch off upwards directly to the sprayers at those points where the sprayers are.

A third option is a mixed form. For example, laying the supply pipe underground along the edge and coming up at two points with the 1/4 inch distribution hoses. From there, you then continue above ground with the 1/4 inch hoses and suitable L or cross connectors and connect several sprayers in each case.

Which installation variant you should give preference to depends primarily on how important it is to you to keep the surface as free of pipes and hoses as possible and on how large the bed is. The 1/4 inch distribution hoses have a limited flow capacity and therefore reach their limits very quickly. A rough guideline is to lay them to a maximum length of 50 feet. But even before this limit is reached, the number of sprayers that can be supplied is likely to be the limiting factor. This is because the water flow is severely limited due to the small cross-section in the 1/4 inch hose.

How many sprayers you can attach to the 1/4 inch hose depends in detail on which type of sprayer you are using and which water requirements they have. In my practical example, it was still possible to attach two 90 degree and one 180 degree sprayers to a 1/4 inch line without any problems. I wouldn’t recommend much more than that, though; it would be better to make further branches from the 1/2 inch supply pipe.

Positioning the sprayers

The following three types of sprayers are generally used for watering beds:

• 90 degree sprayers
• 180 degree sprayers
• 360 degree sprayers

Each of these is mounted on spikes or extensions that ensure that the sprayers spray from as high a position as possible in the bed and are therefore not obstructed excessively by tall plants.

The actual sprayer sits right at the top of a 12 inch extension, which in turn is mounted on a 12 inch spike that is partially sunk into the ground. In this way, the sprayer in this example is about 16 to 20 inches above ground level.

The sprayers have, as their name suggests, a quarter-circle, semi-circle or full-circle spray pattern.

The 90 degree sprayers are placed in the corners of the bed. A bed irrigation system could, for example, consist of 4 90 degree sprayers placed in the corners. Or, if the bed is quite small, even just two 90 degree sprayers, positioned diagonally to each other, i.e. one at the bottom left and the other at the top right.

The 180 degree sprayers are placed in addition to the 90 degree sprayers at the edge of the bed if the bed is not square but elongated or the spray range of the sprayers is not sufficient to water from one edge to the other.

A 360 degree sprayer can optionally be placed in the middle of the bed. In large beds, this can also be used several times in the bed.

In principle, using a larger number of sprayers has the advantage over fewer sprayers that irrigation is less affected by individual obstacles. A bed is alive and some plants shoot up high and deflect the spray. If each area of ​​the bed receives water from several directions, this can be easily balanced out. With more sprayers, a greater uniformity of the water supply can also be achieved.

Example of a bed irrigation system with sprayers

In my example, I am using a ready-made bed irrigation set from Antelco and Teco, costing around $35.

The set includes 400 feet of 1/4 inch hose and components for up to 6 sprayers. This includes 6 spikes (including hose connection) and extensions, as well as a valve for each of the 6 sprayers to regulate the water flow. There are also 6 branches with which you can connect the 1/4 inch hose to the large 1/2 inch micro-irrigation pipe and ten end plugs to close the pipe ends.

There are even eight sprayers included: four 90 degree sprayers and two 180 and two 360 degree sprayers. This means you can vary which 6 sprayers you ultimately want to use.

There were also two T-piece connectors included, which are very practical if you want to split the 1/4 inch line above ground into several sprayers.

Contents of the ready-made bed irrigation set

The first impression of the set was a good one: the spikes are robust. This is a major flaw in some other micro-irrigation systems, as the extension pipes are often extremely delicate and thin, so that on the one hand they are easily damaged and on the other hand they are very difficult to attach or require constant readjustment because they do not stay firmly in place.

Each spike has a piece of supply hose attached, at the end of which there is a spike. You can connect the spike directly to a supply line with the spike, or pull out the spike and attach the end of the hose to a branch. According to my test, you do not even need to sink the spike completely into the ground; even if you only sink it partially, it is already quite stable. This gives you additional height.

The included branch connectors are very practical: to attach them, simply place the clamp on the supply pipe at the desired location and then tighten it. The branch connector’s spike then drills into the pipe and the branch is created. This works very well in practice, is leak-proof and is much quicker and cheaper than making the branch with T-pieces. This can be very expensive, especially for larger micro-irrigations.

Another positive feature is the possibility of installing a valve to regulate the spray jet. This is installed between the spike and the extension.

Assembling the sprayer

With a little experimentation, you will find out how it works and which combinations are possible, or you can look it up on the web. The micro sprayer is a product of the Australian company Antelco and is sold there under the name “Micro Spray Stake Assemblies”. The other components of the set are products of the Italian company Teco.

This is how it works: The valve part is screwed into the hose connection of the spike and the extension into the valve part. The nozzle is then screwed into the upper end of the extension.

Positioning the sprayers in the bed

My example bed is about 13 feet long and 5 feet wide. It is positioned in such a way that it is not a big problem if the water goes a little over the edge. If that were a problem, you would have to work more precisely and in more detail or use strip nozzles. In the example bed, I use 5 of the 6 spikes: one in each of the 4 corners and an additional one in the middle on the long side of the bed in the back area. I deliberately do not use the sixth sprayer on the long side in the front area of ​​the bed because the bed is walked on here and the sprayer would therefore be too much in the way. It would be disruptive or annoying when working in the bed every day to always have to pay attention to it.

Positioning of the sprayers in my example vegetable patch

And this is what it looks like in real life:

Bed irrigation with 5 sprayers (those in the two left corners are a little harder to see)

Conclusion: For around $35 you get a solution that works well in practice, is very easy and quick to install and is also built so sturdily that you can enjoy it for longer.

Der Beitrag How do you water a bed? erschien zuerst auf Irrigation Blog for Do-it-yourselfer.

Raised beds have become very popular in recent years, as they allow for comfortable, back-friendly gardening and also look very decorative and beautify the garden. In addition, plants in raised beds have a growth advantage compared to normal ground-level beds, as the raised bed warms up earlier in spring and stays warm longer in autumn due to its layered structure. This leads to a significant increase in yield when harvesting. With proper planning, a raised bed also offers the plants grown protection from pests such as snails or voles.

Compared to a normal bed, a raised bed has a significantly higher water requirement. This is due to the same reasons that ensure that plants grow faster in raised beds: the rotting processes of the compost layers inside the bed ensure higher temperatures and, unlike a ground-level bed, the raised bed is also warmed up by the sun from the side. This means that the water used to water it evaporates more quickly.

In addition, the plants planted in a raised bed have only limited opportunities to root deeply and thus also to obtain water from deeper layers. This is especially true for plants that otherwise have deep roots, such as tomatoes, carrots or radishes. As a result, it is not only necessary to water more, but also at shorter intervals than in a normal bed.

It is therefore a good idea to include raised beds in an automatic irrigation system, on the one hand to save yourself the hassle of regular watering and on the other hand to be able to leave the raised bed alone for a few days when you are on holiday or for other reasons.

The basic irrigation system for a raised bed is always micro-irrigation, i.e. irrigation with low pressure and small amounts of water (in contrast to, for example, irrigation of a lawn, where normal irrigation is used).

Micro-irrigation systems require a pressure reduction to 20 to 30 psi. This is achieved by installing a pressure reducer before starting micro-irrigation. Some of these pressure reducers also have a filter built in that protects the micro-irrigation system from dirt.

When irrigating raised beds, you can choose between two different irrigation options:

• Irrigation with drippers
• Irrigation with sprayers

Drippers work close to the ground and apply the water drop by drop to the bottom of the bed, sprayers are placed higher up and create a fine spray over the plants. Irrigation with drippers is the usually recommended option for raised beds. Only in exceptional cases, for particularly delicate leaf crops such as lettuce or spinach, or for sensitive new plantings, can irrigation with sprayers be advantageous.

The water is gently dispensed drop by drop from a dripper

Ready-made drip hoses vs. self-made drip hoses

You can either buy drip hoses ready-made including drippers or you can just buy the micro-irrigation pipe and install the drippers yourself. In the first case, you don’t have to worry about the proper design of the drip openings and save yourself work, in the second case you are more flexible and can set the distances between the drippers exactly as required and thus place the drippers exactly where you need them. The usual term “drip hose” is strictly speaking not entirely correct for most of the products on offer, as they are mostly slightly softer pipes and not hoses.

1/2 inch vs. 1/4 inch hoses

From the pressure reducer to the raised bed, you usually always go with 1/2 inch micro-irrigation pipe. In the raised bed itself, you have the choice of continuing to work with the 1/2 inch pipes or using smaller 1/4 inch hoses. Or a mixture of both: 1/2 inch pipes, from which smaller 1/4 inch hoses branch off in some places. In practice, both systems are used, but this also depends somewhat on personal preferences and how important it is to you to make the pipe as invisible as possible in the bed or how disturbing you find a slightly thicker pipe in the bed.

Ready-made sets for raised bed irrigation

As an alternative to buying the necessary components individually, ready-made raised bed micro-irrigation sets are also available in stores. These contain all the components necessary to implement raised bed irrigation. On Amazon, you can find very cheap no-name micro-irrigation sets consisting of drip hoses, drippers, connectors and pipe holders starting at just 20 to 30 USD. In contrast, there are high-quality, slightly more expensive branded sets from quality manufacturers such as Irritec or Antelco.

How is the drip hose laid?

The drip hose can be laid either in strips parallel to the long side of the raised bed, or in a loop along the wide side. The distance between the strips or loops should usually be a maximum of 10 inches for micro-irrigation. In raised beds, it is usually a little less! The distance between the drippers is also usually 10 inches, and here too it does not hurt if it is placed a little closer together in raised beds.

Example of laying in strips

The drip hose is not normally laid along individual plants; the aim is to sufficiently moisten the entire bed. If there are plants in the bed that require a particularly large amount of water, you can supply them with individual hose branches or use drippers with a higher gallon capacity in these places. There should be no kinks in the hose when laying it; the hose can be gently secured to the ground with ground anchors so that it does not wander around in a nuisance.

It is best to place the micro-irrigation hose as inconspicuously as possible in a place that is not easily visible and ideally through a small opening on the side of the raised bed.

Automatic or manual control

You can simply activate the irrigation by turning on a water tap or switching on a pump and then manually stop it again in the same way. Or you can control it automatically with the help of an irrigation computer and no longer need to actively think about irrigation or organize help to look after the plants while you are on vacation. I explain in detail under the menu item Controlling what control options there are and how they work.

How often is a raised bed watered?

This of course depends on the exact location (very sunny or more in the shade), the plants planted and the climatic conditions, but in principle a raised bed needs to be watered more frequently than a normal garden bed for the reasons already mentioned. As a guideline, I would use every 3 to 4 days for the warm summer months. As already described for lawn and hedge watering, the raised bed should also be watered extensively, so do not just moisten the top layer slightly for 5 minutes every day, but rather only every few days, but then water thoroughly.

Der Beitrag How do you water a raised bed? erschien zuerst auf Irrigation Blog for Do-it-yourselfer.

Young trees need a lot of water in the first few years after they are planted in order to grow properly and develop their roots. And as a result of climate change and the associated more frequent and longer dry periods, even older trees should be supported in their water supply from time to time to avoid damage caused by drought. For this purpose, special systems and tools for tree irrigation are offered. I will then introduce these and also explain what alternatives can be done at no extra cost.

Especially with trees, the need for additional irrigation seems illogical at first glance: After all, trees in the forest survive without being watered by humans. However, these have very different conditions than trees standing alone, as the forest provides shade on the one hand and the plants in the forest are connected to one another via a fine network of fungal threads and exchange water and nutrients via this. This network compensates for deficiencies and supports young trees in their growth. Trees outside of a forest, on the other hand, are on their own and are more often exposed to drought stress. This can manifest itself in deficiency symptoms or poor growth of the tree, but in the worst case it can also lead to the death of the tree.

Newly planted trees should be watered thoroughly once or twice a week in the first year after planting. As they get older and the roots reach deeper, the tree only needs additional water less often, e.g. only once a month, until the need for additional watering is finally limited to longer periods of heat and drought. Exceptions to the rule can be very close plantings or plantings on heavily compacted soil. In these cases, permanent watering may be necessary.

As with lawns and hedges, the same applies to trees: do not water a little every day, but water less frequently and a lot of water at once so that it can seep deep into the root area and the layer of soil remains moist for a longer period. An amount of water of at least 20 gallons or more is ideal here.

Below is an introduction to the most popular methods for watering trees:

Irrigation with tree watering bag

These are the large sacks that you can see attached to almost every tree if you walk carefully through a city. You might assume that the sack protects the tree trunk from cold or damage, but in fact it is used for watering. The name for this is not always consistent, and the terms irrigation sack or irrigation bag are sometimes used.

Installing such a bag is very simple: depending on the model, the bag is simply wrapped around the tree trunk and then closed with a zip or tied to the tree trunk. This way, the empty bag cannot fly away and it cannot fall over when full. For larger trees, several tree watering bags can be lined up next to one another.

The tree watering bag is wrapped around the tree trunk and then the zipper is closed

The tree watering bag is double-coated so that there is a hollow space between the two layers. The water is filled into this hollow space through a filling opening; a standard tree watering bag holds 20 gallons of water. The easiest way to fill it is with a garden hose.

Filling is done through an opening in the inside pocket of the bag

Once filled, the water is slowly and evenly released into the ground. This is ensured by small irrigation holes in the bottom of the bag, through which the water drips onto the soil and flows into the root area beneath the tree watering bag. Depending on the manufacturer and the size of the irrigation holes, it takes 6 to 11 hours for the tree watering bag to be completely empty. The bag also reduces evaporation because it covers the area of ​​the ground where the water is released.

A tree watering bag can be removed from the tree at any time and used elsewhere, e.g. when the tree is old enough and no longer needs additional water.

Why are tree watering bags used?

And why not just water the tree directly with a hose instead? If you were to water such a large amount of water at once, the soil around the tree would not be able to absorb it so abruptly and a large part of the water would run past the tree’s root area. So you would have to spread the amount of water over a longer period of time, which is cumbersome and time-consuming, or accept that a lot of water would be wasted unnecessarily. The tree watering bag, on the other hand, can be filled quickly, saving time, and micro-irrigation spread over many hours is particularly effective because the root area has enough time to completely absorb the water.

You can buy a tree watering bag for around $15 to $20.

Irrigation with drainage pipe

With this form of irrigation, a sufficiently long drainage pipe ending at the surface of the earth is installed next to the newly planted tree in order to be able to supply the root area with water directly from above. To ensure that the water is not only released at the end of the pipe but over the entire length of the pipe, the pipe must have holes on the side. In this way, it is also very easy to bring fertilizer directly to the roots.

Unlike the tree watering bag described above, the drainage pipe remains permanently in the ground. For older trees, it can still be used for occasional watering during dry periods.

Fully automatic root zone irrigation

Irrigation with a root zone watering system is a further development of the previously described method. Compared to the two previously described methods, this has the advantage that irrigation is possible even when you are away, e.g. on vacation, because it can be fully automated.

Root zone irrigation system pipes in different sizes (photo courtesy of Hunter Industries Incorporated)

Such a root zone watering system is in principle very similar to a drainage pipe, but consists of a straight cylinder made of solid, non-bendable material. The cylinder is perforated throughout, like a sieve. It is open on the underside and a lid with ventilation slots is placed on top. This allows the system to be easily accessed from above and also serves to protect the technology from vandalism or accidental damage. The ventilation slots in the lid are intended to allow air to reach the roots from above, which also has a positive effect on the tree.

Root zone irrigation system installed (photo courtesy of Hunter Industries Incorporated)

Unlike with drainage pipes, the water supply to the root zone watering system is not from above by pouring water into the pipe, but the water is fed underground, virtually invisible from above, to the system using an irrigation pipeline. For this purpose, a swing joint connector is attached to the dylinder of the root zone irrigation system, which can be used to connect it to a pipeline very flexibly. I explain in detail how to build such a pipeline on the planning and on the installing page of this website.

Inside the root zone irrigation cylinder there is usually a pressure-regulating bubbler that reduces the water pressure to the required level and from which the water flows out slowly in 360 degrees. The water runs along the sieve on all sides and reaches the root area through the sieve holes.

The RZWS root zone watering system from Hunter, for example, releases between 15 and 30 gallons of water per hour, depending on the model. The bubbler in the cylinder can be exchanged, i.e. replaced with a bubbler with more or less gallon output per hour if required. This can be done very easily from above by removing the lid. The Hunter RZWS is fitted with Hunter PCB bubblers, which are available in 15 and 30 gallons, as well as 60 and 120 gallons per hour. However, faster irrigation usually makes no sense in practice, as slow, gentle irrigation is ideal for the tree. This is also a significant advantage over the drainage pipe method described above, in which the water is poured into the pipe in large quantities in one go.

For each tree, one root zone watering system is buried in the ground to the left and right of the tree. For larger trees, more may be useful. For new plantings, the cylinders are placed adjacent to the tree’s root ball; for existing trees, they are placed halfway between the tree trunk and the outermost edge of the tree crown.

Root zone watering systems are available in lengths from 10 to 35 inches. As an alternative to the Hunter RZWS system, the Rain Bird RWS system is also available, which works in almost the same way. I couldn’t find any other suppliers in my research.

Below are the root zone watering systems from Hunter and Rain Bird on Amazon
(Be careful when buying: some sales offers only include the pipe without any technical internals)

Rain Bird RWS	Hunter RZWS
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.	Auto Amazon Links: No products found.

Watering ring/watering rim

This is usually a ring-shaped enclosure that is mounted around the tree trunk. High-quality watering rings hold up to 30 or more gallons of water and are made of sturdy material to prevent the relatively high ring (up to 12 inches high and more) from deforming due to the water pushing outwards.

The application is simple: the watering ring is filled with water, the water cannot flow away through the border and thus flows into the soil in the root area. And this happens relatively abruptly; a slow, continuous release like with a tree bag or root zone irrigation system cannot be achieved with this method. Some watering rings show the water level in the ring using markings for better orientation.

You can of course also build such a watering ring yourself, but you should ensure that it is sufficiently stable – especially if the ring is to contain larger amounts of water and is free-standing. Conventional lawn edging or other softer materials can only be used if the watering ring is sunk into the ground and is thus supported laterally by the soil.

Free tree watering methods

Without spending any money, you can help yourself with a watering rim made of piled up earth or a watering trough:

Watering rim made of earth

Instead of buying a ready-made watering ring, you simply pile up an earthen wall around the tree. This won’t last forever, but it does serve its purpose of preventing the water from running out of the root area.

How to make a watering rim out of soil

Watering trough

In principle the same as before, only now no side border is built up, but instead the circle around the root area is dug out a few inches deep so that the water remains in this trough when watering.

Der Beitrag Options for tree watering: tree watering bag, root zone watering system, watering ring and more erschien zuerst auf Irrigation Blog for Do-it-yourselfer.

First of all, the basic question:

Do you have to water a hedge at all?

There are differences in terms of water requirements and the frequency of watering required between individual hedge plants, but in principle no hedge plant can survive without at least occasional watering. This is partly because hedges do not have roots as deep as, for example, fully grown large trees, which can supply themselves from groundwater. And on the other hand, climate change is making occasional watering increasingly necessary even for trees.

How do you water a hedge?

In theory, you can easily water a hedge with a watering can, but since a single plant needs about 1 gallon of water per foot of growth, you will soon reach your limits even with shorter hedges, or you will increasingly lose interest in such a chore. In the long term, the minimum option is watering with a watering hose. Since under average conditions about 4 gallons of water per minute come out of a 1/2 inch hose, this roughly takes about 7 minutes for every 10 feet of hedge length.

When watering with a hose, you can calculate that it will take about 1 minute per hedge plant, and more for tall hedges.

If you want to use an automatic irrigation system instead, there are basically two options:

• The usual and best way is to irrigate using a drip hose
• In principle, it is also possible to water the lawn with sprinklers as part of the lawn irrigation

The second option, simply irrigating the hedge at the edge of a lawn as part of the lawn irrigation, is, in my experience, definitely feasible in practice and works to a certain extent. The water jet from the sprinkler simply sprays into the hedge and the water runs down the plant.

However, watering in this way has disadvantages compared to separate irrigation with a drip hose: You are dependent on the lawn irrigation in terms of the rhythm and duration of the irrigation and therefore cannot respond to the needs of the hedge in detail.

And this irrigation is also less economical than drip irrigation, as the water is not released slowly and close to the ground and therefore a larger part evaporates. Finally, it is generally recommended to water the trunk rather than the leaves, as this protects the more sensitive parts of a plant and some plants are prone to fungal infections when their leaves are wet. This is especially true if you water in the evening and the leaves do not dry out before nightfall.

This is how irrigation with a drip hose works

Irrigation with a drip hose is part of micro-irrigation, i.e. irrigation with low water pressure and small amounts of water. In contrast to normal irrigation, which is used when watering a lawn, the water pressure in micro-irrigation must be reduced to a comparatively low level of 20 to 30 psi. This is done by placing a pressure reducer in front of the micro-irrigation.

Tip: I would always place the pressure reducer directly before the start of the micro-irrigation, i.e. before the drip hose begins. Because if you place it right at the start of the system, for example directly after the tap from which you get the water, and then have to bridge a few feet to the drip hose, you will have a further considerable pressure loss along this stretch due to friction and it could be that there is not enough pressure at the end.

I would also recommend running the water to the pressure reducer via at least 3/4 inch pipeline pipes. These have relatively little pressure loss and so you lose little pressure and water volume up to the start point of the micro-irrigation. This is especially important if you are planning a more extensive micro-irrigation. Only after the pressure reducer is the pipeline then continued with the 1/2 inch micro-irrigation pipeline pipes.

Example of a drip hose connection: On the left is the 3/4 inch pipeline pipe, in the middle is the pressure reducer from which the 1/2 inch drip hose leads

A 1/2 inch drip hose up to 100 feet long can be connected to the pressure reducer. If you need more than 100 feet, you can get around this by leading the drip hose away from the pressure reducer in two directions rather than one. This means that 100 feet in each direction, or a total of 200 feet, are possible. Another option is to connect not one but two pressure reducers to the 3/4 inch pipeline and then lead a drip hose away from each of them.

The limiting factor is the amount of water available at the water extraction point. If this is not large enough for a long hedge to supply all the planned drip hoses with water at the same time, then the irrigation must be divided into sectors. I explain how this works in the Planning section of the website.

The connection to the water supply, i.e. to a tap or a pump, and the optional control using an irrigation computer is carried out in the same way as with normal irrigation. I will explain what options you have here under the menu item Controlling. It is easily possible to water the lawn and the hedge with a common water source and common control.

What type of drip hose do you need?

You can use either drip hoses or pearl hoses. The difference is that with drip hoses, the water is released at specific points on the hose via individual drippers or emitters, whereas with pearl hoses, the water is released evenly over the entire surface of the hose. Both can be used without any problem, but which one you choose is a matter of taste, with drip hoses being used more frequently. In sales offers, the terms are often used incorrectly or confused, so that drip hoses are also offered as pearl hoses and vice versa.

The drip hoses offered usually have a dimension of 1/2 inch. The term drip hose is somewhat misleading, because they are actually mostly quite hard and only partially flexible PE pipes, so sharp corners are not possible.

Drip hoses are sold by irrigation companies such as Rain Bird or Gardena, but you can also use normal PE pipe from the hardware store, as that is exactly what the drip hoses on offer are. The PE pipes from the hardware store are usually a lot cheaper!

Micro irrigation 1/2 inch pipes on Amazon:

Use ready-made drip hoses or install the drippers yourself?

You can buy PE pipes and then screw in the drippers yourself, or alternatively, ready-made drip hoses are sold in which the drippers or emitters are already incorporated. With the second type, you have less work and the certainty that all outlet points are cleanly installed. If you have to water a hedge in which the plants are at regular intervals and in which the same amount of water is needed over the entire length of the hedge, this is a good alternative.

The XFD drip hose from Rain Bird enjoys a very good reputation here. Depending on the model, the drippers are installed at intervals of 1 foot or more and you can choose between a drip output of 0.4 gallons per hour and 0.6 gallons per hour. The drippers are pressure-regulated. The drip hose can be bought in lengths of 80, 160 or 320 feet.

Special assembly tools are available for screwing the drippers into the drip pipe (shown here is the one from Gardena)

Rain Bird XFD drip hose with built-in emitters on Amazon:

On the other hand, fitting a PE pipe without built-in outlets with drippers yourself has the advantage that you are more flexible and can vary the distance between the individual drippers as you wish. In addition, if necessary, you can also screw in drippers with different gallon capacities, so that some plants receive more water and others less.

Above-ground or underground drip hoses?

Drip hoses are normally laid above ground and are not intended to be covered with soil, as the drippers will then no longer be able to work properly. The drip hoses presented above are all laid above ground. However, there are also a few systems on the market that can be laid underground. These always have the emitters already integrated. It is not advisable to assemble such an underground drip hose yourself, as a certain type of fabrication is required for the drippers to work correctly in practice. These must be self-closing to prevent contamination from the outside after the irrigation process has ended and must also contain metal plates or other protective devices to prevent roots from growing in.

Two well-known suppliers here are Gardena (underground drip hose 1389-20) and again Rain Bird with its XFS system. As a premium solution that is even higher than the Rain Bird system, there are also drip pipes from the micro-irrigation market leader Netafim (Netafim Unitechline).

The underground drip hoses are more expensive than those that are laid above ground. They can be laid not only under hedges, but theoretically also under a lawn for lawn irrigation. However, I would think very carefully about using them, because an underground system also has disadvantages: Unlike with above-ground use, there is no way of checking that it is working properly and, if necessary, intervening by cleaning or replacing a dripper. If a dripper is not working in one place or another, you would only notice it when a plant shows damage due to insufficient watering. And in such a case, you would have to dig up a lot of ground to fix the problem or replace the drip hose.

In my opinion, underground hoses only make sense if you have to water places that are walked on very often and therefore cannot be watered conventionally from above. If it is purely a matter of appearance, then pipes laid above ground in hedges are usually not visible at first glance and if you want it to look perfect, you can also help yourself by covering the pipes lightly with bark mulch. In my experience, this has no negative impact on their functionality.

Which drippers should you use?

There are a wide variety of different drippers available on the market. The most important distinguishing criterion for drippers is the gallon output per hour. Depending on this, the drippers release more or less water per hour. Drippers with a low gallon output of 0.5 or 1 gallon per hour have the advantage that the hedge is watered slowly and continuously, giving the plant enough time to absorb the water and little water running past the plant. The longer irrigation time this entails is usually not a problem in practice.

However, using drippers with a slightly higher gallon output can be necessary or useful if only a very small part of the garden is watered with micro-irrigation and therefore only a few gallons of water are used per hour. This low flow can be a problem for the pump used, which then switches on and off frequently, and can also lead to solenoid valves and irrigation computers not functioning properly. To solve such a problem, you can either use drippers with a higher liter output or, alternatively, have the micro-irrigation irrigate at the same time as another irrigation sector and thus increase the flow rate, e.g. at the same time as part of the lawn. Or, as a third option, you can use special pumps, solenoid valves and irrigation computers that can also cope with very small flow rates.

As an alternative to drippers with a fixed gallon output, drippers are also offered whose gallon output can be adjusted directly on the dripper within a certain range.

Pressure-regulated or not pressure-regulated

A second important criterion is pressure regulation. Pressure-regulating drippers reliably deliver the same amount of water over the entire length of the drip hose. If the drippers are not pressure-regulated, it may happen that they nominally have the same output, e.g. 0.5 gallons per hour, but in reality the first dripper in the row, where the highest pressure is still present, delivers significantly more water than the last dripper, where the pressure has already been reduced due to friction in the pipe. This is even more true if there is a difference in height. Pressure-regulating drippers regulate the pressure in the dripper down to a predetermined pressure so that the pressure is the same at each dripper and thus the gallon output is the same.

For a detailed overview of the different types of drippers, see the article on the components of a micro-irrigation system.

The distance between the drippers should normally be 12 to 16 inches, more 12 inches in sandy soil and more 16 inches in clay soil, where the water seeps into the soil less quickly. So, as a rough estimate, you will need about 1 dripper per foot.

Alternatively, can you make the drip openings yourself?

To do without drippers altogether and instead simply make holes in the pipe yourself is not a good idea in practice, because the water will then come out of the opening hole in a very uncontrolled and splashing manner and the openings will almost certainly be very irregular, so that the plants will not be supplied with water evenly. Since the drippers are not that expensive, this would also make little sense from a financial point of view.

How do you lay the drip hose?

The drip hose is laid along the trunks of the hedge plants. If you want to make it as invisible as possible, then it is best to do it behind the trunks. In practice, however, it is even better to run the hose once in front of the trunks and then again behind the trunks, because since the drippers release the water very close to the ground and it does not spread out too much, the root area on one side will otherwise be less well supplied with water than that on the other side. With drip hoses on both sides, you can achieve the most even watering possible.

Ideally, the drip hose should be placed in front of and behind the trunk of the hedge

It is recommended to spread bark mulch on the base of the hedge plants, as this helps to store the water for longer. If you want to make the drip hose as completely invisible as possible, you can also cover it loosely with bark mulch.

If the terrain is sloping and the ground is very sandy, you can build a small watering wall around the hedge, about 2 to 4 inches high. This ensures that the water does not wash away when watering.

How much water does the hedge need?

Of course, this always depends on the temperature, how sunny the location of the hedge is, the soil conditions, and what type of hedge plant it is and how big it is. As a rule of thumb, you can calculate 1 gallon of water per foot of height per hedge plant. A 7-foot-high hedge would therefore need 7 gallons of water per plant.

In principle, it makes sense to water less often but in larger quantities, just like when watering the lawn. This means that the soil is properly moistened to a greater depth and the roots of the plants are encouraged to grow deeper. This makes the plants more robust and resilient. If, for example, you were to water only briefly every day so that only a narrow layer of soil was moistened, the water would never reach the roots at greater depths and they would wither.

The best way to find out whether the amount of water you have poured is correct or not is the spade test. The watered soil is poked with a spade one day after watering. If the soil is moist to a depth of 10 to 12 inches, then the amount of water is correct. If the soil is not moist enough, then you need to water more; if it is really wet and muddy, then you have overdone the amount of water and should reduce it. Excessive watering and the resulting waterlogging can also damage the plant!

How often should you water the hedge?

There are sometimes very different and contradictory opinions on this topic. The recommendations range from daily watering, to twice a week and weekly, to every 3 weeks.

How well a hedge can withstand longer periods of drought depends in principle on whether it is a shallow-rooted hedge species such as thuja, boxwood, red beech, cotoneaster, false cypress or barberry, or a deep-rooted hedge species such as hornbeam, yew or cherry laurel. The deep-rooted species can also withstand longer periods of water without permanent damage, as their roots reach deep into the soil and can therefore reach deeper water supplies. Shallow-rooted plants, on the other hand, can only get moisture from the top layer of soil and are therefore far less tolerant of longer periods of drought.

In my experience, watering hedges every 1 to 2 weeks with a good moistening of the soil – as described above – works very well. Only in extremely hot weeks with consecutive days with temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit do I make an exception and water up to twice a week with a slightly smaller amount of water.

Newly planted hedges are exempt from this rule: In the first few months until the hedge plants have properly established roots, they should be watered at least twice a week.

In the winter months, the hedge needs less water, but the water requirement is not zero. This is especially true for evergreen species, where water evaporates through the leaves and needles even in winter. Therefore, you should water them properly before winter sets in. In winter, watering is not necessary in principle, but if there are very long dry periods with several weeks without rain or snow, you should take advantage of frost-free days and water them. Because winters with long dry periods often lead to dead or badly damaged hedge plants. This is often mistakenly thought to be frost damage, but in reality the plant has died of thirst.

As is recommended for the lawn, the hedge is best watered in the morning. At this time, evaporation is not yet so high and the plant has the whole day to dry before nightfall (risk of fungal attack).

Der Beitrag How do you water a hedge? erschien zuerst auf Irrigation Blog for Do-it-yourselfer.

In contrast to lawn irrigation, micro-irrigation refers to irrigation with small amounts of water and low water pressure. The water is also not distributed over large areas, but is released in the vicinity of the micro-irrigation pipeline using drippers, sprayers or other components. Compared to lawn irrigation, this is a completely different type of irrigation, which differs greatly from lawn irrigation and also uses completely different components. This blog post explains what they are, what their purpose is, how they differ, why you need micro-irrigation at all and how micro-irrigation can be integrated into an lawn irrigation system.

Note: Depending on the manufacturer or the country of use, micro-irrigation is also referred to as micro-drip or drip irrigation.

So straight to the fundamental question: What is micro-irrigation for? Why not just use regular irrigation instead?

Applications of micro-irrigation

In contrast to lawn irrigation, which is always about sprinkling entire areas, e.g. a piece of lawn, individual plants can be watered in a targeted manner using micro-irrigation. For example, if there are 6 bushes and 3 shrubs on a 20 x 20 foot area covered with bark mulch or soil, then these 9 plants can be watered in a targeted manner without watering the rest of the subsoil. This saves water compared to lawn irrigation, in which a sprinkler would irrigate the area over a large area. Using micro-irrigation, even more efficient irrigation is possible for some purposes. According to the literature, more than 90 percent efficient irrigation can be achieved in comparison to 75 to 85 percent with lawn irrigation. Also because the water in micro-irrigation is released very slowly and close to the ground and thus to the roots. Little water is lost through evaporation or because it flows past the root area of ​​the plant.

Another reason for micro-irrigation is uneven terrain. Lawn irrigation sprinklers are not designed for this. If the area to be irrigated falls to a large extent, if it rises or goes up and down, then the area can be irrigated very well with micro-irrigation pipes laid on the slope. These discharge the water directly at the pipe near the ground, so that the gradient is not a problem.

Micro-irrigation also shows this advantage in areas that have a very small and irregular floor plan, e.g. often change the direction or width. As previously described, the micro-irrigation tube here follows the irregular shape and delivers the water at the desired points.

Another area of ​​application are plants that do not grow in the ground but in pots or planters. A targeted supply of each individual pot or box is possible by means of micro-irrigation. This is especially true for balcony plants. Micro-irrigation is also used in root zone irrigation systems.

A major reason for the use of micro-irrigation is also the much more sensitive irrigation, compared to the rather coarse jet of sprinklers. With this one would flush the soil out of a vegetable patch or injure young plants. With the fine droplets of micro-irrigation, this is not an issue.

From the above, the following areas of application for micro-irrigation result:

• hedges
• vegetable and plant beds
• flower pots and boxes
• plants in greenhouses
• planting in uneven or small-scale, irregular terrain
• root irrigation of trees
• balcony watering

How can micro-irrigation be implemented or integrated into an irrigation system?

This works relatively easily. The first part of the irrigation system, i.e. what happens immediately after connection to the water source, the irrigation computer, the solenoid valves and the main pipeline, are – if you want to implement micro-irrigation – the same as with lawn irrigation. With the solenoid valves, care must be taken to ensure that they are low-flow capable, i.e. that they function correctly even with a low water flow. So up to this point there is no difference. The pipeline is routed to the micro-irrigation start point. A reduction in water pressure is now necessary here, since micro-irrigation works with a much lower water pressure than normal irrigation. You need a pressure regulator for this. After the pressure regulator, the pipeline is no longer continued with the large pipe of the main pipeline, but with the smaller, 1/2 inch large connecting pipe for micro-irrigation and the appropriate connectors. From here only the special micro-irrigation components are used.

If you don’t want to implement a pure micro-irrigation system, but want to combine lawn irrigation with micro-irrigation, then you simply route one or more of the pipeline strands after the solenoid valves to pressure regulators (= micro-irrigation starting point) and the others are used for lawn irrigation.

What are the components of micro irrigation?

Below is a presentation of the various components that can be used to implement micro-irrigation:

Pressure regulators and filter

The basis of micro-irrigation is always the pressure regulator, which is placed at the beginning of the micro-irrigation pipeline as described above. You actually always need this. The only exception would be that you already have such a low pressure innately. Micro irrigation systems are typically rated at around 22 to 30 psi pressure. All irrigation manufacturers have pressure reducers in their range, whereby there are two basic types of pressure reducers:

• Pressure regulators with integrated filter
• Pressure regulators without integrated filter

Pressure regulators with integrated filters also ensure that no impurities get into the micro-irrigation system in parallel with the pressure reduction. Due to the low pressure and the small, easily clogged outlets, micro-irrigation has little opportunity to free itself from impurities and therefore a filter is mandatory here. To clean the filter, the pressure regulator can be opened and the filter removed. If no filter is integrated in the pressure regulator, a separate filter must be used instead.

The mesh size is the key figure for the filter. This is given in units of mesh and indicates the number of openings per inch. The higher this number, the tighter the mesh and the finer impurities are filtered out. A mesh size of 100 means that there are 100 holes per inch. In Europe and many other regions the measure microns is used instead of mesh. The following blog post explains what this means and how mesh can be converted into micrometers and vice versa:

Blog post: Filter – Mesh to micron conversion

The combination of pressure regulator and filter in one component has the disadvantage that it also significantly reduces the water flow. The Gardena Master Unit 1000, for example, reduces the pressure to 22 psi while limiting the water flow to 264 gallons per hour. The Master Unit 2000 also reduces to 22 psi but allows for a flow of 528 gallons per hour. The Rain Bird PRF-075 (30 psi) also limits the flow very significantly to 300 gallons. This may not matter if you don’t need more water at all, if you do, then you should instead use a non-filter pressure regulator such as the Rain Bird PS-M30. This lets through up to 1,300 gallons per hour. In addition, you then need an extra filter, such as the Rain Bird LCRBY. This has a capacity of up to 6,600 gallons per hour and is therefore definitely not a bottleneck. Finally, if you want to avoid using two separate components as much as possible, the Hunter HFR-075-25 is a possible alternative. This reduces the pressure to 25 psi, filters with 150 mesh and has a comparatively high maximum flow of 900 gallons/hour. It costs around 35 USD.

In most cases, the pressure reducers are set to a certain pressure, so they ensure that the water leaves them at this pressure. But there are also variably adjustable pressure regulators such as the Hunter Accu Sync-ADJ, which can be adjusted from 20 to 100 psi, but has a significantly higher price than the other models. Hunter’s Accu Sync pressure regulators are also special in that they are not installed directly in the pipeline, but screwed into the appropriate Hunter solenoid valve.

Comparison Pressure regulators

	Gardena Master Unit 1000	Gardena Master Unit 2000	Rain Bird PRF-075
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Maximum flow	264 gallons/hour	528 gallons/hour	300 gallons/hour
Pressure reduction to	22 psi	22 psi	30 psi
Filter included?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Filter mesh size	60 Mesh	100 Mesh	200 Mesh
Price	approx. 10 USD	approx. 20 USD	approx. 25 USD

	Rain Bird PSI-M30	Hunter Accu Sync-ADJ	Hunter HFR-075-25
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Maximum flow	264 gallons/hour	528 gallons/hour	300 gallons/hour
Pressure reduction to	22 psi	22 psi	30 psi
Filter included?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Filter mesh size	60 Mesh	100 Mesh	200 Mesh
Price	approx. 10 USD	approx. 20 USD	approx. 25 USD

Micro Irrigation Pipeline

Two types of pipe are used in micro-irrigation: ½ inch diameter pipe used as a pipeline to transport water between each micro-irrigation component. And thin ¼ inch diameter hose-like pipes that you can couple to the larger pipe to carry the water the last few feet. In this way, for example, individual flower pots or flower boxes can be supplied with water elegantly and unobtrusively.

With micro-irrigation, too, the sizes are normally the same across manufacturers, so that here too components can be mixed without problems or, if a component is replaced, another manufacturer can be bought. Don’t be fooled by the different sizes given by individual manufacturers. This is because some manufacturers specify the inner diameter, but usually the outer diameter is given.

As with the pipes for lawn irrigation, you can alternatively use commercially available ½ inch PE pipes from sanitary technology without any loss of quality. This alternative does not exist with the thinner distributor hoses, here one has to rely on products from the garden irrigation manufacturers.

In principle, the hard currency for irrigation pipes is the maximum permissible pressure (PN), i.e. the maximum pressure that can prevail in the pipe. However, since the pressure in a micro-irrigation system is very low, this key figure does not play a major role here, since pipes with a comparatively low PN value also easily meet the requirement.

½ inch micro irrigation tubes at Amazon:

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¼ inch micro irrigation tubes at Amazon:

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Connectors

To install the pipeline, only the fittings are missing to connect the pipeline pipes to each other or to lead them around corners, these are called connectors. In contrast to ordinary irrigation, which uses connectors fixed with glue or with a locking mechanism, micro-irrigation uses plug connectors. The tube is not inserted into the connector and then screwed tight with a locking mechanism like a clamp, but the connector is only inserted into the tube. This is not as stable as a glued or a clamp connection, but it is sufficient for the low pressure that prevails in micro irrigation. If you can’t do without clamp connectors, you can find a small range of micro-irrigation clamp connectors with a bit of searching.

The selection of different connectors is similar to that of lawn irrigation, although there is an additional type with the cross piece. Below is a brief list of the available connector types:

• Coupling fitting (for connecting the micro-irrigation pipeline to  another piece of pipeline, to a thread, the lawn irrigation pipeline etc.)
• Elbow fitting (to realize 90 degree changes of direction)
• Tee fitting (to split a pipeline string into two strings)
• Cross fitting (to split a pipeline string into three strings)
• End fitting (to close the end of a tube)

The connector types listed above are available for both the large 1/2 inch pipeline and the small 1/4 inch distribution hoses. In addition, there are reducers to connect the large 1/2 inch pipeline with the small 1/4 inch pipeline:

• Reducer fitting (to reduce the large pipeline to the small distribution hose, usually designed as a Tee-piece: the pipeline continues straight, the small distribution hose branches off at a right angle)

And pieces for connecting drippers or sprayers:

• T-piece for spray nozzles (the pipeline continues straight, the outlet for the spray nozzle branches off at a right angle)
• T-piece with built-in dripper (the pipeline continues straight, a dripper built into the T-piece branches off at a right angle)

Pipe holders and guides

In addition to the connectors, there are a few assembly aids to make laying the pipes easier and to ensure that the pipes stay in the intended place:

• Pipe holder
• Pipe guides
• Pipe clamps

This lists all the components that are required for the micro-irrigation pipeline, i.e. for transporting the water to the consumers. The following points present the various options for supplying plants with water using drip irrigation.

Drip tubes

Drip tubes are tubes into which drippers are screwed or outlet openings are made at regular intervals, e.g. every inch. Each of these drippers or openings slowly drips a certain amount of water per hour, e.g. 0.5 gallons. There are drip tubes ready-made, i.e. you can buy them with drippers/openings already screwed in, or you can use a pipeline tube as described above and screw the drippers into the tube yourself at the desired distances. Only one dropper can be screwed into the thin 1/4 inch distribution hoses at the end of the hose. An overview of the range of different drippers can be found in the next point.

Example of a pipeline pipe with drippers screwed in

Apart from whether the drippers are already fixed or whether they have to be screwed in first, there is a second important difference:

• Drip lines laid above ground
• Drip lines laid underground

The first type is much more common and is what is commonly understood as drip irrigation: the drip line is placed on the surface of the earth, it may be slightly covered with bark mulch or other loose material for optical reasons. You can always get to the pipe without any problems, have a good insight into whether everything is working correctly and, if the worst comes to the worst, you can react with little effort and, for example, clean a clogged dripper, or replace a dripper that is too small with one that releases more water.

Drip lines that can be laid underground give you the option of making the drip line completely disappear from view. Conversely, the correct functioning can be controlled less well and corrections are only possible with excavation work. A new trend is to lay underground drip lines not only under hedges and shrubs, but also – laid in strips – under the lawn. Ready-to-use combinations of drip hose and full-surface fleece mats are also available for this purpose, see below.

My tip: Whether it is better to buy a ready-made drip tube or to create it yourself by screwing drippers into a pipeline depends on the planned application. If you need a longer stretch of drip line with regular dripper spacing, e.g. for a hedge, then it makes sense to use the ready-made drip line. If, on the other hand, you only need shorter pieces of drip line and the distance between the drippers varies, e.g. because the plants to be watered are placed irregularly, or because distances have to be bridged in between, then it makes more sense to create the drip line yourself. The same applies if drippers with different capacities are to be used in one tube because the plants supplied with the drip tube have different water requirements. Opinions differ on the use of underground drip lines. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea in the private sector, you have a number of potential problems with it and if you install it skillfully, the pipes above ground are also not visible.

Excerpt from the range of drip tubes on Amazon:

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Dripper

A variety of different drippers are available. These can be distinguished according to the following criteria:

Fixed or adjustable amount of water

Most drippers release a fixed, predefined amount of water, but there are also models that allow the amount of water to be adjusted within a specified range.

According to the amount of water

There is a wide range of sizes for the drippers, which release a predefined amount of water: the most common sizes are 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 gallons per hour, but models with up to 16 gallons per hour are also available. Hunter and Rain Bird color code their drippers based on their water volume.

With or without pressure compensation

This may seem unnecessary at first glance, as it says a few lines before that the drippers release a certain amount of water. However: First of all, this only works approximately and only if there is a certain pressure in the line. If the assumed pressure is exceeded or not reached, if the pressure in the line fluctuates, or if the pressure in a longer tube at the beginning of the tube is significantly different than at the end of the tube, then the performance of the drippers deviates from that specified. In order to avoid this and to ensure that the desired amount of water is poured absolutely reliably and evenly, pressure compensating drippers are offered. These regulate the pressure down to a certain level, so that there is always the same pressure on all drippers. Visually, these are very easily recognizable by the more “beefy” design. Rain Bird and Hunter only offer pressure compensating drippers.

Examples of pressure compensating drippers:

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With spike or thread

90 percent of the time, droppers are offered with spikes. These can be screwed directly into the tube with the spike, a barb ensures that they hold well. Alternatively, droppers with internal or external threads are also available.

My tip: I think the adjustable drippers are more of a gimmick than a useful function. It is better to simply screw in the dropper with the appropriate liter capacity. Since the price is not that much higher, I would definitely recommend pressure compensating drippers. Which manufacturer? With the drippers from Hunter or Rain Bird you can’t go wrong and you get a guaranteed quality. But even products with lesser-sounding names sometimes get good ratings on Amazon.

Finally, two tips for working with drippers:

Tip: Do not put the dripper directly into the pipeline pipe, but rather branch off a small piece of connecting hose from the pipeline pipe and attach the dripper to it! This increases flexibility when there are small changes in the irrigated terrain.

Tip: To lay the drippers, use one of the tools specially provided for this purpose. It doesn’t cost too much and also helps if you want to remove drippers from the pipe.

Micro-Sprays

In contrast to drippers, from which the water only drips out, micro-sprays release the water in a fine shower of droplets. This fineness of the spray pattern and the comparatively smaller throw distance as well as the lower water consumption also distinguish the micro-irrigation spray nozzles from the spray sprinklers of lawn irrigation.

Compared to drippers, they have the advantage that you don’t have to run a pipe to all the places to be irrigated, but can irrigate the entire area from one or more points. This can be an advantage if, for example, you don’t want to have any pipes lying around in the vegetable patch that would interfere with your work. When placing it, it should be noted that plants grow tall and, if not planned ahead, can possibly change the throwing range of the sprayer, e.g. if the tomato plant in the vegetable patch piles up right in front of the sprayer. Here it is often advisable to attach the sprayers to ground spikes or extensions.

Micro-sprays are differentiated according to the following criteria:

By spray pattern

Either as a full-surface water umbrella (most common variant) or divided into thin water jets or swirled into individual droplets.

By irrigated circle sector

There are full-circle nozzles, nozzles that only water a semicircle (180 degrees) or a quarter circle (90 degrees). Some models also allow manual setting of the circle sector to be irrigated. One possible application, for example, is to place two 90-degree nozzles diagonally opposite one another in a bed in order to cover the bed area well.

By throw distance

There are sprayers with a very short throw and those with a slightly longer throw.

Throw range fixed or adjustable

Some models have a fixed throw distance that only depends on the water pressure. Other models also allow manual adjustment of the throw distance. Instead of adjustable nozzles, some manufacturers use a separate control valve that is placed between the pipeline and the sprayer and allows the throw distance to be adjusted steplessly.

Submersible or not

Micro-irrigation sprayers are typically not submersible, but are fixed to a pipe, hose, stake or extension. However, there are a few retractable models: The Rain Bird Xeri-Pop is a pop-up sprinkler specially developed for micro-irrigation, which is connected to a 1/4 inch connecting line with a simple snap lock. In addition, both Rain Bird and Hunter offer their own micro-irrigation nozzle that can be installed in the housings of ordinary irrigation.

On spikes or not

Some of the micro-irrigation spray nozzles are already available in a fixed combination with a ground spike or a height extension.

Micro Sprays at Amazon:

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My tip: The same applies to the micro spray nozzles as to the drippers: many no-name products are fine, but those from the quality manufacturers Rain Bird and Hunter are even better in my opinion. For nozzles that do not have to be attached directly to the pipe, but rather raised, I would definitely pay attention to a stable extension, some systems offered are very filigree here. Otherwise you get annoyed in practice if you repeatedly bend your extensions due to small carelessness, or the extensions do not hold properly or have to be readjusted again and again.

Underground fleece mats

This is a whole new trend. Everyone has to decide for themselves to what extent it makes sense in the private sector. The product consists of non-woven mats approximately 32 inches wide with drip tubes incorporated into them. If the drip tubes start to release water, then the flow mats will gradually fill with water. This ensures an absolutely even watering, which also has the advantage that the fleece mats store the water for a very long time after the end of the watering and thus a water reservoir is available for a longer period of time.

According to the manufacturer, this makes sense below surfaces that should not get wet, such as areas in amusement parks or public parks that have a very high frequency of visitors. Another area of ​​application is green roofs. The system also has the advantage that it is protected from vandalism by being installed underground. At the moment I’m only aware of Hunter’s Eco-Mat system in this area.

Root Zone Irrigation

Both Rain Bird and Hunter offer solutions for targeted root zone irrigation of trees or large shrubs. A sieve tube is placed underground in the ground to the left and right of the tree or shrub, close to its root area. Depending on the model, these reach a depth of 10 to 36 inches and are connected to the irrigation pipeline just below the surface of the earth. During irrigation, the water is let directly into the screen pipes and thus reaches the roots of the trees directly.

Root zone systems on Amazon:

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Der Beitrag Components of micro irrigation erschien zuerst auf Irrigation Blog for Do-it-yourselfer.