DRIP, DRIP, DROP: A How To, On Installing Simple Drip Irrigation With A Budget (Part 1)
Posted by Emilie Zahurones on
Hello again and welcome to this week’s installment of drip irrigation systems. Previously we had talked about important questions to consider when planning your very own drip irrigation system. (For those of you who are awfully confused on what in the world this is referring to, check out DRIP, DRIP, DROP: QUESTIONS FOR PLANNING YOUR DRIP SYSTEM) But, if you’re anything like me, framed questions aren’t always enough to really visualize what needs to be accomplished. So today, I am going to be outlining what materials are needed for dripping out to your vegetable garden on a BUDGET (cue the ecstatic cheers)!
Nowadays, there are millions different ways with a million different products, for hooking up a simple drip system to a hose spigot. Yet, looking up “the right way” online can very quickly turn into a HUGE rabbit hole. So, my goal is to give you a simple set up. No extra parts, no guess work, just the “must have” basics to get the job done right the first time.
So, first things first. Let’s paint a picture. There are two, raised vegetable gardens that we want to irrigate out to. The beds are 4’ x 4’ in dimension, and house 12 veggie based plants each. There is a garden hose spigot within 25 feet of the beds. The main intention is to spend less time each day hand watering plants. Our budget roughly $100 or less. AAAANNNNND GO!
The final items are often overlooked but nevertheless are very important for having a functional drip system. A wye strainer and a pressure regulator should always be included into your set up. Here is why. Wye strainers filter out any particulate matter in the water, which prevents blockages in the emitters further down the line. Whereas, a pressure regulator stabilizes the amount of water the emitters are receiving. From here, the brands, fittings, and emitters are pretty interchangeable.
However, for the sake of our “budget” I will be suggesting some specific products, that are the best bang for your buck. There is also pipe sealant and primer that is listed, but are not included into the budget (I will explain why in “part 2”). Here is the materials list based on our scenario:
Tools-
• 1x ¾” Teflon Tape
• 1x Kwikcut Cutters
• 1x 8oz (or smaller if its available) of pipe sealant and primer. ---not included in budget.
Materials-
• 1x ¾” Brass Hose Thread to Pipe Thread Female Adapter
• 1x ¾” NDS Wye Strainer (YS-75)
• 1x ¾” Senninger 20 PSI, at 2-20 GPM Pressure Regulator
• 1x ½” Slip x ¾” Threaded Sch. 40 Male Adapter
• 1x ½” Compression Adapter Ring
• 50’ ½” Polyethylene Tubing
• 1x ½” Compression Tee
• 1x 1.0 GPH Rain Bird Xeri-Bug emitters (25 pack)
• 2x ½” Figure 8 End Cap
• 20x Sod Staples (optional)
• 100’ ¼” Drip Spaghetti (optional)
Although we do not currently stock brass hose thread adapters, you can find Everbilt brass adapters for around $7. So, when including all the items (minus the sealant and primer) our total comes out to: $103.93. Without the tools or optional materials, the total is $74.08.
To help visualize how all of these parts fit together, the diagram below shows of how everything would be assembled.
Apart from the brass hose thread adapter, all of these items can be found on Looks Like Rain’s website. (see here: https://lookslikerain.store/collections/check-list-poly-drip). To get a step by step guide on how to install your newly purchased materials, check out “Part 2” of DRIP, DRIP, DROP: A How To, On Installing Simple Drip Irrigation With A Budget.
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