An important element in growing plants or caring for lawns is watering. In the summer period, regular irrigation is especially necessary, which can become a problem. In this case there is a way out - the system of drip irrigation. Do you know how and with what to do it? The instructions below will help in this matter.
How to make drip irrigation
The homemade system includes several elements that connect together. It is important to plan the territory on which everything will be located. In order to build a design for watering shrubs, trees, other plants in the garden, you need to go through several stages:
- Make a scheme of drip irrigation, where you can display the main elements and layout of the beds.
- Calculate the volume of the water tank, which should be enough to water a certain area.
- On the basis of the scheme and calculation, buy the necessary quantity of consumables for drip irrigation installation with your own hands.
Drip irrigation scheme with own hands
A large number of elements of the system can confuse anyone, so it is important to collect them in a phased manner in a single structure, which is why the drip irrigation scheme is needed. It includes:
- storage tank, from where water will come;
- control valve for water supply;
- filter;
- main plastic pipe;
- tubes that are attached to the previous element;
- fittings, tees or start-connectors.
In order for each element of irrigation to be in place, it is necessary to create a drawing of the plan of the beds with the sizes and marks on the separate sheet where the seedlings are located. Next, it is necessary to note on the diagram the drip tubes that extend from the main pipe. Important: if the site is inclined, then the latter is better placed on the elevated part. After that, you need to arrange the connection points of the pipes to the trunk so that you can count the number of tees or start-connectors that provide for the branching of the system.
Calculation of the irrigation system
An important condition is the receipt of moisture to the plants in the required amount, because they are adversely affected by both lack and excess water. To do this, you need to calculate:
- consumption of water needed for the garden;
- the number of tubes according to the site scheme;
- number of drip irrigation blocks;
- filter station;
- quantities of materials.
The maximum amount of water that is needed for daily watering is calculated by the formula - Q = 60 m3 / ha * S / T, where:
- 60 - water demand per 1 ha;
- Q - the required amount of water, which should be equal to the capacity of the filtering station, m3 / h;
- S - the area to be watered, ha;
- T - the time of daily operation of the system, about 16-20 hours.
The total length of the drip tubes is calculated by the formula - Lt = Sk * 10 000 / L, where:
- Lt - length of the required number of tubes, m;
- Sk is the irrigation area per 1 tube, i.e.1 plant line, m2;
- L - the distance between 2 tubes or 2 plants, taken according to the scheme.
The next step is to determine the size of 1 watering block - S b =( Qt * L * x) / 10 * q, where:
- S b - size of the watering unit, m2m2;
- Qt - the capacity of the pipes, depends on the diameter, m3 / h;
- L - distance between parallel drip tubes, m;
- x is the distance between the emitters, i.e.holes for water outlet, on each tube, m;
- q - water discharge rate from 1 emitter, l / h.
To calculate the number of such blocks, you need to divide the total area of the plot by the value obtained above and round it up. The next stage is the water flow per 1 ha of the plot - W =( 10 * q) / L * x, m3 / h. All the values from the formula are described above. This value is required to calculate the water flow per 1 watering block - Wi = W * S b, m3 / h. The last thing that is necessary is to determine the diameter of the main pipeline. The resulting number is rounded to the standard value of the diameters, but to the larger side - D = 1,13 * root.( Wi / 3600 * V), where:
- 1,13 - coefficient of transition from the area of the live section to the diameter of the pipe;
- Wi - water flow in 1 watering block, m3 / h;
- V - the accepted value of the water flow velocity, from 0.9 to 1.9 m / s.
Accessories for watering
After calculation it is already possible to prepare necessary materials. To mount drip irrigation with your own hands, you will need:
- A water source, which uses a water pipe, a well or a container, for example a plastic barrel. The last one needs to be raised about 1.5 m above the ground for a drift.
- Trunking pipe, the diameter of which is determined by calculation, but is usually taken to be 32 mm in size. Suitable and garden hose, only hard and lightproof.
- Filter cleaning, through which you do not have a couple of years to change all the elements of the system. There are mesh, disk and vortex devices. At the device of watering by the hands the first variant is more often used.
- Drip tapes in the form of polyethylene pipes with a diameter of 16 to 20 mm, in which special emitters or droppers are installed. As the latter suitable and medical, but more often they are used for indoor plants.
- Fittings connecting the main pipe with branching, with taps for regulating the supply of water or without them.
- Connecting elements - tees or start-connectors, plugs, sleeves, couplings.
- Sensors, injectors, controllers, pump and valves, which require automatic watering.
Self-watering in the country with their own hands
We often visit the dacha only in the summer to monitor the future harvest, but in this case we would like to reduce the frequency of trips, because the circumstances may be different. Automation of irrigation will not help you. It can be underground, rain or drip. The last option for dacha is used more often, and can be mounted even from plastic bottles.
Advantages of
The advantage of drip or capillary irrigation is the supply of water directly to the roots of plants and the absence of water on the leaves, which protects them from burns. In addition, the surrounding soil remains dry, so the site is not waterlogged, and on the place of irrigation there is no earth crust. This allows the seedlings to breathe, and it protects you from frequent loosening of the soil. Here are a few advantages of any self-contained irrigation system:
- water saving;
- intensive fertilizer absorption by plants;
- more active growth of the root system;
- reduced labor costs for plant care;
- even watering at any time.
How to connect the
The process automation is provided by the controller - a device through which you can set the cyclic program of watering on the days of the week and the time of day. It must be installed on the pipeline, which supplies liquid to the system, but only after the filter. In addition, solenoid valves will be needed, which, depending on the timer installed in the controller, will open and close the water. Often there is such an auto-watering in the greenhouse - for the greenhouse this technology is especially convenient.
Irrigation system for a greenhouse
In a private plot there can be not only open beds, but greenhouses, where irrigation is also required. The system can be built with your own hands, and you can buy ready-made sets. As the last popular are the following kits - drip irrigation in the greenhouse "Kapel", auto-watering "AquaDusya", drip irrigation "Rosinka".These systems provide the plants with the necessary amount of moisture in 2 ways - with the help of separate droppers, supplied to each seedling, or whole ribbons.
Droppers for irrigation
This irrigation system involves bringing water directly to the root of each plant. Its main element are droppers with adjustable( 2-20 l / h) or unregulated water flow. Also, these devices can be non-compensatory or compensatory, which is characterized by stable operation, independent of the pressure in the pipeline. Another important detail is "spiders" - these devices bring water to several points at once. Another system of such irrigation includes racks, start-connectors, fittings, tees, cranes and other connecting equipment.
Drip irrigation tape
A simpler watering system is the use of drip tapes, each with the right number of holes. One end of the tube is connected to the main pipeline, and the other is attached a plug. When water is supplied, it begins to ooze out of the holes. The advantage of the system is its simplicity. The tape replaces the complete set of tubing and connecting fittings that are required for the method with droppers.