What is and how to make drip irrigation for a greenhouse
Content
Automatic irrigation systems
Drip irrigation can be used both outdoors and in any kind of greenhouse, and the installation scheme and the set of parts will be similar in all cases. In specialized stores, you can purchase both a ready-made set (for example, "Beetle" from cicle), and accessories for the system, if you want to design and make it yourself, or if the configuration of the beds is non-standard. The Beetle device is designed for 30 or 60 plants, but you can always buy Beetle expansion kits and assemble a drip irrigation device from professionally selected parts with your own hands.
In large greenhouses, various types of automatic irrigation are used: spraying from above (so-called sprinkling), in-soil irrigation using porous hoses, individual water supply to each hole - that is, drip irrigation. All these systems have their pros and cons, but the last option is the most convenient to organize watering of polycarbonate greenhouses with your own hands on your own household. Such a device will save water, as well as protect plants from sunburn, which are likely after sprinkling.
The manufacturer cicle offers ready-made kits "Beetle" for watering both open beds and greenhouses. The beetle can be connected to an irrigation container or directly to a water supply. In the second case, cicle systems are used only for cold watering.
Watering options
Having a well-mounted drip system, it is possible to set up with your own hands watering the entire greenhouse, individual beds or watering with fertilizers. Experienced summer residents recommend making drip irrigation with the ability to disconnect one or another bed from it. This will allow alternating planting of plants in different beds in different years, without re-equipping the greenhouse and irrigation system.
Having made the decision to build an irrigation system in a polycarbonate greenhouse with your own hands, first of all you need to draw up a detailed plan for the greenhouse and decide on the source of water. This can be a well, a water supply system, and even an ordinary barrel installed at a height of about two meters above the ground. Drip irrigation is convenient to arrange where there are problems with water pressure. Since the hoses of this system need low pressure, and a barrel fixed at a low height is able to provide it. In addition, even having decided to mount the irrigation system to the water supply, it is worth preparing the barrel as well - it will come in handy for applying fertilizers through drip irrigation.
An extensive and detailed plan for organizing autowatering
Further, in accordance with the plan, it is necessary to calculate how many pipes, filters, connectors, plugs and taps are needed.The main component of the kit is a drip tape, that is, a narrow hose made of several layers of polyethylene, welded together in a special way, so that microspaces are formed inside it for slow water supply. On sale there are tapes of different diameters, frequency of location of irrigation holes and different water loss - from 1.5 to 9 liters per hour. The tape is an indicator of the correct operation of the entire system. If the ground is uniformly moist in the place where water flows out, this is a normal state. If a puddle has formed near the dropper, you need to check the tape for breaks and replace if necessary. If the soil in the greenhouse is dry, the system is clogged. That is why quality filters are important for drip irrigation.
Video "Organization of drip irrigation in the greenhouse"
How to install
If you bought a drip kit, detailed assembly instructions are included with it. If you are collecting drip irrigation with your own hands, then you need to decide whether it will be warm or cold watering - that is, whether you need a container in which the water will be heated during the day.
First of all, a container is mounted near the greenhouse, from which watering will take place - the main thing in the set. It should be a barrel with a volume of two hundred liters or more, installed at a height of about one and a half meters above the level of greenhouse beds. The barrel must be supplied with water - tap water, from a well, or any other. The barrel should be closed: this will allow the water to warm up during the day to a comfortable temperature for the plants, but not overheat or bloom.
A main pipe is laid from the barrel to the greenhouse. For a do-it-yourself drip system, a polyethylene pipe, opaque, with thick walls, with a diameter of 25 cm, is ideal. The pipe can be dug in or raised above the ground on a support, but simply put on the ground will also work.
Branches of the tape extend from the main pipe to the beds. The calculation of the amount of tape is simple: the number of beds is multiplied by the length of one bed and a certain amount is added to the result for the stock. In the finished Beetle system, the calculation is based on the number of plants that can be watered.
On the diagram, the drip irrigation system
The drip tape is attached to the main pipe using a set of seals and starters. Holes must be made in the pipe for the diameter of the drip tape - no more than 14 mm. You need to insert a seal into the hole, then a starter with or without a mini-crane, then a piece of tape. It should fit into the connector with little effort. Important - the holes of the Beetle drip tape must point up. The procedure must be repeated for each garden bed. If necessary, you can cut the drip tape, insert a corner or tee from their set of accessories, and branch out into several directions with your own hands.
The first watering through this device is technical. The ends of the bands should be open so that water can flow freely through them. After flushing the system with your own hands, the ends are placed on the drip tapes, or, more simply, they are tied in a knot.
At the end of the season, the drip tape is removed. The kit should be kept dry. Regular cleaning of the filters is also an important element in the correct operation of the system.
Video "Drip irrigation from scratch"
This automatic watering system for a greenhouse is very effective and convenient, therefore, both novice gardeners and already experienced ones should know about its correct organization. The video will help you with this.