Are you going on a several week long vacation in the middle of the summer and worry that your patio plants in flower boxes and containers are going to die while you are away? This is the predicament I was in last summer when I began looking into available options to keep my plants alive.
After searching the internet I found that watering globes and planters with water reservoirs will not keep my plants alive long enough. Then I found drip irregation system. I never heard of drip irregation before, it is not very common on East coast where I live as we rarely have droughts. It sounded like it could be expensive. Turned out it was not expensive, easy to install, and not only kept my plants alive while I was on vacation and now saves me a lot of time in the mornining, as I don’t have to water my plants manually!
I have strawberries and tomatoes on the deck in planters, and flowers in pots on the ground around the deck. So I needed a system that would cover two levels and 15 pots/planters.
My set up contains: a timer, a backflow device, a filter, pressure regulator, 3/4 to 1/4 adjustment, 65 feet of tubing (building three main branches two that goes up to the deck, and one that takes care of the flowers below the deck), 20 emitters and 20 stakes, 3 end plugs for the end of each branch, and three valves so I can shut off each of the branches as needed. I went with variable flow emitters (0-10GH) and that turned out to be very helpful, as the pots with flowers required more water than the strawberries on the deck. Total cost with shipping .
I purchased components from Drip Store. Drip Store had the best prices, great selection, and great instructions. The package arrived in 1 week, and was perfectly packed: each item in a zip lock bag with clear labeling. I put the system together in 2-3 hours. I also liked their tubing better than Blue Stripe tubing (a brand carried by home improvement retail stores). I decided to extend my original set up by 15 feet and purchased Blue Stripe at HomeDepot. Drip Store tubing is more pliable and stays better where you want it. I also do not like the blue stripe of the blue stripe tubing, as it is more noticable than the plain black tubing carried by Drip Store.
The timer device runs on 9V battery. I used a rechargable 9V battery. This battery lasted one growing season. The battery appeared to alive when I reinstalled the system this spring, but in May I discovered that the battery was dead. The device shows low battery warning, but I have not looked at the controller often enough to see the warning. I was able to reinstall it without disassembling the entire unit by using a mirror to see what I was doing as the battery compartment is located under the device.
Here are some tips based on my experience:
Make a detailed plan of your layout before ordering the components: layout for each emitter and the connections (I wound up going with all hose connections).
Dip tubing into very hot water before you insert barbs into tubing. Barbs go in easy while the tubing is warm from hot water. If you don’t heat the tubing inserting barbs really hurts your fingers and it takes much longer.
Have Teflon tape on hand for connections. The system leaked until I used it on every connection.
Take the system inside in the winter to keep it in great shape for the next season. Setting up the system this year took less than 10 minutes.
When you re-install the system every spring change the battery on the timer device whether it looks alive or dead! Trust me, it is easier than having to install while the timer is in place.
Last year I had the best growing season ever! My plants were happier because they got watered at 6:30 am every morning without getting their leaves wet. The drip irregation system never forgot to water and never was in hurry doing it! I was happier because I did not have to do anything to keep my plants happy!