How to Install a Drip System

Drip irrigation is a water-wise and convenient way to hydrate all sorts of plants in the home landscape. You can purchase a basic drip system kit from landscape suppliers and sprinkler system and drip irrigation retailers. To get you started, a kit should include a filter unit and backflow check valve, 1/2-inch drip tubing for the main water line, 1/4-inch drip tubing for branch lines and emitters (drip emitters, micro sprayers, etc.) based on the type of plant you’re watering. If the water pressure at your outdoor hose spigot is more than 50 psi, also purchase a pressure regulator/reducer rated for the size of your system.

Things You'll Need

• Drip irrigation kit with tubing
• Tubing punch
• Tubing cutter or utility knife
• Additional tubing, fittings and emitters, as needed
• Tubing crimp or cap fitting

Instructions

1. Install the check valve (backflow preventer) onto the outdoor spigot that will supply the system; the valve is a small part that typically threads onto the end of the spigot by hand.

2. Add a pressure regulator, if necessary, to the end of the check valve, then attach the filter unit and install the filter. Connect the coil of 1/2-inch drip tubing to the filter unit (some units require a tubing adapter for a proper fit with the tubing). Tighten all of the threaded parts by hand.

3. Roll out the main drip tubing to the first watering site. Install the appropriate emitter(s) and/or branch lines based on the plants in the site. For busy garden beds, add a drip emitter every 18 inches along the main tubing, using a tubing punch to make a hole in the tube, then inserting the emitter as directed by the manufacturer. You can also splice-in a length of tubing with emitters preinstalled, using barbed fittings at each end.

4. Continue the run of main tubing to each of the remaining sites, adding emitters as you go. Install micro sprayers, as appropriate, for individual plants and for raised beds and pots. Supply remote sites by connecting 1/4-inch branch lines to the main tubing, using T-fittings, then connecting sprayer or drip emitters to the branch lines. Encircle trees and shrubs with branch tubing fitted with an emitter every 18 to 24 inches apart; the loop line should cover about 80 percent of the diameter of a tree’s canopy.

5. Cut off the excess main drip tube after the final watering site is complete, using tubing cutters or a utility knife. Open the spigot to flush the system for a couple of minutes. Shut off the water, then close the end of the drip tube with a crimp or cap fitting.

References

• "The Complete Guide to Landscape Construction"; Creative Publishing international; 2006
• Irrigation Tutorials: The Basic Parts of a Drip System