How to Make a Gravitation Drip System for a Garden
Putting a gravity feed drip irrigation system in a garden will supply your plants with a slow, steady amount of water without either over-watering or dehydrating them. It is automatic; simply fill the reservoir, and the system takes care of the rest. It uses water much more efficiently than sprinkler irrigation systems. It also needs no pumps or other machinery; gravity does all the work. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- PVC pipe, 1 inch to 2 inches wide
- ¼ inch flexible drip irrigation tubes with drippers every 12 inches
- 2 PVC caps sized to fit the pipe
- Drill
- PVC cement
- As many clamps as there are drip irrigation tubes
- ¾ inch flexible tube
- 50-gallon barrel
- Plastic cup
- Window screen
- Scissors
- Filter floss
- 2 cement blocks
Instructions
-
-
1
Measure the width of your garden, in feet, across the rows instead of along them. Measure the length of the rows. Record both measurements. The length across the rows is the length of the PVC pipe you will need. The length along the rows is the length of the drip irrigation tubes that you need. The number of rows is the number of the tubes required for this system. Purchase the PVC pipe and the drip tubes.
-
2
Drill a ¾-inch hole in the center of one of the caps. Apply PVC cement around one end of the pipe. Slide the cap with the hole into it on the end and allow the cement to dry. Cement the cap without a hole onto the other end of the pipe.
-
-
3
Drill ¼-inch holes all along the length of the pipe. Space them as far apart as the rows in your garden are spaced. Drill as many holes as there are rows. Keep the holes in a straight line.
-
4
Place the pipe at the end of your garden, across the rows. Insert the drip irrigation tubes into the holes in the pipe and run them along the rows so that a dripper is near every plant. Seal all the joints with the PVC cement. Clamp the end of each tube shut with the clamps.
-
5
Put the ¾-inch flexible tube into the end of the PVC pipe, in the hole in the cap. Seal the joint with PVC cement.
-
6
Drill a ¾-inch hole in the side of the 50-gallon barrel, near the bottom. Drill another ¾-inch hole in the bottom of the plastic cup.
-
7
Cut a circle of screen slightly larger than the mouth of the plastic cup, using the scissors.
-
8
Put the 50-gallon barrel on top of the cement blocks. Stick the free end of the ¾-inch tube into the hole in the barrel. Stick the end of the tube into the bottom of the plastic cup. Fill the cup with the filter floss. Stick the screen circle into the top of the cup to keep the filter floss in. Cement the cup to the tube.
-
9
Drill a hole in the lid of the barrel, so that air can come in and keep the water flowing. Fill the barrel with water to irrigate your garden.
-
1
