Drip Irrigation System
If you know anything about lawn sprinkler systems and irrigation then surely you have heard about drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is the process of watering plants and shrubs directly at the root base with a very slow application of water.
Drip irrigation uses up to 300X less than conventional spray heads. Drip irrigation is measured in gallons per hour (gph) instead of gallons per minute (gpm) like the standard rotors and spray heads used in landscape irrigation.
Drip irrigation is beneficial in many ways other than just the conservation of water. Applying water to your plants using drip cuts out the unnecessary watering of other areas in your landscape beds and gardens which usually promotes weed growth. If you have well water that stains your driveway and sidewalk, drip irrigation can greatly reduce this because the water does not spray all over the place.
There are a few bad points about drip. If you are on well water, the emitters then to clog up and have to be cleaned/flushed out. You can install a drip filter with a fine mesh screen directly after the valve to reduce debris in the drip line.
Drip irrigation is not for large lawn areas. These areas are best watered with rotors or spray heads. There are different kind of drip configurations for different situations. I suggest looking at Rainbird's website to see what they have. http://www.rainbird.com/drip/index.htm
If improperly designed drip irrigation can be frustrating. For example, if you tie in drip with a spray zone, you will end up either having flooding from running the system too long to get the proper amount of water out of the drip emitters, or you will underwater the plants on the drip because you don't want to over-water the area that the spray heads are watering.
Overall, I do like drip irrigation when used properly and in the right situation. If you are on a city water supply I would highly recommend drip for shrub beds and certain flower beds. If you have your own well then I would think twice about it. Remember to have your drip on a separate zone so that you can water for the correct amount of time without worrying about overwatering or underwatering another area.
Drip irrigation uses up to 300X less than conventional spray heads. Drip irrigation is measured in gallons per hour (gph) instead of gallons per minute (gpm) like the standard rotors and spray heads used in landscape irrigation.
Drip irrigation is beneficial in many ways other than just the conservation of water. Applying water to your plants using drip cuts out the unnecessary watering of other areas in your landscape beds and gardens which usually promotes weed growth. If you have well water that stains your driveway and sidewalk, drip irrigation can greatly reduce this because the water does not spray all over the place.
There are a few bad points about drip. If you are on well water, the emitters then to clog up and have to be cleaned/flushed out. You can install a drip filter with a fine mesh screen directly after the valve to reduce debris in the drip line.
Drip irrigation is not for large lawn areas. These areas are best watered with rotors or spray heads. There are different kind of drip configurations for different situations. I suggest looking at Rainbird's website to see what they have. http://www.rainbird.com/drip/index.htm
If improperly designed drip irrigation can be frustrating. For example, if you tie in drip with a spray zone, you will end up either having flooding from running the system too long to get the proper amount of water out of the drip emitters, or you will underwater the plants on the drip because you don't want to over-water the area that the spray heads are watering.
Overall, I do like drip irrigation when used properly and in the right situation. If you are on a city water supply I would highly recommend drip for shrub beds and certain flower beds. If you have your own well then I would think twice about it. Remember to have your drip on a separate zone so that you can water for the correct amount of time without worrying about overwatering or underwatering another area.
posted by Irrigationman at
11:04 PM
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