In practice, summer residents instead of relaxing in the garden have to do hard work - watering plants. Therefore, sooner or later, every gardener thinks about how to install an irrigation system in the country and make his life easier. What suitable scheme to choose? What factors should be considered? This is what the article will tell.
Things to consider when planning an irrigation system
The most important agricultural technique that affects the yield and appearance of growing crops in the country is watering plants. There are a lot of ways to “drink” them. This series begins with a banal watering can, the use of which involves difficult manual labor, and ends with automated, PC-controlled irrigation systems.
Organizing a watering system in the country correctly - this is a whole art. After all, each plant requires appropriate care. One needs a lot of moisture, the other a little less, and the third is better not to water at all. You should not lose sight of such factors as the proximity of a reservoir or well to the site, the type of soil, whether the surface of the garden is flat or located on a slope. Another gardener must really appreciate their strength. It would be useful to think about the consumption of water and electricity when planning an irrigation system.
What are the types of irrigation systems
Once the only way to water was a regular watering can. But progress does not stand still, and today the market offers a wide range of different garden tools. These are sprinklers and sprayers, many hoses with various characteristics, sprinklers. All of them are used by gardeners in order to facilitate their work in the summer season.
But you can’t rush to buy inventory. Before purchasing various tools and accessories for irrigation, you need to understand what kind of irrigation system to be installed in the country will be optimal. For example, there is a surface system and sprinkling. With these types of irrigation, the garden is completely irrigated, which means that a lot of water is consumed, which is not always beneficial for the summer resident. There is a more profitable method - drip irrigation.
Drip irrigation system
The drip irrigation system in the country is the most economical way in terms of water consumption. It is fed gradually through droppers directly to the plant. This process occurs continuously, which allows horticultural crops to feed moisture without interruption and in the right amount. This method of irrigation is used in cases where you do not need to water the entire area. For example, a drip type is suitable for a garden with fruit trees and bushes.
If a drip irrigation system is to be mounted in the country, the irrigation scheme will be simple. Drip tapes with holes are attached to the pipe, which runs along the edge of the ridge. The pipe, in turn, leads to a tank with a supply of water.
Along with standard equipment, gravel and strainers are used in the drip system. They are necessary to filter the water supplied to the system. If filters are not installed, there is a high risk of clogging, which can lead to the failure of the entire system.
In addition to significant water savings, the advantages of this method of irrigation include the low cost of system components. The approximate cost of such a drip installation will be from 1500 rubles (for 1.5-2 hundred parts of the garden).
What is an automatic irrigation system
An automatic watering system in the country is a complex technical design, which includes hundreds of various elements. The basis of the automatic system is a control panel interfaced with a computer. Watering programs are stored inside it. Various sensors, sprinklers, solenoid valves - all these elements of the system are controlled by remote control. Such a system not only exempts from physical labor, but also allows you not to monitor the weather forecast.
An automatic watering system in the country (photo below) is also divided into drip and sprinkling. The latter is more common among gardeners. Because, for example, it is better to equip a huge potato field with sprinkling than to mount drip irrigation on it.
Organization of automatic watering
Any automatic irrigation system consists of watering heads (sprinklers), an accumulation tank (not in all cases), a pump, electric valves and a controller. To organize an irrigation system in the country, the main thing is to ensure a good pressure of water, and it is also important to control the adequacy of its volume.
To ensure the normal operation of the automatic system, water reservoirs that are close to the land, centralized water supply or wells are used as water storage devices (an autonomous water supply device is being introduced).
An automatic irrigation system will not work without a pump. When choosing it, you need to pay attention to the frequency adjustment of the engine and the possibility of a soft start. The presence of these parameters will ensure the durability of the equipment. In most cases, a well acts as a source of water. In this case, you need to take a surface water-lifting station based on a self-priming pump.
What to choose
Initially, before choosing an irrigation system, you need to study the site. You also need to decide what will grow on earth. If you want to grow just a beautiful lawn or plant the whole space with potatoes, then you need to stop the choice on the sprinkling method. If there are trees and shrubs as plantings, then it is better to choose a drip irrigation method.
Next, you need to evaluate your financial capabilities. The fact is that the automatic system is much more convenient, but also ten times more expensive. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether the first option will be affordable or whether a budget analogue will have to be dispensed with.