Man began to engage in the cultivation of useful crops incredibly long ago. The agricultural culture was constantly evolving, new methods of cultivating and fertilizing soils, sowing and harvesting, and weed and pest control appeared. The irrigation system has also been modified more than once - after all, no plant can live without moisture! One of the most useful innovations was drip irrigation
What it is
We owe a useful invention to Israeli farmers, because it was in the Promised Land that the drip irrigation system was invented, tested and implemented in widespread practice. What is she like? Water with this method of irrigation is supplied to plants in small portions in the zone of the
root system. Adjustment occurs with the help of special devices (dropper dispensers). The drip irrigation system is especially advantageous in areas where there is a shortage of water, and the installation of water pipes is difficult for various reasons. Moreover, using it, it is more convenient to distribute fertilizers, you can not be afraid of erosion, and the crop with its application ripens faster. Fewer weeds at such watering annoy farmers - this is another of the advantages of the method. And man-hours, physical forces are saved, spent much more rationally. It’s one thing when you go around the garden with buckets of “patrol”, and it’s quite another when the system of drip irrigation does the hard work for you!
Scope and list of construction details
This irrigation method was primarily used for greenhouses. Then it was transferred to open ground, and not only in small private farms, but also in large agricultural associations. The drip irrigation system has proven itself in vegetable growing and gardening, horticulture, and viticulture. It consists of such structural elements as a device for water intake / accumulation, filters (not always), distributing pipes, drip strips, fertigation unit (an element where fertilizers are added and served with water during irrigation). Drip strips come in two types - pipes and tapes. The first are special tubes made of polyethylene, to which internal or external droppers are attached. The second ones are made (glued) from strips of the same material and have natural gaps through which water seeps. Both types of material are good when making do-it-yourself volumetric
drip irrigation systems. For the needs of small household plots, fittings and hoses or
drip tapes are more suitable
.The simplest design
We have already talked about the advantages of this method: water is saved, it goes to plants in the right temperature regime, it is not sprayed on the leaves, thereby preventing fungal diseases from appearing. Moisture flows precisely to the roots, not spreading around dirt and dampness. And between landings the land is dry, therefore there are almost no weeds there. In order for the uninitiated to understand, let us explain: even the simplest drip irrigation systems, made with their own hands from a barrel and ordinary hoses, filled with rainwater, will provide a bed of 10 meters with moisture for as long as 5 days. And this is enough, including cabbage with cucumbers, which are very demanding on watering. What do you need to build the most basic of such a system? Firstly, a big barrel. Raise it about a meter high. It is advisable to pre-embed the tap. Put a small hose on it. It is needed to attach the fitting if a branched
irrigation system is required
. And then connect the usual rubber water hoses, which stretch around the garden. You can connect several segments, just not leaky. And plug the loose ends with, for example,
wooden choppers to avoid water loss.
How to make holes
Now, actually, drip irrigation. Take ordinary self-tapping screws - they will easily fit into plastic and rubber. Drill holes near the plants that have been planted. Just do not go through! Then unscrew a little, but not to the end. And then open the tap little by little and adjust the pressure. How to make drip irrigation accurate: it is enough that in a couple of seconds 1 drop of water falls into the ground (for hygrophilous crops; for more resistant to heat it is possible even less often). This is achieved by twisting the screws. During the day, you should observe how quickly the water is absorbed, and adjust the frequency of the drops, adapting to the plants. If you connect watering to the water supply, turn off the tap slowly, as the pressure in the system can be high. And then adjust the water pressure depending on the needs of the planted crops.
Maintenance
As with any mechanism, such drip irrigation needs to be monitored, since holes with self-tapping screws become clogged with rubbish and rust over time. Naturally, less water will come to the landings. This will become noticeable on a wet spot on the ground. What should be done in this case: just unscrew the screws, clean them and holes, then insert them into place. Once a week, carefully inspect the system and do prophylaxis on time! If you use drip tapes, then there will be much less problems with pollution. And if you install a special filter, you can not worry for a long time for the high performance of the system.
Factory setting
Compare what the factory drip irrigation system consists of. The price of such devices can be different and starts from several hundred rubles. So, for example, the popular BP1 Barrel set will cost you almost 4,000 rubles. The cost is determined by the proposed brand of products. Of course, they differ from homemade ones, of course, but they are far from always convenient and adapted to the needs of a gardener. So, in the kit for barrel irrigation, you can find a pump, hose, watering gun, connectors. Used rainwater kit. For greenhouses on the market, the Israeli Mgs48 system is offered. elgo, designed for about 48 droppers. Its average cost is from 1800 rubles. Homemade systems will cost much cheaper!