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Every gardener tries in many ways to improve the quality of care for their plants in the greenhouse. One of these progressive methods can be considered drip irrigation or drip irrigation. You can even make a drip device with your own hands by buying a special kit.
Drip irrigation and its features
This method of irrigation, at first, was used only in large industries. After this method worked well in large-scale irrigation, it quickly spread, and simple farmers began to use it. Now this unique method is available not only on large farms, but also among ordinary gardeners who grow products in a greenhouse on a non-commercial basis.
What are the main benefits
For drip irrigation, you can purchase a ready-made beetle or cicle drip irrigation kit and moisten the soil directly near the very root of the plant. Thus, the plant receives the necessary amount of moisture, and the earth around it remains dry enough. This distribution of water eliminates the possibility of waterlogging of the land on the site. The unique beetle system can affect not only plants, but also the well-groomed garden, since weeds practically do not get water during drip irrigation.
The drip irrigation system of the beetle type, unlike traditional irrigation systems, greatly facilitates the work of farmers, since it is not necessary to loosen the ground from the crust after such irrigation. This system is suitable for those who care about the economic consumption of water, as its costs are reduced by 20-80%. It depends on soil type, climate, plant species and other factors. During the watering process, all plants receive the same amount of water, as it is automatically distributed evenly across all rows.
It is worth noting that the set of fertilizers obtained by plants in this way is better absorbed by them and absorbed faster. On top of that, you also use the fertilizer sparingly, spreading it only on the plants you need and not on the weeds that grow next to it.
Drip line in schematic representation
Such an irrigation device is able to develop the root system of the plant, and, on the contrary, leave the leaves small, thereby preventing them from drying out and various diseases.
The automatic watering system in beetle or cicle greenhouses greatly reduces the amount of labor involved in plant care. You can now irrigate at any time of the day. You no longer need to run around with hoses, get your hands dirty and monitor the amount of water in the grooves. You just have to clean the filters that the device contains every day. You have a unique opportunity to make your care of plants in the greenhouse more efficient with your own hands.
How to organize drip irrigation yourself
Some inexperienced gardeners have an opinion that making a do-it-yourself beetle or cicle watering kit is as easy as shelling pears. You take a hose, make holes in it and run water through it. That’s all. However, with this approach, it will immediately become noticeable that the water is not distributed at all evenly, at the beginning of the hose a huge pressure creates powerful jets of water, and at the end the water flows out drop by drop. It can only remotely resemble drip irrigation. With proper organization of the irrigation system, water will flow evenly to each plant. Therefore, by purchasing a “beetle” kit for a greenhouse, you are guaranteed to receive high-quality irrigation.
In order to do drip irrigation in a greenhouse with your own hands, you will initially need a source of water supply. For this, a well, a water supply system or a large container raised to a height of about one and a half meters is suitable. It is better not to use an open reservoir for these purposes, as algae and debris that have fallen into it can clog your drippers for irrigation.
The distribution pipe must be at least 3,2 m in diameter. For a simple greenhouse irrigation design, a regular hose is also suitable. The only requirements for it will be rigidity. Durable hose will not deform from heat on the sunniest days. Another mandatory element included in the do-it-yourself drip irrigation system kit is a filter. It is not worth saving on it in order to avoid replacing all the hoses after a few years. There are several types of filters.
The mesh filter is considered the most budgetary. They can do with simple drip irrigation with their own hands. When buying this filter, you must first pay attention to the grid. The cells of such a stack must be at least 130 microns. Thus, large impurities will not be able to enter the irrigation system. To organize drip irrigation with your own hands, you will also need drip tapes for mounting droppers in them, as well as fittings that will connect these tapes to the distribution pipe. These devices can be with faucets, with which it is easy and convenient to regulate the amount of moisture. When buying a set of beetle drip irrigation systems, do not forget about special plugs, couplings, tees and more.
To date, to ensure high-quality do-it-yourself irrigation and uniform distribution of moisture, two types of droppers have been developed: external and built-in.
Built-in drippers are inside the hose itself. They are manufactured in factories and have an oval or cylindrical shape. The productivity of such a device is from 0,5 to 6 liters per hour. Such droppers are indispensable on long rads and difficult terrains. There are also several varieties of external droppers. They are available with adjustable and non-adjustable water volume. These droppers are capable of pouring up to seventy liters of water in an hour. Regardless of the variety of external droppers, they are mounted in the pipe in the same way.
For an automatic watering system in a greenhouse, you may need special sensors, controllers, and valves. A set of these elements will be able to make watering as high quality and economical as possible. We also advise you to create a project and carry out the necessary calculations of water consumption before installing a drip irrigation system in a greenhouse.
Video “Drip irrigation system”
Aftercare of the system
If you approach the creation of a drip irrigation system in your greenhouse with all responsibility, then with proper care, this device can serve you for a long time. The main negative factor that can eventually disable the system is its pollution. Therefore, a farmer using this irrigation method must take the necessary cleaning measures at the end of each season. It is also worth taking care that the water source is as clean as possible.
Do not forget that the system can be clogged not only with bacteria, but also with zooplankton – single-celled organisms, worms, insects and others. This can cause clogging of the pipes included in the set that makes up the irrigation system. Regularly apply chemical and mechanical cleaning to your watering. Thus, a do-it-yourself watering device can last you longer.
Video “How to set up the system”
Watering with a drip system is a very complex process, therefore, in order to establish it as efficiently and reliably as possible, you should familiarize yourself with all the possible nuances. This is what you can do by watching the video.
