talk to me about your experience with drip irrigation

[catballou24]

we are most likely going to put one in within the next couple weeks, but i'm still doing some research and would love to hear anyone's experience with it. did you really save water and did your plants really do better?

we are in an extreme drought here and i don't want to lose my garden, but we can't afford to waste any water right now, so i'm thinking drip is the way to go.

thanks in advance!!

[lmonter]

Not exactly sure how much water it's saved, but we're only watering what needs it and not walking paths and such. Well, mostly.

We have drip irrigation. Mostly to make life easier on us. Watering 1200sf by hand is, well, long and tedious. With it set up on a timer, it can water early in the morning before the sun comes over the neighborhood trees, and in the evening after the sun disappears behind other neighborhood trees. And I don't spaz out and forget to water things for a week at a time. Which yes, is bad for my plants. And minimizing overhead watering is a good thing, at least for us with my crazy assortment of so many different things.

Getting all the parts we needed/wanted has taken time and money as hubby's had to scour various local places for certain things and even had to get something off Amazon this week, but we should be good to go for another 5 years or so with what we've got. We did try soaker hoses one year, and that was a flop. With two boys that don't listen well about staying out of the garden (i.e. sharp little shoes and trucks), our incredibly hard, mineral-laden water, and me also accidentally stepping on them, they barely lasted one year. A ton of mineral build up was in 'em as well when we finally yanked them up.

[cymbeline]

I am dying to buy those "Drip Irrigation for Dummies" kits from Lowe's! If you beat me to it, let me know how it went ;-) In the meantime, we have three veggie beds, each with its own soaker hose. Every night, I hook the hose up to one of the three beds and turn the faucet on to the lowest setting. They drip all night. Each bed gets a turn every few days, which seems to be doing the trick (except for my cukes and squash, I give those an extra hose down daily since they need sooooo much water!).

[Close2Me]

Can't live without them but they require repair and care often due to age, water pressure, and critters who chew into them for a drink of water: badger, coyote, skunk, etc..
We bought an orange home depot tool box to keep spare parts and repair tools in one place and easy to take around with you. I like the orange color so I can spot it easily if left behind.

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by cymbeline

I am dying to buy those "Drip Irrigation for Dummies" kits from Lowe's! If you beat me to it, let me know how it went ;-) In the meantime, we have three veggie beds, each with its own soaker hose. Every night, I hook the hose up to one of the three beds and turn the faucet on to the lowest setting. They drip all night. Each bed gets a turn every few days, which seems to be doing the trick (except for my cukes and squash, I give those an extra hose down daily since they need sooooo much water!).

I wouldn't! My sister bought one and she said it was super chintzy. Plus, we just did a drip system, and it's really pretty easy. I love it, our trees are doing so great. So, to the OP, yes, I think you'll love it.

[greengirl_]

Honestly I wouldn't have any plants still alive in my garden without the drip system! It's a total no-brainer, the plants consistently get the right amount of water and you don't end up watering areas that don't need it (like paths adn such). I will warn you though that it's a realy pain to set up. I reconfigure mine every year for my summer garden since I keep adding to it, and every year I say never again! But once it's in, that's it, and then I just sit back and enjoy the veggies!

[munkeesmama]

We use drip system irrigation. I'm not sure how much water is being saved, but it's TONS easier than trying to water ourselves. We just hooked it up toe our sprinlers and forget abouot it. The nice thing about it, is that we put emitters close to the base of the plants, so we don't kill them by watering the leaves (tamatos specifically). I'm glad we did it this way this year. Our garden is thriving!

[Lazy Gardens]

Couldn't garden without it.

TIPS:
Those battery-powered ones for hose bibs are really shoddy. Don't bother.

I run drip lines, not single emitters, so the entire vegetable bed gets water, and then mulch it thickly to prevent evaporation. Mulch controls weeds too.

Water once really thoroughly to get the soil wet, then water enough to keep it moist. Vegetables need steady, ample moisture or they don't produce well. Here in AZ, I'm watering three times a day, for about 20 minutes each time - that's about 100 gallons a day for a 10x30 bed.