Installing Drip Irrigation
How do I install it?
While drip systems are simple to design and install, there are some basic guidelines to follow that will assist your drip system to work efficiently.
The soil type dictates how far apart each run of Drip line should be installed and therefore how much Drip line is necessary for each site. If the spacing of the Drip line is wrong the system will not work efficiently. Once the correct spacing has been decided the meterage can either be paced out on site or if a scale drawing is available the meterage can be worked out very quickly from the square meterage of the gardens. It is crucial that you determine what type of soil you have before you decide which product is best for you. As an example the standard spacing for installation of Techline, Scapeline and Miniscape is 400mm, but:
- If the your garden beds are sandy the water will drain straight down and this will mean that you need to install the runs length of drip line closer together at around 300mm.
- If your gardens have high clay content the water will remain closer to the surface and the runs could be spaced out at 500mm.
Drip line is best installed in a grid pattern that includes a header and collector pipe in 19mm poly pipe. This will provide the most efficient system as well as providing the best locations to install air release and flush valves. If a system gets a break in it and the Drip line includes a dead end there is a good chance that this is where the debris will end up and this means there will be a blocked dripper at some stage.
If it is difficult to install the system in a grid pattern due to the garden being heavily planted and established, Drip line can be snaked though the garden in order to supply an adequate amount of water to the area. It is important to note that it is not necessary to have a dripper at the base of each plant. The plants roots are not all underneath the base of the plant they spread out so it is more important to apply an even amount of water the whole garden area than try to water each individual plant.
Follow these guides:
Large gardens
These areas are best watered in a grid pattern with a collector pipe at each end. This will ensure an even flow of water to all the drippers and help prevent a blocked dripper in the event of a break in the line.
Hedges
In these situations a single run of the appropriate product installed on each side of the hedge will do the job. If the area is more or less level and the runs are short Scapeline or Mini-Scapeline can be used.
Trees & shrubs
Where certain trees or shrubs need more water than the surrounding area a lateral line can be installed with a ring of the appropriate dripline product installed around each individual plant.