" The author of the text and photos below is the reader of the magazine Przepis na Ogród - Marcin Chyra from Żmigród. "
"Automatic garden watering is a very economical solution.
We can control the amount of water used and the time it takes "- Marcin Chyra, Żmigród
Most plants need a lot of water to grow properly. Unfortunately, we do not always find time to water the garden when necessary. The underground irrigation system makes it possible to control the time and amount of water supplied to plants. I found out about it by installing appropriate hoses and sprinklers in my own area.I recommend this method of watering to every reader of the "Recipe for the Garden". Thanks to her, my flowers bloom profusely and my lawn turns green.
When starting the system installation, we should pay attention to a few important issues:
- The surface we need to irrigate,
- Type of water supply to our system,
- Arrangement of sprinklers,
- Types of devices,
- Materials from which the system will be made.
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Irrigation system tubing before burial |
Garden shops offer a very rich assortment. What equipment we choose, mainly depends on how much money we want to spend on such a system.Me and my wife Kasia mainly wanted the devices to be easy to use, cheap and properly operated watering the garden. I recommend the solutions we have chosen to every gardener.
1. Planning
The work begins with a careful planning of the sprinkler installation site. We also need to know what kind of vegetation will be irrigated. For large grassy areas, turbine sprinklers with a range of 50 to 150 m² are best suited.
For watering small areas and flowers, I used static sprinklers with an irrigation area of 20 m².Remember that static models are definitely more efficient than turbine ones.Due to this feature, we should not install them on a common power line.
Please note when installing!
- The bottom of the ditch should be poured with a layer of gravel, for example. This way we will harden the ground under the garden hose.
- Pipes, hoses and couplings should be put in the trench for a test and check if the lengths we have measured are correct.
- Adjusting the sprinklers to ground level is essential for their proper functioning.
- Watering time depends on the type of sprinkler:
static (8-12 min / revolution),
turbine (20-30 min / revolution).
2. Dividing the plot into sectors
The most important element in the construction of the system is the determination of individual irrigation sectors by individual sprinklers. I have listed these places as follows:
- I attached one of the sprinklers to the end of the garden hose.
- I set the pressure to about 2.5 atm.
- I have installed the largest nozzle in the sprinkler.
- I put the equipment in the planned place.
- I marked the range of the spouting water with pegs.
- I moved the sprinkler to another place.
By repeating these steps, I got a picture of the irrigated area and the location of the sprinklers.On my plot, the water coverage areas cover about 10 percent.
3. Digging
Having determined the most important thing, I started digging a trench. For the standard thickness of a garden hose, it is enough to select the soil the width of a spade and a depth of about 30 cm.
4. Installation of sprinklers
On the previously designated supply lines I installed 15 sprinklers:
5. in each row, I decided to use 10 static and 5 turbine ones.They irrigate a plot of 2,000 sq. M. m². To power the sprinklers, I used an ordinary ø 32 (blue) hose as well as tees and elbows for this type of equipment.
5. Water connection
The entire system is powered by an Omnigena Mh 1300 pump. The water source is a PE pipe ø 50 (blue with a mesh filter) inserted to a depth of 7.5 m. This intake is very efficient: about 200 liters per minute.
The system is controlled by an appropriate clock. It turns on the pump and regulates the operation of the solenoid valves of individual sections.
Necessary information
- The system installed by me guarantees even watering of the entire plot with an area of 2 thousand. m².
- Sprinklers and valves are from a garden store.
- I bought pipes, fittings and a pump at a local store.
- The cost of the installation is about PLN 2400.
- I made the whole system myself during my vacation. It took me 5 days.
