I was gifted this drip irrigation kit for Christmas this year. It’s comprised of some main line tubing and some drip line that has the emitters in it.
I am planning to use it for my 5 semi dwarf apple trees. I have them planted in more of a cluster in my backyard, similar to the 5 side of dice.
I plan to snake the main line tubing between the trees and branch off with the drip line to each tree. I mow around these trees with a ride on mower (this is all in my backyard). I thought it might be smart to bury the main line a few inches to avoid wear from driving over it with the lawn mower.
The trees are also quite a ways from the spigot on my house, probably 200’ or so. My original thought was to place the hookup (hose connector, pressure regulator, and filter) on a stake near the trees and use a long length of farm hose to connect it to my house. That way I wouldn’t have mainline tubing running all across my backyard.
I have never used drip irrigation, so I would appreciate any criticism/feedback on my plan.
Something’s better than nothing. I think running-water drip irrigation is easier than carrying buckets. I’m more likely just to turn on the hose. I use a timer.
My setup is similar to what you describe. I do wish I could use a timer. But yes, it is way easier to just open the hose (my long hose is permanently attached during non-winter months) than to drag something around.
Running over the tubing with the mower doesn’t affect it most of the time but every now and then I suck some up and it is of course, shredded. I have too much to bury it but if I could, I would. Driving over it with the mower off doesn’t seem to bother the tubing at all.
They say not to bury it because it can get holes and then you won’t know or it can get compressed but I’d think it wouldn’t be too bad and worth a shot.
I think the plan is pretty good. They do say you can bury the mainline but I would be worried if I couldn’t see it lol. I would also be too worried to drive over it with a mower on a personal level.
1/2 inch drip line is said to have a 200 ft limit before it starts to lose pressure, so you will need some solution. I think the farm hose should work.
Drip irrigation is probably the most significant upgrade I did to my yard. I no longer have to worry about watering at all and can go on 2 week vacations and not worry about my container plants dying . I do have a timer and can set it through an app. I water like 8 times a day in the summer in 3 min intervals.
I agree that I don’t love the idea of not being able to see the line, but I also don’t want to be driving a lawn mower over it every week. I am wondering if I could create a channel in the yard just deep enough to flush it up with the ground. That way I could see it, but it would be recessed into the ground just a bit.
I use drip irrigation in my garden and around trees.
For the garden, I burry the main line from the house/timer to garden (about 20 feet) by cutting a shallow half inch or so trench through the grass and thatch with the serrated side of my soil knife. The grass grows back over it in a few weeks. I pull this up every fall and dig it back in every spring. Mowing/driving over it does not seem to damage it. But the hose can bow up into the mower blade zone when it gets hot and it expands. I think if I put a gentle curve into where the hose is laid rather than perfectly straight, the hose bowing up may be minimized.
I’d recommend putting your garden hose to drip hose connector under a tree because eventually the pressure regulator will dribble a little and you might as well use that water too.
For my trees I’ve made a movable drip setup. It’s a 2 foot long section of main line with the hose connector etc on it. Off of that are four branches of 1/4 inch non-emitter hose 10-20 foot long and those transition into 6-8 foot lengths of 1/4 inch emitter tubing. A couple of the 1/4 inch lines have shutoffs. With this I can move it amongst groups of trees letting it drip for a few hours in each location.
I love the mobile drip setup idea. I never thought to do anything like that. Thanks for the tip about putting the tap under a tree, I will have to do that. I think I will go ahead and bury the line as I originally planned.
. I do have a timer and can set it through an app. I water like 8 times a day in the summer in 3 min intervals.