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Several small flower/plant beds

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kevreh

Unregistered

1

Sunday, May 1st 2011, 7:09pm

Several small flower/plant beds

Hi-

Going to finally automate the watering of several flower beds this year. They're around 6'x12' each, give or take. I'm basically on the fence about my approach in terms of a traditional sprinkler system, or drip irrigation. Thing is, even if I go the drip irrigation route most of the sprinklers will be micro sprays and not drip.

So, should I not bother the the drip route and just use regular sprinklers, or will they be too much for flower beds like this? And any specific brand in terms of a controller?

TIA,
Kevin

HooKooDooKu

Supreme Member

Posts: 683

2

Tuesday, May 3rd 2011, 12:05pm

I used "traditional" as a means to get the water to each flower bed around my home, then used drip irrigation above the ground.

Basically, I installed a "mainline" rated filter, backflow preventer, pressure regulator (set for 35psi) and irrigation valves rated for low flow (some irrigation valves will not properly shut-off if the flow isn't high enough, so you have to check that the valve is rated for the lower flow of drip irrigation).

I then used 3/4" PVC burried in the ground to get the water to the flowerbeds. Then I transitioned from PVC to 1/2" copper to come up out of the ground within the flower bed. The pipe comming up out of the ground has a 90 degree elbow as soon as it reaches the surface so that the pipe remains low to the ground and can be covered with mulch. The copper ends with a female, and my drip irrigation tubing has a male threaded adapter (i.e. standard 1/2" pipe thread on one size, drip irrigation tubing connector on the other).

I then run the drip tubing through the flower bed. In my case, most of my beds are rose bushes, so to make fertilization easy, I use the water soluable fertilizer and sprink it on the ground. I then use the micro sprays connected to the drip tubing to allow the fertilization to get watered in.

What I like about this setup is that the most expensive components are "safely" located underground. The only parts that dogs (or other animals) can tear up is the drip pieces located in the flower bed. It's very simple to completely replace the drip equipment without messing with the water supply. If you ever need to remove the drip tubing from a flower bed for an extended time, you simply cap off the supply to the flower bed by inserting a 1/2" male threaded cap into the female copper and you don't affect the water supply to other flower beds.

kevreh

Unregistered

3

Tuesday, May 3rd 2011, 2:12pm

Quoted from "HooKooDooKu"

I used "traditional" as a means to get the water to each flower bed around my home, then used drip irrigation above the ground.

Basically, I installed a "mainline" rated filter, backflow preventer, pressure regulator (set for 35psi) and irrigation valves rated for low flow (some irrigation valves will not properly shut-off if the flow isn't high enough, so you have to check that the valve is rated for the lower flow of drip irrigation).

I then used 3/4" PVC burried in the ground to get the water to the flowerbeds. Then I transitioned from PVC to 1/2" copper to come up out of the ground within the flower bed. The pipe comming up out of the ground has a 90 degree elbow as soon as it reaches the surface so that the pipe remains low to the ground and can be covered with mulch. The copper ends with a female, and my drip irrigation tubing has a male threaded adapter (i.e. standard 1/2" pipe thread on one size, drip irrigation tubing connector on the other).

I then run the drip tubing through the flower bed. In my case, most of my beds are rose bushes, so to make fertilization easy, I use the water soluable fertilizer and sprink it on the ground. I then use the micro sprays connected to the drip tubing to allow the fertilization to get watered in.

What I like about this setup is that the most expensive components are "safely" located underground. The only parts that dogs (or other animals) can tear up is the drip pieces located in the flower bed. It's very simple to completely replace the drip equipment without messing with the water supply. If you ever need to remove the drip tubing from a flower bed for an extended time, you simply cap off the supply to the flower bed by inserting a 1/2" male threaded cap into the female copper and you don't affect the water supply to other flower beds.


Thanks for the feedback! You know, shopping around I basically came to the same conclusion- traditional parts all the way up to the micro sprays. Didn't think about using copper, not sure if I need to. Is copper used just for durability?

Kevin

HooKooDooKu

Supreme Member

Posts: 683

4

Wednesday, May 4th 2011, 8:55am

Yes, durability. I don't want to have to dig back down into the ground to repair PVC parts because I've hit the system with a shovel, rake, weed-eater, or even stepping on it. So I usually have a short horizontal run of copper below ground, a 90 degree elbow to come out of the ground, and another 90 degree elbow to keep it low to the ground.

I also have some situations where I have multiple circuits coming into one flower bed (such as one circuit for shrubs, one for flowers, and anoter for trees or future use). In these cases, I've terminated the PVC with a female fitting inside of a round valve box (facing up). I use a male threaded cap to cap the circuit off until I need it. Then when I need it, drill a hole in the side of the valve box, replace the cap with a short male-male flexible pipe, and exit out the side of the valve box to connect to copper to come above ground. I found this plan to be very flexable where I had three circuits terminating under the bushes in front of the house.

kevreh

Unregistered

5

Wednesday, May 4th 2011, 9:37am

Thanks for your input!

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