If you have a small area with several beds, it is rational to use homemade drip irrigation based on a plastic bottle. Unlike purchased systems, its installation will be free. With proper adjustment and use of a 5 liter bottle, the homemade system is refilled every 48-72 hours, and if you use a 20 liter bottle, then no more than once a week. This will minimize the maintenance of the beds, while achieving an increase in yield compared to conventional watering.
Materials and tools:
- plastic bottle from 5 liters;
- needles, thin drills or awls;
- shovel.
Manufacturing and adjustment of drip irrigation
The system consists of a bottle of water dug into the bed next to 2-4 plants, with small holes made in it. Water flows through them and irrigates the roots. At the same time, it comes slowly, so the plants have time to absorb it. This distinguishes drip irrigation from regular irrigation, when most of the moisture immediately goes deeper. The difficulty in installing a homemade system lies only in choosing the optimal hole diameter.Their value depends on the level of soil absorption in the area. For this reason, before installing the system on the garden bed, you need to test it in advance.
Water is filled into the bottle, and 2 cm from the bottom along the embossing edge, one hole is made for each plant that will be fed from this container. If the bottle is planned to be used with cucumbers, then you can make 4 holes crosswise. Tomatoes are planted less frequently, so the bottle can only reach 2 bushes, so 2 holes are needed. It is optimal to pierce them with a drill or awl with a diameter of 1 mm. After this, the bottle with the lid closed is buried halfway into the ground to check the absorption rate.
It is optimal for the water to drain into the soil within 2-3 days. If this happens longer, then remove the bottle and enlarge the holes by 0.2 mm. After each expansion, you need to measure the absorption rate until it becomes optimal.
Having decided on the diameter of the holes, you can prepare the required number of punctured bottles of the same type and dig them into the beds. The depth of burial depends on the level of plant roots. For cucumbers, it is optimal to deepen the container by 1/3 of the height, and for tomatoes by 2/3. It is better to bury the bottles immediately with water so that they do not become deformed.
It is important to consider that young plants with a weak root system need regular watering under the trunk until they take root, after which they can only feed from bottles. If it is not possible to add water in a timely manner and the containers are completely empty, causing the soil to dry out, then additional watering must be done at each refill. To do this, when refilling, water is poured into the bottle and the cap does not close.
Without a lid, everything goes into the ground in a matter of minutes. After this, water is poured in again and the plug is closed.With a lid, the leak will last for several days.
