In hot summers, regular watering from a sprayer is accompanied by high water consumption. In addition, the soil being poured quickly becomes covered with a dry crust, impermeable to the air needed by the roots. Thus, you also have to constantly hill up the beds. Homemade drip irrigation will greatly simplify plant care and save water.
What you will need:
- PET bottles 5-6 l;
- marker;
- awl.
Manufacturing process of a drip irrigation system
The essence of the method is that a PET bottle with small holes in the walls is partially buried in the soil near the plants, through which water slowly flows. It will always be humid near it, which is what fragile bushes need. To make such a system, you need to fill the bottle with water and close it with a lid. Marks are placed on it at the neck, opposite which holes for watering will be made.
The bottle is turned over, and punctures are made in its walls closer to the bottom opposite the marks. It is necessary that their diameter is 1-2 mm. You can pierce with an awl, a thin screwdriver or a drill.
Near the plants that need to be watered, a hole is dug for the bottle in order to bury it at 2/3 of the height.It is positioned so that its holes are directed towards the nearest bushes, which is easy to control thanks to the upper marks on the neck. It is optimal to pierce holes in the bottle immediately after preparing the hole; this will allow them to be accurately directed to plants that need watering.
The bottle is buried in the ground. Then its cover is removed, and thanks to the access of air, the water from it quickly drains into the ground.
This allows the soil to flow around. Then the bottle is refilled and closed with a lid. With it, the water will drain slowly, feeding the roots of the plants for a long time.
Depending on the size and number of holes in the bottle, as well as the type of soil, the water drains in 1-2 days. Then it needs to be refilled again. This method of watering allows you to keep the soil at the roots of plants constantly moist, which is naturally the key to a good harvest. The soil above remains dry, soft and breathable.
