{"id":2574,"date":"2020-04-04T06:17:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T06:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/?p=2574"},"modified":"2020-04-04T06:17:40","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T06:17:40","slug":"drip-soaker-irrigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/2020\/04\/04\/drip-soaker-irrigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Drip\/Soaker Irrigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Natter\u2019s Notes <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jean R. Natter, OSU Master Gardener<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many gardeners are trying to be environmentally sensitive in\nvarious ways, in particular, trying to conserve water use in the garden. Often,\nan in-ground sprinkler system (or hose-end device) is forsaken on behalf of\nsoaker hoses or a drip sytem. Unfortunately, the entire project can go south in\na hurry. Plants don\u2019t thrive; some become puny, others wilt, and still others die.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than explaining how to install a drip system, I\u2019d\nrather discuss the guiding principles one must adhere to if the system is to be\nsuccessful. In other words, if the gardener intends to obtain the abundant\nyield s\/he expects. So, consider starting your first installation with a kit;\nit will contain all the needed parts and clear directions how to hook them up.\nOr, if you\u2019re determined to dive in and set up everything from the start, you might\nwant to obtain an instruction text or a manufacturer\u2019s booklet, the latter\noften free at retail outlets, located with the irrigation supplies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nimportant principles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, yes. Here\u2019s an overriding principle, whatever your\nmethod: On an individual dripline, always use component parts from the same\nbrand because, unfortunately, one brand\u2019s half-inch, etc., isn\u2019t necessarily\nthe same as another brand\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disasters\ncan be avoided by understanding a few basic principles, perhaps the most\ncritical of which include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Output of\nan in-ground sprinkler system is gallons per minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Output of\na soaker or drip system is gallons per hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Therefore,\na drip system must run much longer than a sprinkler sytem to adequately supply\nplants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– A drip\nsystem will put out uniform amounts of water per hour if pressure-compensated\ndrippers are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Further,\nit\u2019s important that a drip line is on its own valve, not combined with\nsprinklers. To convert a sprinkler system to drip, all heads must be either\nchanged to drip or capped off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soaker hoses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With soaker hoses, the output is inherent in the product. Output will be the same the length of the hose as long as it is on level ground and the water pressure is only sufficient to make the hose sweat. If a soaker hose sprays, the plants at the far end of the hose will receive less water than those at the beginning. Then, too, the hose may burst. (The exceptions are hoses which are designed to spray.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though soaker hoses aren\u2019t pressure-compensated,\ngardeners can gain that advantage from a commercially available plastic drip\nhose which has built-in pressure-compensated drippers at specified intervals.\n(Just make certain the intervals match the spacing for the plants at hand.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watering\nprinciples <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nprinciples concern the plants and planting media:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– At\nsunrise, a plant\u2019s root system should be fully moist and ready to meet the day.\nWith elevated temperatures, stomates close; water uptake slows and may stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Whenever\nyou water, moisten the entire rootzone. In general, rootzones for seasonal\nvegetables and flowers go to 10- to 12-inches deep, trees and shrubs to 18\ninches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– As a\nvegetable ages from seedling to maturity, its root sytem gradually enlarges,\nboth deep and wide. Irrigation frequency and duration must also increase. <\/strong>Similarly,\nwith young trees, as the years go by, the number of drippers must increase, as\nmust duration of irrigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Water movement in soils (and container mixes) relies on\npore size: The bigger the pores the better, and faster, the drainage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The larger the soil pores, the more rapidly water moves.\nSandy soil has large soil pores and must be watered frequently to maintain\nmoisture within the rootzone. (It\u2019s very similar with potting mixes.) In\ncontrast, the small pores of clay limit water penetration; several on-off\ncycles may be required to moisten the roots and avoid surface runoff. Over all,\nthe same amount of water is required for both kinds of soils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Illustration
When water is applied as a point source, as in drip irrigation, it moves downward and laterally, according to the basic characteristics of the soil. Here, equal amounts of water were applied to each of the 3 points. Notice at the far right, what occurs when a \u201cdrainage layer\u201d is added. Consider a layer of a different texture to be a \u201cbarrier.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Illustration

When water is applied as a point source, as in drip irrigation, it moves downward and laterally, according to the basic characteristics of the soil. In sandy soils and potting mixes, water moves downward in a narrow profile. The much smaller pores of clay soil results in a shallow but broad profile. Such profiles mean that more drippers are needed per unit area of sandy soil than in clay-based soils. (Source: \u201cDrip Irrigation for the Yard and Garden\u201d) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Questions\nand answers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How long\nshould I water?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Long\nenough to moisten the entire rootzone; on average to about a foot deep. To know\nfor certain, go outdoors, stick a trowel in the soil or potting mix, and look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How often\nshould I water? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Often\nenough to maintain moisture throughout the rootzone, thereby avoiding wilt. To\nknow for certain, go outdoors, stick a trowel in the soil, and look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 (A vegetable that wllts won\u2019t be able to\nproduce the abundant yields it could otherwise. This is true in spite of the\nplant\u2019s apparent recovery after you dashed over to water it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Is it\ntrue that a drip system is 90\nto 95 percent efficient?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: It might be that efficient; the\nanswer is to moisten the entire root system but to avoid excessive runtimes\nsuch as 24 or 48 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun for\ngardeners: Run a watering test.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each gardener must determine for his\/her own soil runtime\nand frequency for their own soil. And realize that it varies among containers,\nraised beds, and inground plantings. Run the drip system for an hour, stop for\nan hour, then check the soil with a trowel. How deep and wide did the water go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resources\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– How-to\nbooklets from suppliers available at retail outlets with drip irrigation\nsupplies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cDrip\nIrrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates\u201d by R. Kourik (2nd<\/sup>\nedition; Metamorphic Press)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cDrip Irrigation\nin the Home Landscape\u201d \u2013 University of California; 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– \u201cDrip Irrigation for the Yard and Garden\u201d R. Troy Peters, Ph.D. WSU http:\/\/irrigation.wsu.edu\/Content\/FAQs-Tutorials\/Basics-of-Plant-Soil-Water-Relations-Tutorials.php#irrigationScheduling<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PDF Natter’s Notes – 2020 April Drip\/Soaker Irrigation<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natter\u2019s Notes Jean R. Natter, OSU Master Gardener Many gardeners are trying to be environmentally sensitive in various ways, in particular, trying to conserve water use in the garden. Often, an in-ground sprinkler system (or hose-end device) is forsaken on behalf of soaker hoses or a drip sytem. Unfortunately, the entire project can go south… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1179565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natters-notes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2639,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574\/revisions\/2639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/mgmetro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}