Today we will talk about automatic irrigation. As readers of this blog know, as well as those who follow me on YouTube and Instagram, I like to try different ways to improve the Huertina. I always try more ecological ways to control pests, improve the quality and life of the soil, or choose the plant species that best adapt to each climate.
Making changes to save resources and time is one of the best ways to make our garden a more balanced and eco-friendly space. This is why fitting an automatic watering system is ideal for saving water, saving time and maximizing vegetable production in the garden.
Contents
automatic watering system
Let’s see what it is and what are the advantages of an automatic watering system with a water timer. An irrigation controller is an automated device that connects to a water supply or faucet.
Gardena C 2030 Duo Plus – C 2030 Duo Watering Computer…
- Possibility to connect a rain sensor or a humidity sensor
- Irrigation can be performed with only humidity sensor control
- Big screen
- The device incorporates a low battery level indicator
- Irrigation duration: 0 h 1 min – 3 h 59 min Alkaline battery life: 1 x 9 V: approximately one year For taps: 26 5 mm (G 3/4″) and 33 3 (G 1″), Voltage: from 0 5 to 12 bar, Irrigation programmer
The goal is to program the exact times (days, times, intervals, etc.) to be able to devote to so many other things that need to be done in the garden, as well as to be able to water when you are not at home. In short, a simple device that brings huge benefits to Huertnians.
The advantages of the automatic watering system
- Less water consumption
- energy saving
- Comfort
- Efficiency
- It is not necessary to be present
- Adaptable to different needs
How to install automatic watering
In the video you can see how I install a drip irrigation system and an automatic irrigation timer. The first thing I do is dig a trench where the main pipe will run through the orchard. In my case, as they are terraces, it is different, but as you can see it is easy to adapt to the different levels. The important thing is always that the input is at a higher level than the outputs.
There are a few important points when installing an automatic irrigation system. First you need a faucet and it must be completely free of Teflon or any other material. The filter and the irrigation programmer are connected to the tap, without Teflon, and with an angle of less than 40 degrees.
Then we connect the tube that will run along the trench, as can be seen in the video, and we will separate it with crosses and bends so that it reaches each of the terraces. You can also see that it is very easy to cut and snap together.
important details
It is important to bear in mind that the tube must be as straight as possible, and in the case of angles it is always done with bends so as not to strangle the flow of irrigation.
It is also important to test all the steps we take and check the tubes we add, to verify that our automatic irrigation system does not have any leaks. Once complete, we will staple it to the decking wood with metal pipe clips.
The last thing we’ll do is cover the pipes with dirt to protect them and re-enable the paths to keep them level.
Drip irrigation on each terrace
As you can see, we are going to prepare lines inside each bed to mount the cables with the drippers, so that the whole bed is well distributed. This will vary depending on the culture, its needs and disposition. I show some examples, including the one I’m going to use for plant zucchinibut this must be adapted to each culture and water need.
Irrigation programmer
The next step when setting up our automatic drip irrigation system is to release the air circuit and schedule the automatic irrigation.
How to Schedule Automatic Watering
Once the irrigation system is installed, we have two options. One is to manually activate and deactivate the irrigation, for example when we are in the garden working on other tasks, we turn on the irrigation for as long as we deem necessary. At the end, we turn off the device and that’s it.
The second option is the most interesting and consists of using the irrigation programmer to time the exact moment. Here we can choose the exact time we want the irrigation, the duration of the irrigation and the interval between irrigations (for example if we want it every day or every 24 hours, every other day or 48 hours, etc).
In the video you can clearly see how to program it: by selecting each option and changing the hours, the watering times or the intervals between them with the wheel.
I hope it has served you. The truth is that it is an ideal way to be able to devote the time that we use to irrigate manually to other essential activities in the garden.
