When you go on vacation, if you have plants, it is completely normal to worry about how they will take care of themselves. If you have friends, you know you can entice them to come to your house and drink water, but you can’t overdo it either. So you dare to think of several automatic irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation. But do you know how to install drip irrigation on trees?
If you want your trees watered and don’t have to worry about having to remove dead ones when you return, drip irrigation may be the answer.. And it’s not as difficult to install as you might think at first. We show it to you.
Contents
What is drip irrigation
Drip irrigation has become one of the most efficient forms of irrigation and is used not only for trees, but in general for the whole garden, plants, etc.
It consists in placing tubes or pipes pierced with small holes parallel or even circularly in the trees that one wishes to water. In this way, when the water tap is turned on, it passes through the tube and through the holes it releases small droplets which are used for watering.
They say they can spend about 4 liters per hour, which helps to customize the irrigation for each tree (as long as there are different divisions in the tubes and the water tap).
For example, imagine you have two trees, one of which only needs to be watered once a week; and another that needs two irrigations. If we put a system of two nozzles and two drip irrigation tubes on the water tap, we can activate one or the other as we wish, so that if both are open, both trees will be watered, and if one is closed, the water flow would only concentrate on one of them.
How to Install Drip Irrigation on Trees Quickly and Easily
There are many methods for installing drip irrigation on trees. We We have chosen one of the simplest and it will not really be a problem for you. although, if you want to do it properly, you will have to dig the pipe to connect a more professional irrigation system.
However, if what you want is to use it for your garden, with this other system it will be easier.
What do you need?
In general, in the market you will be able to find special drip irrigation kits. These are very good if somewhat limited. So our recommendation is that you get the following:
- A programmer. To be able to determine the periodicity with which you will water the trees, the time, etc. There are some with solar batteries, or with battery, electric, etc. The choice will depend on each case (there are those who do not have sockets nearby, those who have watering in a shaded area…).
- Microperforated tube. It is he who will carry the water and thanks to these small holes he will be able to distribute the water between the trees. This has the disadvantage that sometimes the water outlet does not coincide with where what you want to water is, and although they can be covered, it would take more work.
- Dropper. They have the advantage of being able to be placed in the right places according to your garden. In addition, you can change them if they stop working (depending on the quality of the water and/or the limestone it may have, they can easily clog) and changing them is much easier.
- faucet adapter. To be able to transform the garden tap into an automatic watering system. In this case, there are several options, the simplest, in which the irrigation tube (or pipe) is inserted and distributed through the trees; or a double adapter, which allows two irrigation systems to be installed in the same water intake. The advantage is that you can customize the irrigation since both pipes can be open or only one of them.
How to install
Source: metzer group
Installation is very, very simple. You just need to have all the above items handy and follow a few steps.
- The first is place the timer and the tap adapter in the water outlet you have. It is usual that in the garden there is a tap to be able to water.
- Once you’ve enabled them, there are two options. If your trees are far apart, you can use a hose to bring watering closer. That is, put the hose on and take it to the tree area. At the other end of the pipe you will put the automatic irrigation tube or hose. This must be placed around the tree but not attached to the trunk. It is better to spread it a little to prevent the water from rotting the roots.
- The last step is to place the droppers. Depending on the size of the tree, you may need more or less. You might even have to give it a spin or two with the irrigation hose. What does it depend on? The type of tree and its age. Younger ones need a little more water while older ones don’t require as much.
For this to work, you must make sure the tap is open since it will be the system you have installed that will take care of letting the water through or cutting it off depending on the programming you have made.
Maintenance
Once you install it, it doesn’t mean everything is already there and you can stop worrying. From time to time you will need to check, among other things:
- Let the water come out of the drippers and change them if not.
- Let the programming jump in time and last as long as it takes.
- There are no problems with water leaks, for example because the hose is worn out.
- Avoid lime problems. If the water you use has a lot of it, you may need treatment to keep the trees from getting sick.
Of course, there are more “professional” ways to install a drip irrigation system, but if you don’t want to work too much in your garden, this can be a good solution. Do you have doubts on how to install drip irrigation on trees?