Low-Cost Drip Irrigation

Low-Cost Drip Irrigation IRRIGATION Miscellaneous 32-3-18 Sherwood Botsford came up with a low cost drip irrigation system for his tree farm near Warburg, Alberta. He says it would also work great for anyone putting in a shelterbelt. "Commercial systems like this are expensive and clog easily. I made mine out of 1/2-in. poly pipe. Next to each tree, I punched a hole in the pipe using a thin sewing needle, held in a pair of vice grips." Botsford makes two holes for each tree on the bottom side of the pipe so that if one gets clogged, the young tree will still get something. "It's a good idea to run the pipe over a cluster of rocks near the holes so that they don't rest in mud," he adds. "I keep 600 trees watered this way. If your run is more than 500 feet, you should probably go to 3/4-in. pipe." Botsford installed a 140 mesh filter at the inlet to reduce clogging, and says a system like this works well for water pressures of about 30 to 50 psi. If you have less pressure, you need bigger holes to get the same water, he points out. "My rule of thumb is, if you water on a 3 to 5 percent downgrade, the slope will compensate for the water loss if you choose the right pressure," he says. "If you water on an upgrade or on rolling hills, then you must use a pressure that is two times the height difference to get any kind of uniformity. For example, with 10-ft. rolling hills, use 20 psi." Botsford says, if the holes are too big, you will run out of water before you get to the end of the pipe. If they're too small, they clog easily. "Half-inch pipe can handle between 250 and 300 needle holes. Three-quarter inch pipe is about double that," he says. "If the pipe twists, and you have water spraying where you don't want it, put a scrap of utility tarp around it and staple the edges together." Botsford adds that, if the pipe wanders too much with temperature changes, you may have to fasten it down. Half a wire coat hanger, bent into a giant staple works pretty well, he explains. "If you have hard water, you'll probably have to re-punch the holes mid season, but that's easier to do than replacing expensive drip nozzles." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Sherwood Botsford, Sherwood's Forests Tree Farm, R.R.1, Site 2, P.O. Box 5, Warburg, Alberta, Canada T0C 2T0 (ph 780 848-2548; sherwoods.forests@gmail.com; www.sherwoods-forests.com).

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