Suggestion Drip irrigation ideas.

With water in very short supply maybe it time to learn a little more about drip irrigation. Elnard S. Ympal, a TESDA student had a good year regarding water use. What made his farm unique was his drip irrigation innovation. He used recycled plastic empty soft drink bottles for his modified drip irrigation (this innovation made him the 2010 National Outstanding Young Farmer) – he aspired to innovate this technology due to scarcity of water supply . I will be experimenting with coke bottles in the next couple of weeks to see what may work for the gardeners here. Please post you ideas also. Watching the attached U Tube may give you some thoughts.



I like the idea of filling the bottles and walking away for the day. With the current heat cycle it is a job keeping everything wet.

 

Pretty slick irrigation. I've always been interested in wicking beds, but they would take a bit of work to construct. Another thing that seems like it would work is to take an unglazed terra cotta pot and bury that between your plants, fill with water and let the water seep out. I would bet an old milk jug, water or soda bottle with some small holes drilled in it would work too. I plan to try the water bottle idea later here in Turkmenistan as the summers are very dry and hot.

Shawn

 

Hey, I am not trying for a one hit wonder, or the glory days... OK ... I am just waiting for "the woman" part of you scenario, i am hoping she has a "coke bottle" figure and I get confused, if the spot light is strong enough I will probably be blinded and not even know what she looks like... probably a good option for many nights here. I just like the woman part of your formula. I will return to the work bench now and look for some coke bottles , as I fantasize of my future adventures.

 

Actually I have been doing a little experimenting. So far not great results, particularly in flow control. I have drilled coke bottle caps with at 1.5 mm drill bit. I have done from one hole to three holes. The volume of water released does not seem to vary, by number of holes in cap, or sunlight on the bottle (maybe creating pressure as the water expands). Drilling holes in top of bottle (bottles are placed upside down) lets the water discharge rapidly, probably too fast. I have had a 1 1/2 liter bottles drain out in various time frames from 2 hours and to 1 1/2 days. I have not figured out the formula of creating a the proper flow rate. Of coarse my electric hand drill holes my not be very scientific in size either. I am still working on a solution, possibly holes in the top, with toothpick and bamboo barbecue sticks may give some form of control... later with this idea.

A good result is I have found I can put very diluted liquid fertilizer in the water and get it placed exactly on the plant as I want it. That may be one of the the big benefits.

Let me know if anyone else is trying anything.

 

I am not suspending the bottles in the air because I am concerned that if I pierce the bottle on top to hang it, then flow will increase very rapidly. Some cable ties surrounding the bottle may hold the bottle without piercing it. The vacuum that is being built in the bottle now by not having any piercings is what is partially holding back the flow... or stopping it in some cases. I also am only experimenting with a few plants so I am avoiding building a hanging system for now. I will post some photos of my current approach for put the coke bottle upside down, sitting on the ground, using some giant barbecue sticks and tie wire. I have placed a rock below the cap to to create an air space for the water to flow, and eliminate the possiblity of water getting muddy and clogging the cap (if that were to happen). This is part is scientific but has slowed down the experiment finding the right size rock. .. the rocks have to be be 1.5 centimeters and exactly round (). Everything else in my experiment system is "by guess and by golly" scientific method approach.

Great Graphic (How to Make a Drip Irrigator from a Plastic Bottle) on how to make a drip irrigation system. I think I would classified this a more of a subsurface system another great solution type and water conservation method. The problem with the buried subsurface systems (like emitters and tubing) in the past is you never know if they are working or get clogged until the plant shows a problem. However if you can see the water level in the coke bottle then you would know how much water would be going to the plant. I will experiment with that approach too.

An entirely different part of the problem is how much water does each particular plant required based on climate conditions for the day.

Thanks for the input.

 

For the less inventive here, im sure i have seen dripline pipe in one of the hardware shops in town........

 

I came across some designs for PVC tomato cages (would work well for peppers also). One suggestion was to leave the top of the PVC open so you can water into the pipe and since they are in the ground it would deliver water straight to the root system so you would not be wasting water. I have no clue how to put a youtube video in a post but a quick search gives some cool ideas.

Shawn