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Index : Watering
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- 10. New Irrigation Products for the Homeowner - Top
- New irrigation products are continually being developed to make the watering of home landscapes and gardens easier. Here are some of the most recent innovations that you may want to consider using in your home irrigation system.
Multi-Outlet Emitters or emission devices are new saucer-shaped irrigation devises that eliminate the need for digging every time you want to add more drip emitters to you irrigation system. These new multi-outlet devices are designed to sit above ground and have up to 8 outlets for the attachment of 8 separate quarter (1/4) inch drip lines. By scattering a number of these multi outlet devices throughout your gardens and landscapes, you have the capability of adding more drip tubing as you plants grow and expand or the number of plants in your yard increases.
The more sophisticated versions of the multi outlet units have built-in drip emitters that can be changed to supply plants with varying amounts of water. You choose the gallonage output of the emitter and insert them into each port; ½, 1 or 2 gallon per hour (gph) emitters. Or, if your not using some of the ports, just insert a plug. As you add to your garden and landscape, the unused outlets can be easily accessed to add more lines to your plants.
Less sophisticated multi-outlet devices do not have built-in drip emitters. The 1/4 inch drip tubes are connected to the openings and run to the plants. Then a drip emitter (½, 1 or 2 gpm) is attached onto the end of the quarter (1/4) inch tubing near the plant. Valves to open and close the ports are built-in to these units so that ports not in use may be closed.
Multi-outlett emitters can be purchased at hardware and home supply stores. The more sophisticated units with built-in filters and drip emitters can be purchased at area specialized Irrigation Supply Stores. Although these stores cater to professional landscapers, they also sell to do-it-yourself home owners.
In-Line Drip Tubing as the name implies is quarter (1/4) inch poly tubing with drip emitters built directly into the line. The tubing is available with emitters spaced either 6 inches or 12 inches apart in the line. The tubing can be connected to a multi-outlet emitter or directly onto the main one-half (½) inch poly irrigation line. It’s idea for watering flower and vegetable beds, raised beds and potted plants.
The close spacing of in-line drip emitters insures more uniform watering along with it’s flexible which allows it to be easily snaked in and around small plants. It’s also ideal for watering potted plants! The size of pot determines the length of in-line tubing to be used. Small pots, say 12 inches in diameter will likely need a length of tubing with 3 built-in emitters. Large 24 inch pots will require a length of tubing with 6 to 8 built-in drip emitters. By fitting the length of tubing (number of emitters) to the pot size, you can uniformly water all your container plants off of the same irrigation line. And don’t worry about locating the emitters in the line. They’re easy to see and appear as cylindrical bulges in the tubing about an inch in length.
Patio Irrigation Kits are available at many hardware and home supply stores. They include all the components necessary for watering your potted patio plants from an outdoors hose bib. The kits contain a battery operated controller that can be programmed to water your plants as often and for the length of time you want. They also come with a pressure reducer, fittings and piping to supply you individual potted plants with water.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161. - Updated: November 20, 2005
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