Last year I ran a post about a drip irrigation system that I use in my vegetable garden. I have been really happy with this drip system and it is supposed to stand the test of time. That being said it is very expensive and many home gardeners may not want to spend the money. Below are some various options for drip irrigation to better meet your needs instead of doing it my way. For a run down of the benefits of drip irrigation, please check out my post.

Types of drip irrigation systems for the home gardener.

1)Really cheap tubing with holes in it that you can buy at the local big box garden store. I would not waste your time with this since you will end up throwing it away after a while. The holes clog up or shoot up in the air when there is inconsistent pressure.

2) Poly-tubing with emitters- (approx.$.50 a foot w/o fittings)- This is the type that I use. It is made up of thin wall poly tubing with emitters manually punched in by the user. Emitters can be pressure regulated or just free flowing.

Rainbird 2.0 GPH punch-in emitters

Advantages:

• You can put the emitters exactly where you want them to go
• Long lasting, usually will hold up for many, many years
• Very versatile in terms of how long or how short to make your runs

Disadvantages:

• Most expensive
• A lot of labor involved with installing the system

3) Dripline- (approx.$.20 a foot w/o fittings) -This is poly-tubing with emitters manufactured inside the tubing. I have also used this system and am quite happy with its performance. There is no labor involved with installing emitters, however, you are locked into a certain spacing between emitters depending on which you buy.

Advantages:

• Easy install with no punching emitters in the tubing
• Fairly inexpensive

Disadvantages

• Locked into pre-spaced intervals for the intervals
• If emitters clog up or break then hose needs to be replaced

4) Driptape- (less than $.10 a foot w/o fittings)- This is “tape-like” tubing that expands when water begins to flow through it. It is very economical and good for home gardeners on a budget

Advantages:

• Very easy to install by just laying down the tape hose where you want it
• Least expensive

Disadvantages

• Locked into pre-spaced intervals for the intervals
• If emitters clog up or break then hose needs to be replaced
• Probably need to replace every 5 years

A good source for pricing out the different options including fittings that need to be purchased with the hose, go to www.dripirrigation.com. There are lots of tutorials and helpful articles there to help you make the best decision about what to get.

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