taylor668•24d agoProlific Poster

My cheap PVC pipe drip system actually kept my tomatoes alive during that 100 degree week

I put together a little drip irrigation setup last month using nothing but PVC pipe from Home Depot and some drip tape I found on sale for $8. It cost me around $25 total for my 4 raised beds in the backyard here in Austin. I just drilled tiny holes every 6 inches along the pipe and connected it to a timer I already had. That week when it hit 105 degrees I was out of town for 3 days and came back to perfectly happy plants while my neighbor's garden was totally fried. The best part is I didn't have to run the sprinkler at all and my water bill only went up like $5. Has anyone else tried making their own drip system with basic parts from the hardware store?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo82524d ago

Actually those tiny holes you drilled are probably going to clog up pretty quick if you aren't careful. I tried something similar with PVC pipe in my garden in Phoenix a couple years back and the mineral buildup from our hard water blocked up the holes within like a month. The drip tape you got for $8 is actually designed to be the emitter part, not the PVC itself. What works way better is attaching the drip tape directly to a hose adapter on the PVC pipe and letting the tape do the actual watering. You can still use the PVC as the main supply line but just cap the ends and add a simple valve. The tape has those little slits that self-regulate the flow and handle dirt way better than a drilled hole ever will. Might save you some headaches down the road when you're out of town again and come back to dry soil.

verar2124d ago

Isn't it funny how sometimes the cheapest solution actually works better than the expensive stuff @hugo825? Your point about mineral buildup makes a lot of sense for folks with hard water, but here in Austin our water is actually pretty soft so I haven't had that issue yet. Maybe the real trick is just knowing your local water quality before drilling holes everywhere.