Installing a Drip Tape Irrigation System for the Vegetable Garden

Best Way to Irrigate the Garden

The most effective way to maximize garden production is by using drip tape irrigation that will be applied to plant roots and you can use water-soluble fertilizers directly through the drip to supply plants better with needed nutrients. Most people believe that drip tape can be used either on top or buried in the soil. However, drip tape was really made to go underneath the soil in the garden. This allows the irrigation tape to stay in place, decrease disease pressure, and reduce damage caused by natural causes. It also provides plenty of needed nutrients for plant growth and healthier plants in the vegetable garden. Not only does it apply equal amounts of irrigation to the plants, but it conserves water by going directly to the plant roots in the vegetable garden, unlike overhead irrigation systems.

Simplest Way to Install Drip Tape

The first component to setting up the drip tape irrigation in the garden is to layout the mainline tubing which will help distribute water to each drip line effectively along the desired rows. Then, to feed the mainline tubing we use a filter regulator combo which has a filter to trap any particulate material from entering the tape and the pressure regulator that reduces the pressure of water entering the low-pressure drip tape system. We recommend placing this filter regulator in the middle of the drip tape irrigation to ensure you get equal amounts of water distributed along each row in the garden. The next step is to bury the drip tape for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is during the hotter months your surface evaporation is going to greatly reduce meaning your plants will be able to use more of the water that is being put out if you have buried drip irrigation. Another reason to bury the tape is to simply just get it out of the way so you don't have to move it around every time you cultivate the soil. When it comes burying drip tape the best tool to use is our Drip Tape Layer attachment. When hooking up the row starts and row ends this will complete the setup of the drip system. The row start is designed to connect the drip tape along the rows to the mainline tubing and the row ends are the easiest way to seal the end of the tape. Overall, we recommend using drip tape to ensure you supply your plants with the needed nutrients and irrigation directly to the roots throughout the growing season.