Garden without the hassle for the elderly. Beds almost according to Kurdyumov Irrigation system for beds original ideas

Eco-friendly homestead: How I would like to admire the garden, vegetable garden and at the same time do nothing. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep the garden in order, but so lazy. In addition to laziness, many people simply do not have the opportunity and time to take care of the garden. I want to come to the dacha and just relax, without watching, at the same time, how the site is overgrown, like a wild forest. With such requests, we will create a garden for the lazy.

How I would like to admire the garden, the garden and do nothing at the same time. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep the garden in order, but so lazy. In addition to laziness, many people simply do not have the opportunity and time to take care of the garden.

I want to come to the dacha and just relax, without watching, at the same time, how the site is overgrown, like a wild forest. With such requests, we will create a garden for the lazy.

Don't let the weeds grow

Weeding is tedious and time consuming. Let's try to reduce it to a minimum. To prevent weeds from sprouting, the territory can be covered with expanded clay, pebbles, gravel, marble chips, and bark.

In lawn flower arrangements, they look beautiful and profitable. Rarely located alpine slides, lonely standing Japanese gardens and rockeries can do without backfilling. In the garden, weeding can be significantly reduced by filling loose soil with mulch, for which mowed grass, sawdust, and sand are suitable.

Lazy watering system

The lazy garden has its own watering system, which should be considered when planning before planting. It is necessary to carry out drainage flows, take into account the slope of the terrain, take care of the drainage system. Stagnant water should not be in the garden and in the garden.

For irrigation, an extensive network of hoses or metal pipes is used, dug in the ground and interconnected by tees. True, such a system operates, provided that there is a water pipe on the site. In hoses or pipes located in the ground, you must first drill or pierce holes in the locations of beds, flower beds, lawns. Where water is needed, it will flow through these holes. This is the so-called drip irrigation.

A ready-made spray irrigation system is available for sale. This is a flat polyethylene hose with many microscopic holes. Water that flows from the holes under low pressure forms a fine drizzle. Such a system is simple and compact, mounted within 3 minutes.

Homemade or purchased ready-made, the irrigation system evenly wets the soil. By equipping a garden for the lazy with such an irrigation system, you will free yourself from the tedious work of watering the beds yourself. If there is no water supply on the site, then this system can work from a container with water located at a height of 1.5-2 meters.

Drip spraying completely eliminates clogging with dirt, prevents diseases and increases the yield of vegetable crops. This is the perfect way to irrigate strawberries. Water does not go deep and remains in the root top layer, the soil is impregnated evenly. This method of watering, in addition to eliminating the need to personally water the beds, saves water consumption by half, and even more on sandy soils. From such a system, it is possible to carry out spraying against pests, or to carry out drip feeding of plants.

Selection of plants by shape

When planning a garden for the lazy, preference should be given to shrubs and trees. You can pick up varieties of perennials that require little to no care.

For example, you can plant mountain ash, shadberry, honeysuckle, quince, which, in addition to decorating the garden, will also bring a healthy tasty harvest.

In order for the beauty of the garden to be preserved all year round, and not only in summer and spring, you can plant evergreens. Of the conifers, they include arborvitae, junipers, cypresses, pines, spruces, and firs. More southern deciduous plants include magnolia, rhododendrons, aucuba, holly, and others. Shrubs and trees, unlike flowers, do not need to be replanted every 2-3 years and divided. This is also a significant savings in time and effort.

A garden for the lazy should not be planted with lawn grass that requires constant care, it is better to replace it with ground cover plants.

An ideal lawn is a clearing sown with young, sedum, arabis, saxifrage and other similar plants. Moorish lawn can also be a good alternative to a regular lawn. Unpretentious and looks very beautiful lawn of clover.

This will be of interest to you:

On a lazy lawn, you should not install flower beds, containers with flowers, solitaire trees. They will create unnecessary obstacles for the lawnmower.

It is best to place plants in your climate zone on the territory. This step fits in well with the now popular concept of natural gardening. After all, heat-loving plants require shelter for the winter, circumcision, fertilizing. In addition, they may not endure the harsh Russian frosts. And all these works are no longer for the lazy.published

For a gardener, a garden and a vegetable garden should be economically profitable. Planting, growing vegetables, fruits is beneficial when we get a high quality crop in a short time. All this will be ensured if the watering of the garden is properly organized. The high quality of vegetables and fruits is their juiciness, freshness, pleasant taste. With a lack of water in the soil, it is impossible to obtain high-quality vegetable products. Vegetable crops have a root system of different capacities. This determines the irrigation rate for each plant, irrigation methods, the number of irrigations per season, and when, during which period of the growing season of a vegetable plant, irrigation will be most useful.

Among vegetable crops, there are biologically drought-resistant species - watermelon, melon, beans, as well as species that adapt to insufficiently moist soil - tomatoes, carrots, parsley, table beets. However, with a shortage of water, their yield is small, and the taste of the products is unsatisfactory.

With a lack of water in the soil, low air humidity, the growth of seedlings and seedlings is delayed, changes in the growth and development of vegetable crops that are unfavorable for the gardener occur. So, in cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, flowers and ovaries fall off. Lettuce, cauliflower, radish, radish are thrown out ahead of time by arrows, these crops, as well as celery, potatoes, kohlrabi, become a coarse food part. Onions, garlic in the phase of the 3rd-4th sheets weaken growth - the bulbs are crushed.

The power of the root system of vegetable crops is the basis for calculating the irrigation rate

The need of vegetable crops for moisture, just like other plants, depends on environmental conditions - air temperature, soil, their humidity, light, wind strength. With an increase in the intensity of these factors, transpiration (evaporation of water) of plants increases, respectively, the absorption of water from the soil increases.

In addition to the response to the intensity of weather conditions, the need for moisture in plants is determined by their biological characteristics (see Table 1).

Table 1. Root development in different types of vegetable crops

Conventionally, the following groups of cultures are distinguished:

1st group. Includes heat-resistant, air-drought-resistant species: watermelon, melon, pumpkin, vegetable corn, beans.

2nd group. Species with a well-developed root system, which allows them to use a large amount of soil to absorb water: cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, carrots, beets, parsley, potatoes, beans, peas. At the same time, active growth and crop formation in these species is facilitated by the rapid, powerful development of the root system, in a relatively shallow soil layer, abundantly moistened with regular irrigation. This must be taken into account when options are limited.

3rd group. Species that are not able to extract water from the soil in large quantities due to insufficiently powerful development of the root system: cabbage, lettuce, radish, radish, onion, garlic. At the same time, the first four species consume a large amount of water for transpiration (evaporation of water by plants).

Optimal humidity, irrigation rates, amount and time of irrigation of vegetable crops

For vegetable crops, soil moisture, with some exceptions, is maintained at a level not lower than 70% of the maximum field capacity (FWC), the optimal level as a percentage of FWF for vegetable crops is as follows:

Tomatoes:

early - 80%,
medium - 70-80%,
late - 60-80%,

Pepper

early - 80%,
late - 80%,

Potato

before the formation of tubers - 70%,
during the formation of tubers - 80%,

White cabbage – 80-90%,

cucumbers – 85-90%,

Onion – 80%,

Watermelon, melon, pumpkin – 70%.

The specified soil moisture is maintained by periodic irrigation, the rate of which is determined depending on specific conditions:

Moisture-charging irrigation is given at a rate of 100-300 liters per m 2.
Presowing or preplanting - give at a rate of 50-80 liters per m 2.
Pre-planting - when planting seedlings, it is 0.5-1.0 liters of water per hole. Depending on weather conditions, preplant watering is done with small norms - 10-20 liters per m 2.

Vegetative watering of the garden spend the entire period of growing plants until harvest. In different soil-climatic zones, from 1-2 to 15-20 waterings are carried out with a norm of 10 to 80 l / m 2. In the daytime (hottest) time of day or in the evening in the southern regions, refreshing irrigation is done in small portions of 2-4 l / m 2.

Approximate norms and the number of vegetation irrigations of vegetable crops for the southern zone of the European part of Russia are given in Table. 2.

Table 2. Irrigation rates, number and time of irrigation of vegetable plants and potatoes

In years with insufficient moisture, the number of waterings increases by two or three, respectively. In addition, in the hottest time, it is recommended to carry out refreshing watering with a rate of 5-7 liters per 1 sq. m.

We draw the attention of readers: the watering period must be determined before the plants show signs of insufficient water supply: wilting of leaves, residual water deficiency, abscission of fruits, ovaries. In this case, crop losses cannot be replenished.

In table. 2 watering time is focused on the periods of the greatest sensitivity of the plant to a lack of water. Additional watering or its cancellation should be placed between these dates.

Watering the garden is carried out depending on the specific conditions. Plants should be watered in the evening (in hot weather) or in the morning (if the nights are cold). It is better to finish evening watering by 19 pm, so that the moisture that has fallen on the leaves evaporates by night.

Ways to water the garden, how to water the beds

Furrow and check irrigation

Watering vegetable plants in a small area of the garden is carried out mainly superficially, running water. Water is distributed over the entire surface or over part of the soil surface. Surface irrigation can be carried out by furrows or checks. In the conditions of an amateur garden, where there is almost no possibility of a good leveling of the area, furrow or check irrigation is very suitable in terms of proper irrigation, uniform distribution of irrigation water, especially on light soils.

Comb design

The ridges are designed as follows: furrows are cut with a chopper, a hoe or a plow, the distance between which depends on the vegetable crop that will be planted in this area. Most often it is 60-70 cm. At the same time, small earthen ramparts are formed between the furrows - they are called ridges. After that, transverse furrows are also cut with a plow or chopper at a distance of 5-6 m from each other. These transverse furrows will be used for irrigation, shaping the ridges. Every second or every second or third ridge is cut from the inside (at both ends) so that water can circulate during irrigation (Fig. 1. A). The ridges are leveled, the furrows are first compacted, then leveled. Thus, they make out a site for better water movement.

The combs are suitable for growing many vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, carrots, parsley, and others - on heavy soils in a particularly rainy spring.

Fig.1. Organization of combs and checks

Registration of checks

Checks are flat rectangular or square areas, fenced with ridges (earth rollers). The plot is divided into beds 5-6 m wide, limited by irrigation furrows. Rectangular checks are placed from one irrigation furrow to another with a width of 1.2 to 1.5 m. Square checks are made by dividing each bed into 2 parts with a comb, cutting with transverse ridges every 2 m. 2 m. Checks are used for growing many vegetable crops - peppers, Kaba onions, leeks, cucumbers, etc., also on light sandy soils (Fig. 1. B).

Watering the garden from a watering can

It is usually recommended to use a watering can when growing seedlings in greenhouses or in open beds. The irrigation rate depends on the weather, the characteristics of the vegetable crops grown, the properties of the soil, the condition of the seedlings, etc. In practice, to moisten the soil layer in a greenhouse 15 cm thick, on the soil, per 1 sq. m you need to pour 40-50 liters (4-5 watering cans) of water. On open ridges, water consumption increases, as the soil layer dries out to a greater depth, the roots of plants are located deeper, which can be found out empirically. With a strong drying of the soil, you first need to water it lightly from a watering can, after a while give the necessary remaining amount of water. To ensure the irrigation rate, repeated watering is sometimes required at intervals necessary for the soil to absorb moisture. With a one-time application of the irrigation rate, moisture will not have time to be absorbed by the soil, which will lead to stagnation of water on its surface or to loss of moisture as a result of surface runoff. You can not water the entire garden, but the root zone of plants.

Regulation of relative air humidity (sprinkling)

Vegetable plants have different requirements for relative humidity. Some of them, for example, cucumbers, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, require a high relative humidity of 80-95%, while others, such as tomatoes, watermelons, melons, require a lower 50-60%. However, some combinations of air humidity and temperature create conditions for the appearance of diseases and pests, which requires regulation of these factors. By increasing or decreasing the number of irrigations of the garden with running water, you can control the relative humidity of the air. Refreshing irrigation of the garden by sprinkling also has a beneficial effect on plants due to an increase in air humidity.

In private gardens, it is impossible to carry out sprinkling as it is done in the fields, but here, with the help of a hose with various tips or by means of an electric pump, irrigation pipes of the appropriate length, with sprayers at the ends, it is possible to achieve the effect of sprinkling. Sprinkler irrigation makes it easier to ensure the optimal irrigation rate, as it helps to reduce fluctuations in the water content of the soil or plants. This is of great importance for such vegetable crops as peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, beans, potatoes, root crops, etc., which do not tolerate waterlogging of the soil. Sprinkling gives a particularly good effect for all varieties of cabbage (white, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Savoy), spinach, lettuce, head lettuce, etc. Sprinkling of vegetable plants should be carried out in calm weather, since when the wind is strong, water falls in large drops on the plants. If it is necessary to carry out sprinkling in the wind, then the water jet must be oriented in the direction of the wind. The most suitable time for sprinkling is after lunch, in the evening, at night. This is especially important when sprinkling peppers or cucumbers, as it prevents burns or disease. After the formation of fruits, tomatoes can be sprinkled only at night or early in the morning to prevent the fruits from cracking.

Moisture-charging watering of the garden

Watering is called watering of fruit trees, shrubs, which provides thorough wetting of the soil to the depth of the bulk of the root system of plants. In a fruit-bearing apple tree on weakly or medium-sized rootstocks, the depth of the root system is 80-100 cm, in cherries, plums - 60-70 cm, in shrubs - 40-60 cm, etc. As a rule, water-charging irrigation is carried out after a dry summer or insufficient rainfall in autumn. The degree of soil moisture is easy to check during autumn deep digging. Moisture-charging watering is necessary even if you watered your fruit trees throughout the summer or there were good rains in the fall. Such watering has a positive effect on the condition of plants and their frost resistance.

The root system of trees, which is deficient in moisture in summer and autumn, does not provide the necessary conditions for preparing plants for overwintering. There is a risk of winter drying up of individual branches, especially against the background of frost, strong winds, in the absence of snow. It also increases the likelihood of trees being damaged by winter sunburn of the bark on boles, skeletal branches. When the soil dries up in winters with little snow, in fruit-bearing dwarf trees with a superficial placement of the root system, in young gardens there is also a danger of freezing the roots.

The timing of water recharge irrigation for the Kuban is the end of October - November, for central Russia - August-September, i.e. here and there - after the massive leaf fall. At the same time, the irrigation rate for fruit-bearing apple trees is up to 60-90 liters per 1 m² of crown projection, young apple trees, cherries and plums - up to 35-50 liters, and berry bushes - up to 40 liters.

By the way, I often come across such arguments that wet soil freezes more easily, and this is dangerous for the root system of trees. Nothing like this! Everything is just the opposite! Sufficiently moist soil retains heat better in winter. After a dry summer, even if you diligently watered your garden all season, watering is required when the trees shed their leaves.

For local wetting of the soil near the trees, at a distance of 60-80 cm from the boles, it is better to irrigate along the furrows located along the circumference. The depth of such furrows for a fruit-bearing apple tree is 10-20 cm, for stone fruits with a superficial root system (cherry) up to 10 cm, while digging the furrows should not damage the roots. When irrigating heavy soils, it will take more time to soak the root layer.

The moisture reserve after the autumn moisture-charging irrigation is enough for the plants during the spring, the flowering time of such plants is shifted by 3-5 days, which reduces the risk of damage to the flowers by spring frosts. In addition, plants that are sufficiently moistened from autumn are easier to tolerate severe winter frosts and dry winds.

Based on the materials of the newspaper "Niva Kuban" with the application "Nivushka"

You can't grow a good crop without water. This statement certainly no one doubts. Most gardeners know that they need to be watered in the evening or in the morning and only with warm water. However, we do not always have the time, energy and opportunity to comply with such regulations. Therefore, we water when we are free, and with such water as we have. We do not think about whether it benefits our plants.

In today's article, we will talk about how to properly “drink” garden crops and how to determine soil moisture, we will deal with irrigation rates for various plants and with the main irrigation methods.

Various horticultural crops, depending on the climatic conditions of their historical homeland and due to biological characteristics, require different water regimes. If it is enough to water fruit trees 4-6 times for the whole season, then cabbage in dry land will simply die. Watering is not just moistening the earth with a hose and a watering can, or in any other way. In order for water to be beneficial to the plant, it is necessary to know the basic rules of irrigation, because what is good for one, can simply destroy others.

10 basic rules for watering the garden

Any water is suitable for irrigation - river, lake or pond water, you can use water from a well or a well, and even from a water pipe. There are two mandatory conditions here: the water must be warm (temperature not lower than 18-20 degrees) and not contain chlorine impurities. This can be achieved by simple settling in any available containers, preferably black, which provides rapid heating and oxygenation.

Many cultures do not like watering over the leaves, which leads either to sunburn or to the spread of various dangerous fungal diseases (late blight, powdery mildew), which we described in detail in the article Diseases and Pests of Cucumber. Such plants need to be watered under the root.

If the soil is very dry, to begin with, it is sprinkled with water a little, and after the first moisture is absorbed, it is watered abundantly so that the water reaches the roots, however, puddles should not remain on the surface of the earth.

In hot weather, so that the water has time to be absorbed before it evaporates under the influence of the summer sun and wind, it is necessary to water early in the morning or in the evening. In addition, during the day, drops of moisture on the leaves create a lens effect, which leads to burns. Yes, and a person working in the midday heat is not pleasant enough.

But when it gets cold, it’s better to “water” the plants during the day, because after the evening watering, the water does not have time to completely absorb into the soil, increased air humidity is created, leading to the activation of many dangerous diseases.

It is better to water less often, but more abundantly. With weak moisture, only the surface of the earth is wetted, and moisture does not reach the roots. Such surface watering will be useful only to weeds, and cultivated plants, with a lack of water, poorly absorb nutrients and lag behind in growth. Therefore, intermittent rain is not a reason to postpone watering.

Everything is good in moderation. It should be noted that plants often die not from underfilling, but from overflowing. Waterlogging is no less harmful than drought. Excessive watering contributes to the erosion of the soil, and as a result, an increase in its acidity. In waterlogged soil, roots rot, access to oxygen and nutrients deteriorates, and ideal conditions are created for the occurrence of dangerous diseases.

Irrigation rates depend on the degree of development of garden crops. So, seeds and seedlings need surface moisture, and adult plants require deep moisture, and the more massive the roots, the more the culture “drinks”.

To preserve moisture in the soil for a long time, the beds must be mulched with any materials at hand (humus, compost, hay, straw, and others). This will not only retain moisture in the hot season, but will also help restore fertility and improve soil structure.

When watering, you need to consider what type of soil prevails in your area. Heavy clay and loamy soils are saturated with moisture slowly, but also retain it for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to water such land rarely, but plentifully. But sandy soils, on the contrary, require frequent, but not so plentiful irrigation. We will talk with you in more detail about the types of soils and their main characteristics in the next article.

How to determine soil moisture

The lack, as well as excess moisture, negatively affects the growth and development of garden crops, inhibits the formation of flowers and ovaries, reduces the quantity and quality of the crop. In order to understand whether it is necessary to water the garden, you need to learn how to determine soil moisture. There are many scientific ways to determine it, but for an ordinary person they are practically inapplicable because of their complexity. Let's look at a simple method available to any amateur gardener.

To determine the moisture, we immerse the shovel into the ground to a full bayonet and take soil samples from a depth of 20 cm (either from the tip of the shovel, or from the bottom of the resulting hole). If the soil has a powdery appearance, crumbles in the hands and does not roll into a lump, this means that it is dry and needs to be watered urgently and abundantly.

If the earth rolls into a lump, which crumbles when falling from chest height onto a shovel, then the degree of humidity is determined as moderate, water if necessary.

When the earth rolls into a lump, and it does not break when it falls, the earth does not stick to the fingers, then soil moisture is considered good and watering is recommended only in dry weather.

If the earth, when pressed, rolls into a lump and sticks to the fingers, then the soil moisture is excellent and you can not irrigate the site for a week.

The soil is considered too wet when water is squeezed out of it when the lump is compressed. Such land is not watered for two weeks or more.

In order not to harm the plants, it is necessary not only to learn how to determine the humidity, but also to study the biological characteristics of each crop, on which the irrigation rates will depend at certain points of growth and development.

Irrigation rates for major garden crops

Of all the crops that we grow on our plots, cabbage is the most moisture-loving, and this applies to all its varieties. This vegetable, unlike the others, prefers cool water. Cabbage should be watered often: early varieties - once every 3-4 days, late ones - once a week. When irrigating cabbage beds, the soil should get wet to a depth of 40 cm, since cabbage has a powerful root system that penetrates deep into the ground. This crop is best “watered” by combining surface furrow irrigation with sprinkling, which will help not only increase soil moisture, but also increase air humidity, this is especially important in hot, dry weather. Cabbage calmly tolerates watering directly on the leaves. Lack of moisture leads to stunting and cracking of heads during their formation. However, high humidity is highly undesirable, it can give impetus to the activation of the fungus that causes white rot, which we talked about in more detail in one of the articles in the series about organic farming "How to grow a bountiful harvest of healthy cabbage without chemistry".

Cucumber is also quite picky about soil and air moisture, especially when it comes to the period of formation of ovaries and fruits. If at the initial stages of development this culture can tolerate some drought, then at the time of fruiting, with a lack of water, the cucumber sheds flowers, or the fruits turn out to be ugly and bitter in taste. Cucumbers must be watered with warm water (temperature not lower than 22 degrees) in the evening or early in the morning, but in such a way that the leaves have time to dry by night. The irrigation rate is 20-30 liters of water per 1 sq. garden, the frequency depends on the weather conditions and the condition of the soil - here it is important not to let the earth dry out completely, but it is also impossible to fill the beds. In hot dry weather, it is recommended to carry out refreshing watering during the day at the rate of 5-10 liters per 1 sq. m beds. It is important to note that watering cucumbers by sprinkling is not recommended, this can cause burns on the leaves and lead to the development of fungal diseases.

People say about tomatoes that they like a dry head, but wet feet. This culture is watered only at the root, sprinkling beds, especially in the evening, often leads to the activation of late blight. In different periods of development, the requirements of tomatoes for moisture differ. So, immediately after planting seedlings, for its best survival, it is required to maintain high soil moisture. Further, until the moment of fruiting, watering should be reduced, since waterlogged soil contributes to excessive growth of green mass, which reduces the immunity of the plant, and in early varieties this can lead to a delay in the ripening of fruits. It is necessary to increase watering during the formation of the ovary - a lack of water at this time can lead to a significant decrease in yield due to shedding of flowers. But at the time of ripening, increased soil moisture can lead to cracking and rotting of the fruit. Usually, tomatoes are watered every 7-10 days at the rate of 20-30 liters of water per 1 sq. m. In dry weather, plants need to be “watered” twice a week, while the rate is reduced by 1/3.

Pepper is distinguished by a shallow, but rather horizontally branched root system, therefore, it makes rather high demands on the moisture content of the surface layer of the earth. With insufficient watering, plants lag behind in growth, can shed flowers and ovaries, and form ugly inferior fruits. Lack of water leads to the development of such a pepper disease as blossom end rot, which was discussed in more detail in the article "How to protect peppers from pests and diseases". After planting seedlings, pepper is watered more often, but with less water, and during the fruiting period - less often, but more abundantly. The average irrigation rate for this crop is from 15 to 30 liters per 1 sq. m, depending on weather conditions. Pepper is a heat-loving plant, so it is better not to irrigate the beds during cold snaps, since moist soil significantly reduces the ambient temperature, which negatively affects the condition of the plants.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants love water, but they use it sparingly and may well wait until you arrive at the site on the next weekend, of course, provided that there is no "stupefying" heat. Even less often you need to water carrots, beets, zucchini, beans, potatoes. These vegetables do not tolerate waterlogging.

The most drought-resistant crops include watermelon, pumpkin and melon, they are watered rarely, but with plenty of water. Therefore, if at least once every three to four weeks there has been a good downpour, you do not need to water the beds with these gourds at all.

Basic watering methods

As we have already found out, watering plants must be treated thoughtfully, taking into account the biological characteristics of each individual crop. In this regard, it is necessary to select the type of irrigation that will be most suitable. Today, there are three main ways of watering vegetable gardens that we use on our personal plots. These are surface irrigation, sprinkling and drip irrigation systems.

Surface irrigation is the simplest and most common way to increase soil moisture. The hose is placed on those beds where irrigation is needed, and is connected to a water source. Water in this case enters directly into the holes or furrows, penetrating directly to the root system. It should be noted that you can not put the hose directly on the water tap - the water will be cold and chlorinated, it will only harm the plants. In this case, it is necessary to defend the water in containers and supply it to the garden using a pump. This method is ideal for watering fruit trees and shrubs, it can also be used to irrigate beds with crops that cannot be watered by sprinkling (tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, etc.). area, since the method is very laborious. Another important disadvantage is the increased water consumption and the risk of erosion of the top layer of the earth with its subsequent acidification.

Sprinkling today is considered the most effective way to increase the humidity of not only the soil, but also the air. This method is closest to the precipitation in nature. Its essence lies in the fact that special devices connected to a water source using a hose system spray water over the surface of the earth. Given the possibility of almost complete automation, sprinkling differs from surface irrigation by minimal labor intensity. Sprinkler irrigation does not destroy the soil structure, moisturizes the air, reduces the temperature around plants, and washes away dust and small pests. This method of irrigation can be used during planting seedlings to improve their survival, sprinkling is ideal for watering lawns and flower beds. Irrigation can be used to protect plants from frost. However, this watering method will not be ideal for every vegetable; it is not suitable for potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and other crops that do not like watering on the surface of the leaves. For such plants, either surface irrigation is used, or drip irrigation systems are arranged.

Drip irrigation is the most advanced irrigation method today, given the acute shortage of fresh water around the planet. When using surface irrigation or sprinkling, a large amount of moisture is lost under the influence of wind and high air temperatures, or simply spills into the ground in vain. Drip irrigation allows you to use water as economically as possible, supplying it slowly and directly under each bush. When watering from a hose, one liter of water is consumed in 5 seconds, and with drip irrigation - in 15 minutes. This comparison says it all. Drip irrigation systems provide each plant with exactly the amount of water it needs without watering the weeds. When using drip irrigation, the surface layer of the soil is not eroded, its structure is not destroyed.

The essence of the drip system is as follows: a plastic tube is laid along the rows, and through the droppers built into it, water is supplied under each individual plant, if the pressure is low, then in drops, if it is high, then in a microjet. To date, there are many different drip systems manufactured by various companies and differing in the quality of the material, the allowable pressure, and, accordingly, in price. In more detail about the various designs on the garden market today, we will talk with you in the next article.

Watering - benefit or harm

There is no doubt that plants need moisture without fail. In dry soil, growth and the formation of ovaries and fruits slow down, which negatively affects the quantity and quality of the crop. However, from the point of view of common sense and taking into account the careful attitude to our plants, watering is certainly harmful.

Episodic irrigation, and even in some cases with unsuitable cold chlorinated water, is a sharp change in the temperature and moisture content of the soil, its chemical composition. For garden crops, such watering is a strong stress, which negatively affects their well-being. That is why it is forbidden to water in the heat. In addition, falling on the leaves, water drops disrupt the natural process of evaporation, which causes severe burns.

Excessive watering, as already noted, disrupts the structure of the soil, leaches useful nutrients from it, and negatively affects the vital activity of beneficial soil inhabitants. High humidity is a trigger for the development of many dangerous fungal diseases.

What to do? - you ask. After all, plants cannot survive without water. It is the only way to transport nutrients from the roots to the ground, and the evaporation of moisture from the leaves protects the crops from overheating. The answer suggests itself - moisture in the soil and air must be protected. And for this there is only one way - mulching. Treat your land and plants with love and understanding, mulch the soil to help keep it moist, and keep drafts out of greenhouses and other indoor structures. Then watering - this inevitable and undeniable evil - can be minimized.

which I discovered for myself.
Another discovery is drip irrigation.

How do I water my raised beds?

From the very beginning, I laid hoses with cut holes and a plug at the end at a depth of 10 cm from the top of the bed. I connected a hose with incoming water to these hoses and thus watering was to be carried out. Exactly " had”, because in fact, no matter how much I waited, no matter how much water I poured out, nothing was moistened. Where did the water go - probably went into the depths.

In general, nothing happened with these hoses. And I had to water from a hose through a diffuser. And this led to the fact that the soil was covered with a crust, it had to be loosened. Yes, and the leaves of plants were damaged.

And only last year I found out about drip irrigation and was able to buy everything you need for drip irrigation in your city.
Before that, I shoveled a bunch of information, because at first I couldn’t understand the very essence of how it works.
And the essence of drip irrigation is simple. There is ribbons drip or hoses. With built-in droppers. Tapes are cheaper, but they are less durable, designed for the season, but with proper storage they can be used for 2-3 years.
The hoses are stronger, their walls are thicker and they are designed for many years of use. Naturally, they are more expensive.

There are also blind hoses, without droppers, used where it is impossible to find the same distance. Used in the garden, for trees and bushes, for vineyards.
In this case, an additional dropper is needed.
It is advisable to put one tape on one row of plants.

At first I tried to put it between two rows, but it is so poorly moistened, I added another tape.
So, the tapes or hoses are laid out in rows.
Now we need pipes so called, trunk, which will supply water to the tapes. There are special hoses, I forgot what they are called, but they are very expensive. I saw people soldered from eco-plastic pipes, for me it is also expensive.

Stopped at polyethylene pipes, those that are usually used for plumbing underground. Plain watering hoses can also be used, but I don't know how well they will hold the connectors.
So, in front of a row of tapes, I laid out pieces of pipe (25 mm).

Now we need start connectors. These are the fittings that connect the pipe and tape. In general, a connector is a connector. In irrigation, connectors are also used that connect the watering hose and various devices (sprinklers, guns, etc.) It is very convenient - I attached a connector to the end of the hose and you can quickly either connect two pieces of hose together, or connect to a sprinkler or to a tee and etc.
So, in drip irrigation, there are start-connectors or they can still be with a tap. It is convenient if watering is on strawberries, raspberries, flowers, where, perhaps, watering is not needed for a whole summer. It is possible to overlap individual rows.
A hole is drilled in the pipe (in my opinion, we used drill 10, although I read that 14 is needed), a connector is inserted there (they are different, they can be with a gasket, or maybe just inserted and tightened with a nut, tightening. I tried both of these options .The result is the same.
Tape is put on the other end of the connector.
You also need to supply water to the pieces of pipes, I had it with the help of a watering hose. Here you need to think over everything, draw a diagram to get a system with the lowest costs for all sorts of adapters.
If this is one bed with the same rows, then everything is quite simple. And if, like mine, the rows are of different lengths and in different places, then you need to think everything through.

These are examples of irrigation schemes.

Where will the watering come from?

First option - from a barrel. Water is supplied to the barrel by a hose from a well or from a water pipe. And already from the barrel (it is raised by 1.5 m), water is supplied under low pressure to the drip irrigation system. At the exit from the barrel there will be a tap and a disc or mesh filter, and then a hose or pipe will go to the main pipes.
Pros of this option:
warm water
Low pressure

The second option is from the tap directly.
I took advantage of this option.
Drip irrigation requires a very low pressure of 0.3-0.5 bar.
And in the water supply network it is somewhere around 4 bars (we have it). So I used a pressure reducer. I must say that he lowered weakly and I had to additionally not fully open the tap.
I had this: a splitter for 2 outlets (one is free just in case), a gearbox is screwed onto the second one and the watering hose went further to the main pipes.
Pros of this option:
Simplicity, no additional equipment needed.
Here it is also necessary to say that the more you have the length of the entire system, the lower the pressure will be in the entire network. If the network is small, then the pressure will be excessive anyway. Even when the faucet was not fully opened, water was leaking at all joints. At first I was upset, I tried to somehow fight it, then I realized that it was because of the pressure and calmed down. The main thing is that this leak gets on the row, so that the water does not disappear in vain.
Yes, and the ends of the tape need to be muffled. You can put on a cap (they come in several types). But it's better to just cut off a small piece of tape (1 cm), wrap the end of the tape a couple of times and put this cut piece on top.
I watered my beds in this way every day, for an hour and a half.

Once again I write: the photo is not mine.

Here, in my opinion, even search with the number of hoses per bed. I think two would be enough.

Here everything is done by the hose itself and adapters.

I wonder where the water comes from - right from the ground. The advantage is that you do not need to disassemble for the winter, the pipes will not freeze.

Why such wide high beds, I don’t know how they can be serviced is a mystery.

For hoses there is a special hole punch.

Some gardeners sometimes complain about the poor harvest of tomatoes, eggplants, apples, although they harrowed the soil surface, carefully fertilized, planted correctly, tried to do everything possible for a solid harvest. In such cases, many summer residents believe that capricious weather prevented the normal conditions of proper agronomy. To some extent they may be right, but not completely. Climate variability may not always be the cause of a poor harvest. It is worth reconsidering some of your gardening traditions, reading about country news and introducing them.

The need for an irrigation system

If it rains, watering the beds by the summer resident is canceled, and there is time for other urgent matters, and water is saved. But the phenomenon of nature does not provide people everyday. Therefore, watering the beds becomes mandatory, and automatic watering is also in demand. Time after the automatic system is arranged will obviously be more, and it can be spent at your discretion. Serpentine hoses will no longer intertwine and interfere with the free and natural walking of the country owner between the beds. Many are afraid to organize automatic watering of country beds, as they fear for the former preservation of the aesthetic appearance of the previously created landscape. It is necessary to take risks, because then everything will be organically restored. It remains to think about the irrigation regime, the automatic system will take care of everything else, no less important.

Back to index

Irrigation system project

The use of automated irrigation systems is a comfort for the gardener. But initially it is necessary to understand its basics and only then begin to equip the irrigation system on the site. In this undertaking, the main thing is water. If there is its source, that's good, you can think further. The next topical issue that needs to be addressed is how much of this water is required. 400 buckets in one hour is quite an acceptable amount for 60 square meters. Difficulties are eliminated if the owner of the cottage uses river water for automatic irrigation systems or uses the existing central water supply for this purpose. If there is a well, you need to find out the parameters of its volume. When this data is less than the amount of water needed for country irrigation, then you can completely lose it. It is necessary to clarify how much salt is present in this liquid, which serves as a source of moisture for watering plants.

Next, an error-free calculation and an accurate image of the plan in a notebook are made. A convenient scale is preselected. At first, it is necessary to subtract from the entire area of \u200b\u200btheir own summer cottage those areas on which sheds, a garage, a house, and a pool have already been located. After you need to find out the size of the areas where the irrigation system is supposed to be located, all this, of course, is reflected on paper. The owner then determines how many sprinklers he will need. With an area of the site included in the irrigation system under construction, equal to 20 square meters, one is enough. If you need to put a couple or more, then you need to designate, using a regular compass, areas for spraying. An indispensable condition for such a design is that these areas must intersect.

After that, from the place where the liquid will be taken, they begin to designate the laying of pipes. This factor should be taken more carefully, since in case of shortcomings, more pipes can be used up than is really necessary.

Back to index

System calculation

It is necessary to find out how much liquid the water supply system can pass even before mounting the entire automated watering system. These figures will affect the required number of sprinklers. In addition, you need to think about how many of them can act at once, and how many in turn. For a real assessment of the situation, a kind of experiment is carried out. A meter thin hose (diameter - 19 millimeters) must be put on the water intake tap and see how many minutes the bucket will fill (capacity - ten liters); determined by the stopwatch. After that, the number of meters from the tap to the final sprinkler is calculated. A couple of seconds are added for every fifteen meters distance. The results obtained are added up. A table is attached to the irrigation systems purchased in the store. They compare their results with the table and find out how many sprinklers are needed.

The main thing in automated systems is correct installation

Materials:

plastic pipes;
sprinklers;
pump;
connectors;
water container;
controller;
drip hoses;
solenoid valves;
film;
wires.

Instruments:

roulette;
shovel;
screws;
screwdriver.

After careful design of automated systems of beds, the dacha owner proceeds to the organization of shallow irrigation canals. That is, you need to make hollows for pipes. When nothing has yet been planted on the garden plot, neat trenches are dug out without any problems, the excess land is placed nearby. If there is a lawn in the area where the organization of automated watering systems will take place, then it is not necessary to spoil its aesthetics: for this, a film is placed along the edge of the channel. Punctures are made in the lawn layer with a shovel and cut into squares. This should be done carefully, because then these lawn squares will need to be returned to their place.

It is better to make a trench six centimeters deep. There is a project scheme, it remains to lay irrigation trenches in automatic irrigation systems for garden beds according to preliminary planning. Slowly making a reliable installation of the irrigation pipeline, it is necessary to carry out initial tests of a test nature in order to check whether it is leaking in any place. The pipeline is flushed in the same way. If there are no complications, then you can lay the pipes in previously prepared trenches. Where necessary, install plugs. This will prevent soil from entering the pipes.

In a nearby room, the owner must fix the programmable controller.

Solenoid valves are installed in the branches of the central pipeline. Wires are brought to them, which are located under the pipes (to protect against accidental damage). The wires are taken with a margin and connected through waterproof connectors to the solenoid valves. The remaining ends of the wires are combined with the controller. After that, they look at the plan again and, according to this document, place sprinklers. Now it's time to install a drip irrigation system. Drip devices are fixed in the pipeline - this applies to beds for. With regard to currants, droppers are carried out using additional pipes.

Then they are determined with the type of drip devices. If they are planned to be placed in the insert-gap of the pipeline, then these are wired. Droppers can be arranged according to the type of tourniquet. Droppers are used at the ends of the pipes. How much water will be used in automated systems, at what time - these parameters are recorded in the controller software. If the dacha has predominantly clay soil, then there are not many drip devices intended for irrigation. The sand will just require them in larger quantities. It is planned to use an automated method to water vegetables - there will be enough droppers, in which liquid is consumed up to two liters per hour, fruit trees - devices with a water consumption of up to eight liters within an hour. Now you can bury the irrigation canals. It remains to think over and adjust the distance at which water will be sprayed from the sprinklers. After they understand the controller's activity program and set the desired values, then they check how well the entire created site works.