Easy Drip Watering Systems
These two methods for creating an irrigation system will water your garden slowly and gently. Combine them with deep mulch and your garden should need watering just once a week if you haven't had any rainfall. Check the soil after watering to see whether it's been soaked down at least 10 inches (25 cm). Both methods use old garden hoses. You'll need enough to wind up and down each row in your garden. Ask your parents or neighbors if they have some old hoses you can have. It doesn't matter if they leak.
Method 1
- Straighten the hose by pulling on both ends.
- Lay it in your garden up one row and down the next, or dig a 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) deep trench close to the plants you want to water.
- Mark the hose every 12 inches (30 cm) or where each seedling is growing.
- Ask an adult to poke a hole in the hose at each mark using a paring knife, ice pick, or awl.
- Tear up some cotton rags into 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide strips, about 6 inches (15 cm) long.
- Tie a cloth strip tightly around the hose where each hole is.
- Cap the end of the hose or use a regular hose nozzle that is turned all the way off.
- Push the hose down into the trench along each row or lightly cover it with some soil.
- Turn on the tap enough to fill the hose to the end.
- Don't turn the tap on too much and overfill the hose or you'll have a sprinkler instead of an irrigation system!
- Let the water run on low for about 8 hours and check how far down into the soil the water has penetrated.
- Adjust the water pressure and make note of how long the water had to run to thoroughly water your garden.
Method 2
- Repeat the first three steps for Method 1.
- You'll need an extra length of hose and some electrical or duct tape.
- Use a push pin or thumb tack to punch a hole in the top of the hose where it's marked.
- For plants that need more water, punch two holes side by side in the hose.
- If you make a hole in the wrong spot, just wrap it with tape.
- Ask an adult to cut the extra hose into 2 inch (5 cm) lengths with a knife and carefully slit them open along their length.
- You'll need enough pieces to cover each hole.
- Slip a short piece over each hole and turn on the water.
- Follow steps 8 to 12 in Method 1 to bury and adjust your irrigation system.
- This method doesn't use quite as much water, so you may be allowed to leave it on overnight, but don't forget to turn it off the next day and when it rains.
- Minerals found in tap water will collect at the bottom of the hose. Don't worry about it unless your hose gets clogged, in which case it's probably time to replace the hose.
- You can reuse your system year after year if you empty the hose in the autumn and hang it in the garage or shed over the winter.
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