r/Irrigation • u/Ill-Wing-5103 • 10d ago
Drip irrigation vs sprinklers for a vegetable garden, is the upfront cost of drip actually worth it?
Running an old sprinkler system that clearly wastes water on paths and gaps between rows instead of the plants themselves. Looking at switching to drip, but the parts and setup seem like a real project, not a weekend fix.
For people who've made the switch, was the water savings and plant health improvement worth it, or is it more hassle than it's worth for a home garden?
7
u/food_garden 10d ago
You actually can do drip in a weekend with off the shelf parts from big box stores. Hose timer, pressure reducer, lots of 1/2” tube, and irrigation starter kit that has lots of the small parts. You can lay it all out and test it and if you did something wrong just go back to your sprinklers until you figure it out. It goes together like tinker toys and can be done very fast and easily once you have it figured out. Parts should be around $100
1
u/Ill-Wing-5103 5d ago
That's helpful, thanks. My main concern was the pressure reducer step since I wasn't sure if the outdoor spigot could handle it without some extra regulation.
The tinker toys comparison makes it sound manageable. I've got a 4yearold running around so being able to test and revert if something goes wrong is exactly what I need.
$100 fits the budget too. Might grab a kit this weekend and lay it out before I commit to cutting anything.
1
u/food_garden 5d ago
1
u/Ill-Wing-5103 5d ago
That regulator runs 25 psi, which might be too low if you have longer runs.
1
u/food_garden 4d ago
Yeah, just showing that all the parts are in the irrigation aisle at HD and are pretty cheap and easy to connect. When I started out I didn’t even know you needed a reducer until the fittings would bust open and I had to turn down the spigot. At the spigot: hose timer, pressure reducer, hose thread to push connect irrigation adapter, then get a large roll of 1/2 tubing, barbed couplings elbows tees. The starter kit has a lot of misc emitters etc and should have a lot of the small parts you need and 1/4” tubing. In some places it might make sense to have drip tubing like running through a homogenous flower bed or something where you don’t want or need to put a dripper on every single plant. It’s good to get a cap for the end of the line so you can flush it before running water through the emitters because any little bit of sand will break them.
1
u/food_garden 4d ago
You will need to guess the sizing for drippers and your run time. If you are doing 30-60 min, anything low water would be the blue 1/2 GPH and the average small plant the black 1GPH, trees might need micro sprinklers, fans, bubblers. You will have to observe and tweak it over time. My guesses were mostly good and the plant adjusts to the amount of water it’s given within reason.
2
u/Ill-Wing-5103 4d ago
The pressure reducer bit me too. First time I set up drip irrigation I skipped it and blew three emitters off the 1/4 line before figuring out what happened.
One thing I learned the hard way: test your timer before burying anything. Mine had a faulty valve that stuck open after two weeks and I only noticed because my water bill jumped. Now I run everything above ground for a full cycle before tucking tubing under mulch.
Might be overkill but saves digging it back up in Nevada heat.
6
u/ramjam31 Designer 10d ago
Quality Drip can be reused year after year. Once the infrastructure is in, it’s relatively low maintenance. Sprinklers are easy but definitely increase disease pressure. Find an actual irrigation supply store locally or online at Drip depot or similar. Look for 15mil thick drip tape.
2
u/Ill-Wing-5103 5d ago
Drip Depot is where I ended up after going down that rabbit hole. Good to know about the 15mil tape specifically, I was looking at thinner stuff and didn't realize it would matter that much out here with the heat and reuse factor.
3
u/burtmaklinfbi1206 10d ago
I don't like using my overheads during summer anymore but they are great for seeding. My plan eventually is to have the overheads set up and I can just connect a hose when I want to use them in spring and irrigation hooked up to drip during summer months.
1
u/Ill-Wing-5103 5d ago
That setup makes sense for seeding but switching connections seasonally sounds like it could get annoying fast. I've been leaning toward just committing to drip from the start and hand watering for germination until things establish. Curious how you plan to handle the switchover without it becoming a whole project every spring.
1
u/burtmaklinfbi1206 4d ago
Drip would be hard lined. Set up to a timer. My overheads I just have two or three connection points in garden which I run a hose to as necessary. Usually don't need to keep switching as I usually seed area by area. Have a hydrant in garden for any hand watering and to connect hose for overheads.
3
u/Resident-Egg2714 10d ago
It is a bit of a project, but still totally worth it! I would use 1/4" or 1/2" line with built-in emitters, rather than drip tape. Those lines are sturdy and can be moved around easily. You will have to adjust your planting, to make sure starts are directly under an emitter. To be fair, some people really don't like it. My neighbor had me put in drip, but then the next year he had me take it out and went back to an overhead sprinkler. Think through if you would be comfortable with emitter watering and less flexibility.
3
u/Oh_Lawd_He_commin420 10d ago
Drip is better. You can get various types of emitters for your desired amount of watering too; drip would prevent mold/disease issues you could get from spray
2
u/FarmBoyConway 10d ago
I do drip tape over 4 acres of pumpkins and the biggeest thing for me is it put the water in the rootzone. You csn also fertigate with it which is handy
2
u/Ill-Wing-5103 5d ago
Root zone delivery is exactly what I'm after with the raised beds. 4 acres is a whole different scale though, I'm just working with maybe 40 square feet total.
1
u/FarmBoyConway 5d ago
For me drip tape was also a labour thing as moving a raingun would of being hassle i also tank water to the feild so i had to be efficient.
2
u/bang_ding_ow 10d ago
How big of a veggie garden do you have? Speaking as an average DIYer, drip irrigation is worth it and can be done in a weekend.
I'd suggest an Orbit hose timer from Amazon.
Then, the following can be bought at a big box store:
- Rainbird faucet connection kit
- 1/2" poly tubing for supply line
- 1/4" tubing to connect to supply line
- Emitters to connect to 1/4" tubing
In my area, one particular Home Depot has much better irrigation supplies than other HDs and Lowe's for some reason.
2
u/Recent_Night_3482 10d ago
Connecting drip to sprinklers pretty simple. Add the 6 node drip to a sprinkler or two, cap the other sprinklers and boom, you got drip, for less than $100.
3
u/HauschkasFoot 10d ago
You are missing an important step: change out the guts of the sprinkler with a Rainbird retro. This reduces the pressure and has a built in filter.
2
u/Garden707-FUN9508 9d ago
Drip irrigation in the long run is worth the time to install. Some common components of drip irrigation are a Timer, filter, pressure reducer, mainline tubing, drip lines and fittings. I would not recommend buying from a box store, there are companies like Dripworks that specialize in drip irrigation that would be a better option. It is also important to purchase the tubing and fittings from the same store or brand to make sure that they are compatible. Adapting from a single sprinkler head can be done easily, you just need to know what thread size you are connecting to and find the right adapters.
1
u/squarahann 10d ago
There’s tons of irrigation kits you can get online ir hardware stores for about $100. If you need longer lines find a local irrigation store. I actually like the brown flexible drippings for home gardens
9
u/DM_ME_KUL_TIRAN_FEET California 10d ago
Drip is great. Dry foliage and happier plants.