Drip Irrigation from Rain Barrels

[dandelion]

Is this possible/effective?

[Luna]

I see no reason why it shouldn't. Farmers from the old days relied mainly on rain barrels to irrigate their gardens. If it worked then, why not now?

Most rain barrels have a spigot or spout that can control the output of water form the barrel. You can attach a hose with holes (either one that's homemade or a specialized one from drip irrigation that you can get from gardening shops), place them along your plants and there you go.

[starcandy]

This is a commercial rain barrel drip system I found online, but it's possible to create something similar with cheaper materials.

[sakura]

Hmm, that's a pretty good setup. I like their rain barrel because it has two different spigot, one specifically made for drip irrigation systems. It's quite ideal for the home gardener, and for that kind of features I think the price is also good (then again, I'm not to familiar with the costs).

Maybe you can get a plastic gallon with a cover, then attach a spigot to the bottom like that. Regular garden hoses with holes every few inches may work as well. I'm just curious as to how controlled the water is from the rain barrel. Would you open the spigot only halfway til the water's a trickle?

[Bob]

Originally Posted by sakura

Hmm, that's a pretty good setup. I like their rain barrel because it has two different spigot, one specifically made for drip irrigation systems. It's quite ideal for the home gardener, and for that kind of features I think the price is also good (then again, I'm not to familiar with the costs).

Maybe you can get a plastic gallon with a cover, then attach a spigot to the bottom like that. Regular garden hoses with holes every few inches may work as well. I'm just curious as to how controlled the water is from the rain barrel. Would you open the spigot only halfway til the water's a trickle?

Our household uses the Rain barrel Drip irrigation for our garden.
Though this year we have increased our Garden size from one tenth an acre to an acre, we are in the process of modifying and increasing our drip irrigation to supply the added tillage.
Being spring, we drove around nearby towns and villages during the annual "Spring Clean Out Days" and as people piled loads of unwanted articals at the curb, we found many discarded Garden Hoses and Plastic Barrels and plastic Eve troth's and down spouts!
We took these things as our effort to "REUSE" and kept them from going to local land fill, while at the same time providing ourselves with the "NEEDED" materials for our Rain Barrel Drip Irrigation System at NO COST other than the time and gas it took to acquire these items and retrofit them to our use!..."REMEMBER, GO GREEN!" reduce reuse and recycle..." Garbage Pick".

As fro the amount of Water the drip irrigation uses and how to "CONTROL" the flow, well that is a zebra of a different color.
First we have to determine the overall tillage, or only that of the space plants are planted in, and determine by plant type how much water would be needed to sufficiently supply the plant for its hardy growth... whether the plants need constant moist soil to semi arid conditions.
We arrange our Garden according to this pattern keeping plants with "Like Watering demands" grouped together for ease and necessity of watering.
Then we determine the volume of water that we have in reserve, including the distribution lines and the volume that needs to be supplied to a given area of the garden, and we begin "Poking small holes at intervals" in the lines, and monitoring the flow of water going out..."this can take several hours to several days". Then we add..."ADD" holes to tweak the flow, for we start out with a minimal amount of weep holes, for it is a little more difficult to plug the holes if we have too many although Duct tape or electrical tape are easy remedies for plugging the holes.
And all of this is done with the spigots full open.
So overall as you can see, there is a mathematical equation to help determine this Volume and Flow and that can be found by a "Google".

I must impart however that there are some draw backs to this system, and the largest being is foreign organic matter in the water supply, like leaves and the like. This obstructs the water flow inside the barrel at the spigot, the spigot screen, or within the hoses! so great care must be taken to have the water filtered through a screen from the down spouts to the collection barrels, and lids must remain on the barrels constantly. and another feature I have found helps deter this plugging of water to feeder hoses is to have the spigot in the supply barrel 2 to 4 inches "ABOVE" the bottom of the barrel. This helps to allow for any sediment that may enter the barrel to "sink" to the bottom, well "BELOW" the spigot, therefore keeping the system operating at it's full potential.

Also, though many may not recognize this as "FACT", I have found a big difference in the enclosing of the barrel from the sunlight to help in ward off algae growth and keep the temperature of the water "COOLER" for delivery, for as it goes through the feeder lines, even as it is mulched over, the water temperature increases substantially in the summer sunshine and the temperature aids algae growth in the lines obstructing the "Weep Holes" and some plants do not do well with Higher Root temperatures.
My fix for this is mounting the supply barrels on a secure barrel stand, then building an enclosure around it keeping it accessible at the same time for water supply and maintenance.
The enclosures can be built with some imagination to resemble things like "Wish Wells" or even Water towers! So they can be aesthetically pleasing to the eye and "FIT IN" to your Garden Decor.

Hope this helps

Bob

[Luna]

Wow Bob! Thanks! That's such an informative post and is definitely helpful. I think everyone can benefit from that, not just dandelion.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Luna

Wow Bob! Thanks! That's such an informative post and is definitely helpful. I think everyone can benefit from that, not just dandelion.

Thank you! I am just glad that in all our trial and error, I could share the finished product to any who need a little direction.

On the same note: If an individual is handy with PVC, PVC glue and a Level, one could connect all the rain barrels from each individual downspout with PVC Pipe entering at the bottoms of the barrels, and keeping the PVC at a slight decline from the first barrel to the last, so that the last barrel is the lowest, then with a used sump pump retrofitted with a water hose, one can pump from the lowest barrel to virtually any where water is needed.
One can assemble the PVC to be tight to the house and out of sight for aesthetic reasons... paint it, hide it behind shrubs, or plant some vegetation in front of it to hide it throughout the summer season.
I am currently in the process of doing this to utilize as much runoff as possible for the garden.
We have never needed to use water from our well, and this year, we hope to claim the same thing.
Its all about creativity, imagination and enjoyment, and at years end, reaping the harvest of your own labors...low tech and simple.

Happy planting!

[fleurdelys]

Bob do you use a store brought system? Or did you make use of modifications and such? I'm really amazed at the detail you put into it. One of my worries about this is, as you had mentioned, is the debris that winds up blocking the passages & pipes. Do you think putting filters on the openings might help?

[Bob]

Originally Posted by fleurdelys

Bob do you use a store brought system? Or did you make use of modifications and such? I'm really amazed at the detail you put into it. One of my worries about this is, as you had mentioned, is the debris that winds up blocking the passages & pipes. Do you think putting filters on the openings might help?

No we do not use a store bought system, in fact almost everything we use has been discarded by others, old garden Hoses, plastic barrels, even to the pvc pipe and gutters that has been put to the curb on trash day.
We see that we all can help to reduce reuse and recycle, or "go green" by keeping these things from landfills by "RETROFITTING" discarded items to our needs. It's cost effective and "we do our part" in going green.

I personally use discarded window screens to keep the majority of debris from entering the barrels, then build our own lids out of wood to fit snugly on top of the barrels over the screens.
In this way, any water entering the barrel is filtered, and the screen can be removed for ease of cleaning at any time.
As for a filter, I believe that there are many filters that would work "good" attached to a feed line, but the drawback is the additional maintenance of that specific filter, whereas if the filter were to become plugged, being "out of sight" might lead to "out of mind", then when plugged even for a short time would prevent an adequate and steady water flow to the plants.
The ease of the Rain barrel irrigation system is that it should be relatively uncomplicated to maintain...simple is the best way to go, so if your filter is on top of the barrels, then it is in plain sight and easily cleaned with little effort, and the tightly fitting lid ensures less evaporation and no debris.

I also found that if the weep holes do become plugged, we are able to push new ones in with a sharp Awl by gently pushing the tip of the Awl into the "weep line" remembering not to make a hole, but a "prick" or several "pricks" till you see the water forming a drip, and doesn't flow or sprinkle, but gently drips every few seconds or so.

It does require planning, and the including of preventative "measures" in your plans for the building of your rain barrel irrigation system, for simplicity and ease of an almost maintenance free watering system, Yet when completed, it is all worth it, for all you will need to do is some minor adjustments to the weep lines from time to time, and making sure rain barrels have water in them.

Happy Gardening!

Bob

[fleurdelys]

Thanks! It does seem to require a lot of planning, but the way I see it, a good initial setup would be truly beneficial for the long run and would be easily maintained. And the idea of using scraps for this is great. I was able to get an hold hose from a neighbor, so I guess that's a start if I truly want to use this system. Thanks again!