There are several ways to set up an irrigation system depending on the type of gardening you are doing. When used with a timer this is absolutely the best way to water your plants. No more forgetting to water or forgetting to turn the hose off when you are watering. Just a nice even daily (or every 2 or 3 days) watering. Inconsistent watering is one of the main causes of blossom end rot in tomatoes and causes multiple issues with any plant. If your plant is too dry it will wilt and possibly die. If it is too wet you can drown it. When properly set up an irrigation will yield up to an 75% – 80% water savings. Irrigation systems are usually used with pressure regulators to lower the pressure of the water in a system. A direct water line will usually have too much pressure for these types of systems.
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Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation is used when you are doing container gardening. This is the type of irrigation system that we used to use on our front porch. We had both hanging baskets and pots set around the edge of the porch. There are complete kits available to do this. Typical parts would include distribution tubing, a pressure regulator, a filter screen, an installation tool to make the holes for the emitters and stakes, end plugs to close off the end of the tubing and a few other parts. You are able to adjust these so that you have an emitter in each pot that you need to water. This kit pictured even comes with a timer.
Drip Tape Irrigation
This is what we use in our garden. In fact the picture at the top of the article with red plastic mulch is my personal garden. We have been doing pretty much the same setup for about 20 years now. It works well for us. This can be used in raised garden beds or standard gardens. We garden in 4′ wide raised garden beds. We plant our seeds and seedlings in 1′ from each edge. We have 2 rows of drip tape in the 4′ wide area, spaced at about 1′ 6″ in from the edge. We put our drip irrigation system down and then we cover it with plastic garden mulch. Then we plant our seeds or seedlings. We have ours on a timer set for 15 minutes every other day. With the water savings from the drip irrigation and the moisture retention from the mulch, we really do not use much water. Even in our summer heat of 100 degree days we do not change from the 15 minutes every other day.
There are drip irrigation kits available. They will have the drip tape which has holes predrilled and all of the fittings you need. A pressure regulator should be used with this system as well. Don’t forget the timer! These don’t usually come in the kits. You simply lay your tape out and staple it down with included ground staples, put all of your fittings together and you are ready to water. They even have goof plugs in case you poke a hole in your tape by mistake. Trust me, it happens occasionally. Oops.
DIY Drip Irrigation System
d-i-y pvc garden irrigation sytem
d-i-y pvc garden irrigation system
For all of you who like a d-i-y project, this one is simple enough to make. You should use schedule 40 PVC pipe 3/4″ in diameter. Drill 1/16″ holes in the appropriate spacing for your plants. You can place this with the holes up or down depending on your preference. Also, if you have a small area you want to do a heavier watering you can drill holes opposite each other. Lay the pipe so that these are pointing out. You will get quite a bit of coverage from this method. If you are doing smaller plants that are spaced closer together you can drill your holes about every 6″. For larger plants like tomatoes you should have holes where the plants are at and an extra 2 – 3 holes in between. I only plant my tomatoes at 3′ apart. I would just do one hole in the center of the plants and one at each plant. I know other people will space their tomatoes as far as 4′ or 5′ apart. For this you would want the 2 – 3 holes in between. You want to make sure that your garden surface is level so that the water will flow. You can lay these out in pretty much any configuration that you want, but you should have ball valves so you can shut off sections or rows. In addition you will need fittings such as t’s, elbows, end caps, pipe cement etc.
Spray Drip Irrigation System
This is perfect if you have a greenhouse or have your plants spaced closely together. The spray heads are adjustable from a light to a heavier spray. This system even comes with a timer!
Greenhouse Watering System
I have always had a similar system in my personal greenhouses. The picture above is from my Halls Magnum that I used to own. Unfortunately it got left in a move. I loved that greenhouse! It is tubing hanging from the top of the greenhouse with spray heads at appropriate spacing. You can see it at the top of the sidewall. The blue is a flexible conduit with wiring for the ventilation system. Again, a time and plant saver.
In conclusion, I would not even attempt to garden without an automatic watering system. As busy as we all are it is just too easy to forget, even though we spend hours in our gardens. Plus, the plants seem to really thrive with a consistent watering schedule. And that is really what it is all about – healthy, high yielding plants.
I get this question a lot. What is the difference between a glass greenhouse and a polycarbonate greenhouse. I am going to assume that the frames are basically the same, so the biggest difference will be in the glazing material.
Glass greenhouses will be more expensive than a polycarbonate greenhouse. Especially with a curved eave. The glass is all tempered (safety) glass, even the curve. The curved tempered glass is more expensive than doing a curved polycarbonate. The twinwall polycarbonate is flexible enough that it is bent right onsite as you are installing the kit. There are no special tools or processes needed to do this. You just simply bend it over into the curved frame and attach it.
Looks are another obvious difference. The glass greenhouse will have more of a timeless look to it. I suppose if you want to use the word “fancier” that could even be applied. Just in looks, not in function. A lot of people don’t like the polycarbonate glazed greenhouse as it will be translucent rather than transparent. It will not be like looking through a window like the glass greenhouse will. Twinwall polycarbonate is made up of 2 sheets, an interior and an exterior. These sheets are both clear and would look much like looking through a window if you peeled the walls apart. Multiwall polycarbonate is much like looking down the end of a cardboard box. You will have the exterior and the interior sheet with a rib in between them. The rib will run straight between the 2 sheets, not curvy like in a cardboard box. This rib is what distorts your view. You can see color in a polycarbonate greenhouse, just not a clear form.
The glass greenhouse will not be as well insulated as the polycarbonate greenhouse. A single glass greenhouse will have an R value of approximately 0.95. A 6mm twinwall polycarbonate greenhouse will have an R value of around 1.6. This means that if you have the same size single glass greenhouse and polycarbonate greenhouse in the same location, trying to heat it to the same temperature, the glass greenhouse will cost you more to heat. It seems from the difference in the R value that it would be about twice as much. That is not the case. There is a formula that uses the size of the greenhouse, the difference in the temperature inside and outside the greenhouse, and the glazing material. If this is a consideration in your instance, the best way to determine how many BTU’s you will need is to actually do the calculations.
Breakage is another issue. Tempered glass will break if it is hit in the right manner. There is just no way around it. But, it is tougher than regular float glass, and it will shatter into small pieces, so safety is not a concern. Polycarbonate has a 10 year warranty against hail damage. It is a very tough material. It will not break like the glass.
Lifetime of the glazing material is the last issue I will discuss. Glass will pretty much last forever unless it is broken. Polycarbonate generally has a warranty that the light transmission will not vary more than a specified number in 10 years. This is just a fancy way of saying that it will not turn yellow or get brittle. Some of the manufacturers have extended their warranties to 15 and even 20 years. I have personally seen sheets that were 15 years old and still in use. They looked just fine. I have had reports back of 20 year lifetime on the material.
Glass greenhouses vs polycarbonate greenhouses? What is the conclusion. They both have their benefits, it just depends on which fits best into your needs. The best decision is to make sure to get a greenhouse, no matter what type. It will give you hours of enjoyment, produce food for your family, protect your orchids, and be the envy of your friends and neighbors.
Getting ready to heat your greenhouse? Well, now is the time to either check your existing heater or to purchase a new one. Our top pick, the Southern Burner natural gas or propane greenhouse heater is going to have a price increase (the first time since 2008) on November 20th. So you want to be sure to order prior to that date. This is a super greenhouse heater that will fit under a bench and not take up any valuable floor space. It requires no electricity. The heater is all aluminum and stainless steel. They will keep the temperature at the top of the greenhouse within about 5 to 7 degrees of the floor heat. There is a vented and a non vented model available. The vented model is 25,000 BTu’s and will be adequate to heat most small hobby greenhouses. If you have a larger greenhouse you would simply add a heater or two. There is a formula to calculate how many BTu’s will be required to heat your greenhouse based on the size of your hothouse, the glazing type, the indoor and outdoor temperatures. Please be sure to follow this formula, or your heater may be too small to get your greenhouse to the desired indoor temperature. Plan ahead. Winter is headed our way. Don’t be left out in the cold this year!
If you are in the process of designing or purchasing a greenhouse you probably have questions about what accessories you should purchase with the greenhouse. I get asked this a lot. Some people want to completely ignore the accessories, while others have read every article and believe they should buy everything that you can put in a greenhouse. My recommendation is to start with the ventilation package. Yes, you will need it even if you are only overwintering plants and even if you are in a cold location. I have seen sunny winter days when it was 60 degrees outside and my fan and shutters were operating. And, I keep my ventilation system set at 90 degrees. On the other hand, I hate to see people load up on a lot of items that they will never use. A heater is a good idea, if it is close to the time of year you will need it, or if any modifications to the structure are needed to accommodate for vents, etc. I think the rest of the items should be added as needed.
Here is a nice article from our friends at Garden and Greenhouse which talks about some small hand tools and re purposed items. These are things probably most of us would never think about, but will be used over and over again.
If you already have or are thinking about getting a greenhouse you should consider purchasing several inexpensive tools and related products. Although the items are not very expensive they can make a difference in how much you enjoy greenhouse gardening and how efficient you are at doing it.
I received an email yesterday with this in the subject line. STILL a very happy customer!!! Lynne and Mike were kind enough to share a few words about their tempered glass shed style attached greenhouse. They purchase their Acadian Lean To in 2007. It is always nice to hear that people are happy with their purchases. Following is the email.
Just wanted to reach out and express our complete satisfaction with your product. It has been ten years now and we enjoy the greenhouse as much now as when it was new. Many enjoyable snow storms and rainy afternoons. It has endured the severity of the east coast temperature extremes and provides sanctuary to our plants without fail. Can’t thank you enough for all of your customer service during the purchase and shipping process. I wish all establishments had your dedication to customer satisfaction. Thank you so much,
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