Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Low Pressure Irrigation

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Columbia
    Posts
    399

    Default Low Pressure Irrigation

    Any experience with low pressure irrigation and advice to share? I want to irrigate a small raised bed (4'x16') using gravity feed from a rain barrel. Only have about 3' of head at bottom of barrel. Can't raise barrel because it is catching water from low end of lean-to.

    Would a soaker hose work with pressure this low? Do I have to go with drip irrigation? Am I just pissing in the wind?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Columbia, SC
    Posts
    47,894

    Default

    Palmetto Pride is your man...
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    SC
    Posts
    4,304

    Default

    12 volt water pump with about 40 psi should help move it along.
    Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.

    "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" Sir Winston Churchill

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    In a house
    Posts
    8,437

    Default

    What are you watering?
    "I'm just a victim of a circumstance"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Green Pond SC
    Posts
    1,441

    Default

    Doubtful gravity will work (3 ft of head = 1.29psi) as most drip has a requirement of approx 10 psi at the emitter - and there will be friction loss through the hose. Depending on what you're irrigating (spacing) the 12v pump on a timer sounds like a good option. It depends on your goal, or the cost benefit of doing it right or getting it wet
    “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” - Thomas Jefferson

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Greenville, SC
    Posts
    4,990

    Default

    Should be easy to test. Just hppk up a soaker hose and lay it down on the dry ground. Note how long it takes to drain and if the ground is wet along the entire length of the soaker hose.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    In the thick of it.
    Posts
    6,348

    Default

    What PP said. I use drip in my 0.5 Ac garden at 10psi. I don't see tape as an option for you, unless you tinker with a thin mil tape (4mil) that can run lower pressure.

    When I started out, I used soaker hose, which would be fine for your area. I'm sure 3' would suffice to run it. I would periodically fill a tank with water and fertilizer in the back of my truck and park on the (slightly) uphill side. The soaker would run every drop out of the tank.
    Quote Originally Posted by ecu1984 View Post
    Go Tigers!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Columbia
    Posts
    399

    Default

    25' of soaker hose was less than $10 so I'll give that a try first.

    most plants will be rotated through with season, right now: tomato, zucchini, crookneck, speckled butter beans, strawberry, lettuce that hasn't quite bolted yet due to shade from squashes, marigold, cilantro, basil, collards

    My first try with a raised bed. I'm realizing that plant selection for such a small plot needs to prioritize which veggies you really want to eat and which will provide useable yield from a small number of plants. At least my little girl likes to go look at it with me and pull on the marigolds.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •