How to Irrigate a Low Maintenance Garden

The low maintenance garden can be a simple and effective way to elevate your lawn or garden. A well-shaped hedge or flax plant can look amazing and can also have a simple and effective irrigation system to keep them alive and well.

In this Irrigation guide, we will go through the products and installation to get a beautiful low maintenance garden.

Have a look at the categories below at the recommended products for the different systems.

For this example, we will create an irrigation system using dripline for a row of hedges.

Dripline is easily the most efficient and effective way to water your low maintenance gardens. Easily hidden in the garden and giving water directly to the roots. You don't waste the water and dripline if treated correctly will last you years.

Pros:

No overspray onto paths and fences.
No issues with leaves, flowers or branches getting in the way and stopping the water getting to where it’s needed

Dripline

The installation of dripline is straightforward and do-able for any newcomer to irrigation. Dripline consists of many inbuilt drippers in the line. Each dripper will give you a pressure compensated amount of litres per hour. Netafim's Techline is available in either 1.6 L/hr or 3.0 L/hr. The lengths of dripline available are either 50m or 100m coils.

The reason this is ideal for low maintenance gardens is the simplicity in installation and effectiveness in watering. Either sub-surface or above ground the dripline provides water directly to the roots of the plant.

Do not use dripline above any weed mat. The mat will cause the water to sit and run off the mat and not get to the roots.

Brand: Metzerplas.

Pipe Diameter: 16mm

Technical Data

Flow Rate: 1.6 L/hr
Spacing: 30cm
Coil Size: 100m
Outside Diameters: 14.9mm
Inside Diameter: 13.8mm
Dripline Wall Thickness: 1.15 mm
Recommended filtration: 120 mesh/130 micron
Minimum Working Pressure: 0.8 bar
Maximum Working Pressure: 4.0 Bar

Features

Efficient and cost-effective dripper
Wide range of working pressures for various topographies
Uniform flow rate
Expanded inlet filter
Highly accurate pressure-compensating labyrinth mechanism
Wide water passages along the labyrinth
Suitable for different water sources and quality
Long-lasting silicone diaphragm
Durable under harsh field conditions and chemical applications

Installation

Whether it is for sub-surface application or above ground, the installation remains the same. The only things to consider is how much water's applied to the area. (in this case the roots of the hedge)

We use the snake pattern to run the dripline between the necessary plants. The layout may look like overkill with watering in the middle where no trunks are, but your goal is to encourage root growth. Having drippers spread out between the plants, help the roots to spread and search for more water. Promoting healthy and robust plants and keeping your garden beautiful.

Snake Pattern

Pros

Simple and effective.
Encourages root growth.
Direct delivery of water.
Perfect for plants that don't need a lot of water.
One line = less fittings & less installation time.

Cons

Not as accurate water distribution resulting in poor root growth.
Harder installation to get the dripline between the plants. (if plants are already grown).
Least consistent and efficient watering pattern

Parallel Pattern

Pros

Twice as much water than other patterns.
Encourages root growth.
Direct delivery of water.
A good pattern for water-hungry plants
Consistent and most efficient watering for an area

Cons

Twice as much dripline used.
More fittings and hose staples required.
Increase in installation time.

Loop Pattern

Pros

Can accurately see how much water each tree is receiving.
Encourages root growth.
Direct delivery of water.
Easily expandable in need be.
Perfect for trees or larger spaced plants.
Less dripline used.
Larger trees can have multiple loops around the tree

Cons

More fittings required.
Increase in installation time.
Requires a mainline of lateral pipe

The loop patterns recommended for larger trees with greater distances between them. The loop allows you to accurately judge how much water is going to each plant base by counting the number of drippers per loop. No wastage in dripline as the mainline is in a lateral pipe.

This pattern also allows for natural dripline extension. If the trees are expected to grow, you can simply join more dripline, via a joiner.

Tip:

Dripline can be buried under dirt, mulch, bark or stones, 1” or 25mm is ideal but can be deeper if needed. (but becomes harder to see if it's working)
Do not use dripline above any weed mat. The mat will cause the water to sit and run off the mat and not get to the roots.

Filter

For a dripline system to operate correctly, you will need a good filter. The standard filter for a dripline system is the 130 Micron Disc Filters.
Disc Filters are a much better option than the conventional Screen Filter, due to the larger filtration area. A standard Disc Filter will last years where a Nylon or Stainless Steel screen can wear and puncture over time.

The reason we recommend a filter before your dripline is because it may get blocked by larger particles. Once a dripper is blocked, it becomes hard to notice, and your plant gets no water.

Please Note: Direction of water flow is moulded on filter body depending on the filter element type. (Disc or Screen)
The filter must be installed anywhere horizontally below the pipeline.

Dripline Fittings

Dripline Fitting - Double barbed

The Metzerplas Dripline is a 16mm OD and 14mm ID pipe, requiring the Dripline 16mm Double Barb Fittings.

The industry standard for most driplines is 16mm OD and 14mm ID. These use the dripline double barbed fittings. Even though they say 16mm, they're made for 14mm ID dripline.

Some brands like the Netafim Techline Dripline is a 13mm ID Pipe that can use either the Dripline fittings or the 13mm Lateral Fittings with Ratchet Clips.

Tip: Hot/boiling water will loosen the tube for easier insertion.

Pressure Regulating Valve

Pressure regulators are a vital item for any dripline system. If your pressure is too high, the dripline will squeak/squeal or even burst; this is an indication that you need to reduce the pressure.

Putting this at the start of your system can guarantee you get an even distribution of water between drippers.

Recommended operating pressure for dripline is 40kpa - 250kpa

Valve

An optional item that can be very beneficial is a flush valve for the end of your dripline system. We recommend having a flush valve in if you are using any water source other than the standard garden tap or house mains. Water from tanks, bores or pumps run the risk of sucking particles through the line, risking blockages.

Even during the installation of the dripline, there are little ways to prevent soil from getting into the line. With the flush valve, you can clean the line and system before use, and close the valve to work as an end plug.

Tip:

It is recommended to flush the lines a couple of times a year, to get rid of any sediment etc that has dropped out of suspension and may accumulate and block the drippers.