duhast, when I was putting my drip system together, I found taking a teapot full of boiling water out with me and inserting the end of the tube in it for a few seconds made it pliable enough to easily insert the fittings. I actually ended up marking where I wanted to cut the tubing, then took everything over to my barbecue where I had the teapot simmering, and put everything together there...moved it out to my cactus garden and buried it in the sand, with just the emitters sticking out. Everything has to be buried there or the wild rabbits chew it, searching for water.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Ain't got no rabbits roun' these here parts..... just rats and possums, and they eat the fallen grapefruits.

This looks great to me, but sounds very scary to someone who was considering drip irrigation. I should of guessed that it wasn't as easy as I would need it to be. uggggh

~Angela

Angela, the hard part is figuring what type of emitters you want/need. I did mine by trial and error, lots of error! I have quite a few that didn't work for my cactus beds, but I'm hoping I'll remember to bring them back with me in the spring, as I might be able to use them here. Here is more the setup I'm going for next year:

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

duhast, I wasn't suggesting YOU bury yours, only telling what I had to do. I was just trying to help you with the insertion of the emitters by softening the tube in very hot/boiling water, which is much easier than trying to stretch it with needle nosed pliers. You can, of course, do it however you like.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

angelady, it's really just like tinkertoys... lotsa parts you just plug together.

granny, if i was doing this in winter, i might use the hot watter, now, I just set the hose in the sun and the pliers ar very easy.

Drip is much easier than it sounds. It gets more complicated when adding it to an existing in-ground system. All that math involving waterflow and gallons per minute doesn't really come into play unless you're doing something really big or you're not using city pressure.

I can throw together a system in a heartbeat and I've only done it about a year now.

Water goes in the big hole and comes out the small holes and if it's anywhere near the rootzone the plant roots head that way. Biggest problem is gardeners with hoes and animals that nibble.

shebear, my problem was having cacti, palm and ficus trees, and oleanders on the same system. To get enough water to the trees and oleanders without drowning my cacti, I had to practice with several types of emitters before I got the right combination. Mine also had to come from just one water source and timer (garden hose to drip tubing) which required several manifolds for all the coverage I needed. My northern veggie garden should be a cinch after installing that one!

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny, there are also little in-line valves you can use. They cost more than emitters,but can solve that balance problem.

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That is what I'm using on many of my cacti, duhast. My setup involves a battery operated timer with two outlets, connected to a garden hose, connected to PVC which runs underground and has risers attached where needed. Those risers each have a manifold with 6-8 outlets to which the small tubing is attached and directed to 6-8 plants. Most of the cacti have an adjustable valve, as you show, the small oleanders and some of the larger cacti have just the tube with no emitters, as the manifolds have individual line adjustments. The trees and oleander hedge (on the same line and timer) are on regular bubblers attached to risers. So mine is a combination system, only part of which is drip. Everything has to be buried, as the summer temperatures are usually over 110F and as high as 123F. Even with burying the lines a foot deep, I often return in the fall to find the PVC lines have bulged right up out of the ground.

Here is my only water source for the summer (lower left). The timer is not installed here, I only use it through the summer. Note the PVC tees and the multiple line manifold (adjustable outlets) feeds off to the right for all the plants on that side. The black hose leads to an underground line to feed the oleander hedge at the north edge of the property.

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The other line heads off to the left and has to feed a 35 foot cactus garden (via 2 more multi-outlet manifolds) before it waters the palm tree...see how much more water that takes (click thumbnail to enlarge):

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and then on into the front cactus garden:

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Then on around the back to more cactus garden:

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and finally ending here, by which time no valve is needed, as there isn't much water left:

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Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Very cool. Very extensive. Who did the digging, you or the grump?

Now who do you think? I only caught him with a shovel in his hand one time, and that was for about five minutes while replacing that skirting around the old mobile! He's good at pulling out trees and stumps with the pickup, though.

The digging is easy in that soil, nothing but sand. Just have to wet it down well first, or it just falls back into the ditch.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden