You can create a self-contained, gravity-fed water barrel system that's capable of providing drip irrigation for your vegetable gardens and flower beds. The system frees up your garden hose for other uses, enables you to deliver measured quantities of liquid fertilizer or soil-correcting chemicals as needed, and gives you a visual measure of how much water has gone into the garden. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Stack your cinder blocks on a level area near the garden space you want to irrigate. Make the stand stable, slightly larger than the bottom diameter of the barrel and tall enough to elevate the bottom of the water barrel at least 4 feet above the highest point in the garden. Greater elevation delivers greater water pressure to your irrigation system. If elevation is too little, it will not work.
near the inlet point of your drip system
2. Drill a 1-inch-diameter hole through the wall of the plastic drum, 2 inches above its floor, using the drill and 1-inch drill bit.
3. Cut a 2 1/8-inch-long piece of 1-inch-diameter PVC pipe with the hacksaw. Paint the pipe with PVC primer. Cut and prime two more pieces of pipe the same measurement.
4. Coat the inside of the 1-inch connector with PVC primer and let it dry. Apply PVC glue to one of your 3-inch pieces of PVC. For best results, put glue on both surfaces.
5. Push a rubber washer onto the piece of pipe until it rests against the connector you glued on and, from the inside of the barrel, push the pipe through the hole you drilled. The connector and washer should now be on the inside of the barrel; press the washer against the edge of the hole.
6. Ask your helper to hold the interior assembly firmly against the inside of the barrel, while you push a washer onto the piece of pipe from the outside of the barrel and glue the elbow connector onto the outside end of the pipe. Hold the elbow firmly against the washer until the glue dries to ensure a tight fit and point the outlet end of the elbow straight down in relation to the barrel.
7. Prime and glue another piece of 1-inch pipe into the outlet end of the elbow.
8. Prime the inside of the in-line valve and glue it to the other end of the piece of PVC.
9. Glue the third piece of cut PVC into the bottom end of the in-line valve.
10. Position the barrel on the stand you made for it. The assembly you made now extends downward below the bottom of the barrel and should be facing the garden you plan to irrigate.
11. Measure and cut a piece of the plastic tubing adequate to reach from the valve assembly to the inlet tube for the drip system and use a hose clamp to attach it to the bottom piece of PVC.
12. Attach the other end to your irrigation system inlet hose.
13. Fill the barrel with water.
14. Turn the valve to the open position to water your garden.
Tags: inside barrel, drip system, firmly against, in-line valve, irrigation system, onto piece