How to Install Drip Irrigation in a Raised Bed

From our Friends at KidsGardening.org via Woolly Pocket

How to Install Drip Irrigation in a Raised Bed / Woolly Pocket Meadow

Posted on April 30, 2012

Materials needed:

• 1/4″ Drip  tubing with built in emitters every 6″ (brown in photo above)
• 1/4″ Drip Supply line (no emitters) (black in photo above — you can also get in brown)
• End Plugs (Sometimes called Goof plugs)
• 1/4″ Drip Fittings (plastic parts that connect tubes) — you will need mainly “T’s”& “L’s”, but the straight ones and the cross shaped ones come in handy sometimes — they are cheap, buy extras
• Stakes to hold drip line in place
• 3/4″ Female Pipe Thread (FNPT) Adapter with Washer x 1/4″ Compression
• 3/4″ FHT Basic Pressure Regulator, 25 PSI
• Irrigation timer (optional)
• Heavy duty scissors

Cost estimate:$60-100. 
Note: This will leave you with extra supplies (drip tubing, supply line, etc) that you can use for other drip projects in your yard. So make sure to buy a bunch of fittings! I keep my extra fittings in a little plastic part box.

Time estimate:If this is your first time working with drip irrigation  allow 60-90 minutes to install a system of this size. As you get more used to working with drip supplies it will go quicker.

Steps:

1. Decide you the layout of your irrigation. If you have emitters every 6″ you will want to space the lines 6″ apart so there is even water coverage over all the soil. Set up your raised beds and fill with soil. In this case I used (4) Woolly Pocket Lil’ Meadows.

2. Insert stakes into soil every foot or so where you plan to run drip line. Starting at one end of bed snap drip line into stakes and continue across bed snapping the drip line into the  stakes. At end of line cut tube with scissors. Repeat for each row. Push End Plugs (Goof Plugs) into the end of the drip line furthest away from the water source.

3./4. Once all the drip lines are in place you will need to connect them with drip supply line (tube with no emitters). Use “T’s” & “L’s”.  The fittings will be somewhat difficult to push into the drip line as it needs to be very snug. I like to use the tip of a stake to stretch out the opening of the tube so that the fitting slides in easier. Another trick is to heat the end of the tube with a lighter to temporarily soften the plastic.

5. Run a longer section of drip supply line (no emitters) to your water source. For a simple connection to a spigot (that you will manually turn on) attach a 3/4″ Female Pipe Thread (FNPT) Adapter with Washer x 1/4″ Compression to the supply line and screw on to spigot. Super easy.  If you want to add an Irrigation Controller/Timer, mount it to the spigot. Add a pressure regulator (if it isn’t already built into the timer) and then connect the 3/4 Female Pipe thread. Also pretty easy.

6. Test the irrigation. Let it run for 20+ minutes and observe the moisture pattern. Confirm that all the fittings are snug and that water is being delivered where you need it. Adjust location of stakes as needed. Once everything is working properly you can get busy planting!

–

I installed these raised beds in August 2011 and planted them with fall starts from Sunset Nursery in Silverlake. In the photo below we have lettuce, onions, chives, parsley, cauliflower, rhubarb, carrots, cucumber and a couple of pepper plants.

10 days after planting:

6 weeks after planting –the fall garden really thrived with drip irrigation.

Mother's Day Discount

$10.00 off our Easy To Use Landscape Design s\Software.
 Enter this coupon code at check out LAND-M3E1-FB


Use the "Give As A Gift" option and we'll send Mom a link to download her gift of landscape design.


Something Different and Cool....Your Mom will love it!

(Your Brothers and Sisters will be so jealous of you!)

Give as a gift?
Yes, I would like to purchase this product as a gift for someone else. Learn more about gifts
How to Purchase Software as a Gift Check this "Gift Order" option and then fill in the personal information on the next page. You will be prompted to enter the gift recipient information and a personal message. After you enter the payment information and place the order, an order confirmation email will be sent to your address and a gift email will be sent to the recipient that will include instructions on how to pick up the gift.

Order Here

Humming Birds

We found this cool site that tracks the migration of the Hummingbird

Weather conditions were in place for a surge in the rubythroat migration last week. Over 500 reporters spotted their first hummingbird of the season. Once they arrive they may stay and raise a family. This week you're invited to peek inside a hummingbird nest and watch the tiny birds grow. 
See More

Attract Butterfiles

Plant type and color are important: Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink and purple blossoms that are flat-topped or clustered and have short flower tubes.  They seek nectar to fuel their transition from egg-layer to cocoon to caterpillar to butterfly again. 

A Painted Lady was attracted by the hyacinth's purplish color and short nectar tubes at Nicholas Conservatory.

Plant nectar sources in the sun.  Butterflies only feed in the sun.  Choose a place that receives mid-morning to mid-afternoon sun.  Or plant nectar-rich flowers in the vegetable garden.

Outlaw insecticides.  Ones like malathion, Sevin, and diazinon were created to kill all insects.  Don't use these chemicals in or near the butterfly garden or better, anywhere on your property. Even organic ones, such as BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), are lethal to butterflies during the caterpillar stage.

Plant nectar sources in the sun.  Butterflies only feed in the sun.  Choose a place that receives mid-morning to mid-afternoon sun.  Or plant nectar-rich flowers in the vegetable garden.

Outlaw insecticides.  Ones like malathion, Sevin, and diazinon were created to kill all insects.  Don't use these chemicals in or near the butterfly garden or better, anywhere on your property. Even organic ones, such as BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), are lethal to butterflies during the caterpillar stage.

My garden is pesticide-free and I let everyone know it is.  That's why I have hundreds of butterflies. 

Feed butterfly caterpillars. If you don't "grow" caterpillars, there will be no adults. Include caterpillar food in your garden.  Doing so can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies. Landscape trees like ash, black cherry and willow are good choices, as are apple trees and blueberry bushes.  Monarchs need milkweed, though.  Most butterfly caterpillars never cause the leaf damage associated with some moth caterpillars such as bagworms, tent caterpillars or gypsy moths.

Provide a place for rest.  Butterflies need sun for orientation and to warm their wings for flight. Place flat stones in your garden to supply space for butterflies to rest and soak up the sun.

Give them a place for puddling.  Butterflies often gather on wet sand and mud to "puddle," drinking water and extracting minerals from damp puddles.  Make a puddle with coarse sand in a shallow pan and place it in the soil of among the nectar-rich flowers. Make sure to keep the sand moist.

My garden is pesticide-free and I let everyone know it is.  That's why I have hundreds of butterflies. 

Feed butterfly caterpillars. If you don't "grow" caterpillars, there will be no adults. Include caterpillar food in your garden.  Doing so can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies. Landscape trees like ash, black cherry and willow are good choices, as are apple trees and blueberry bushes.  Monarchs need milkweed, though.  Most butterfly caterpillars never cause the leaf damage associated with some moth caterpillars such as bagworms, tent caterpillars or gypsy moths.

Provide a place for rest.  Butterflies need sun for orientation and to warm their wings for flight. Place flat stones in your garden to supply space for butterflies to rest and soak up the sun.

Give them a place for puddling.  Butterflies often gather on wet sand and mud to "puddle," drinking water and extracting minerals from damp puddles.  Make a puddle with coarse sand in a shallow pan and place it in the soil of among the nectar-rich flowers. Make sure to keep the sand moist.

These common garden plants will feed butterflies through all their life stages.

Aster

Bleeding heart

Buddleia (butterfly bush)

Bee balm

Butterfly weed (and other milkweeds)

Clover

Columbine

Coneflower

Delphinium

Honeysuckle

Lobelia

Penstemon

Phlox

Salvia

Weigela

Zinnia

Plant nectar sources in the sun.  Butterflies only feed in the sun.  Choose a place that receives mid-morning to mid-afternoon sun.  Or plant nectar-rich flowers in the vegetable garden.

Outlaw insecticides.  Ones like malathion, Sevin, and diazinon were created to kill all insects.  Don't use these chemicals in or near the butterfly garden or better, anywhere on your property. Even organic ones, such as BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), are lethal to butterflies during the caterpillar stage.

My garden is pesticide-free and I let everyone know it is.  That's why I have hundreds of butterflies. 

Feed butterfly caterpillars. If you don't "grow" caterpillars, there will be no adults. Include caterpillar food in your garden.  Doing so can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies. Landscape trees like ash, black cherry and willow are good choices, as are apple trees and blueberry bushes.  Monarchs need milkweed, though.  Most butterfly caterpillars never cause the leaf damage associated with some moth caterpillars such as bagworms, tent caterpillars or gypsy moths.

Provide a place for rest.  Butterflies need sun for orientation and to warm their wings for flight. Place flat stones in your garden to supply space for butterflies to rest and soak up the sun.

Give them a place for puddling.  Butterflies often gather on wet sand and mud to "puddle," drinking water and extracting minerals from damp puddles.  Make a puddle with coarse sand in a shallow pan and place it in the soil of among the nectar-rich flowers. Make sure to keep the sand moist.

Thanks to our friends at "The Old Farmers Almanac" for this great info. 

Landscape Vision just loves the Almanac.... PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY

Garden Math - Ordering Mulch and Topsoil

From Landscape Vision's friend Melinda Myers

Don’t end up with a driveway full of excess topsoil and mulch waiting for friends and family to haul away the surplus for their gardens. Do a bit of math in advance and order just the amount needed. 

Keep in mind a cubic yard covers 300 square feet of ground at a depth of one inch. Now grab a tape measure, calculator and get ready to do some basic math to calculate your gardening needs.

Multiply the length of the garden area to be amended or mulched by its width in feet. This gives you the square footage of your garden. Record this on your landscape plan for future reference.

Next multiply the depth of the material, in feet, that you want to incorporate or mulch. Convert inches into feet by dividing the number of inches you want to add by 12. Multiply the length times the width times the depth to get cubic feet.

Divide this number by 27 to convert it to cubic yards. Now you are ready to place your order.

A bit more information: This may help when buying peat moss. One cubic foot bale of peat moss covers 24 square feet of garden at a depth of one inch. A 2.2 cubic foot bale covers 50 square feet one inch deep. And a 3.8 cubic foot bale covers 90 square feet one inch deep. Incorporate this layer into the top 6 to 12 inches of soil to improve drainage or increase the water holding capacity.

Learn More from  Melinda Myers she KNOW HERE STUFF