Drip Conversions and Irrigation Supplements

Whether a ground cover be grass or plants, landscape contractors and irrigation professionals are always looking for different ways to effectively and efficiently irrigate. Two viable options to irrigate an area and conserve water are converting traditional sprinklers to drip systems and using irrigation supplements.

Pop-Ups to Drip

According to Antelco Corporation, drip irrigation can provide water savings of up to 75 percent over conventional sprinkler irrigation. Antelco also notes that conventional sprinkler systems are 75-85 percent efficient while micro-drip systems are typically 90 percent efficient. The increased efficiency with micro-drip systems is due to lower levels of water usage and waste.

Feeder tubes anchored by stakes surround the root of the plant to provide even water distribution. The emitter has been buried.

Landscape contractors and irrigation specialists in need of converting a pop-up system to a drip irrigation system may consider something along the lines of the Antelco is Drip Mate sprinkler conversion kit. The Drip Mate contains the necessary elements to convert an existing sprinkler or a half-inch riser to a drip irrigation system.

The low-volume emitters (called Shrubblers) in the kit convert the pop-up into nine drip emitters. The nine-outlet pressure regulating micro manifold retrofits half-inch MPT. The kit also provides the user with 100 feet of quarter-inch distribution tubing, nine adjustable Shrubbler spikes, and quarter-inch caps to seal unused outlets while ensuring future use.

Drip Mate Kits connect directly to a hose tap or can be used in connection with an existing sprinkler system with a few additional components.

Bowsmith, Inc., offers the NonStop M200 series emitter with six outlets on a half-inch riser. The M200 is a feeder tube coming from one emitter with multiple outlets. The feeder tubes can be placed to surround a single tree with a water basin installed around the pit, or the tubes can be positioned to water several smaller areas from a single emitter.

The ends of feeder tubes are anchored by stakes and can be placed to surround the root ball of a plant to provide even water distribution. The distance of the discharge points from the root system depends on the soil texture - water will spread laterally more in loam than in sandy soils.

This Bowsmith's SL200 series single outlet emitter has a blue outlet cap that indicated a 2.0 gph glow rate at 20 psi.

Another option from Bowsmith is the NonStop SL200. The SL200 uses subsurface PVC lateral piping with half-inch risers placed as needed. The SL200 allows for the irrigation system to remain subsurface with feeder tubing coming from the emitter just below the finished grade or enclosed in a buried valve box (if emitter access will be necessary at a later date).

The NonStop design features continuous flushing action, which continually flushes the emitter of slime and small particles while the emitter is in operation. This means fewer clogs and lower maintenance requirements.

How the NonStop design works: Under normal conditions, there is a slight pressure differential across each orifice in the silicone diaphragm. As a particle encounters the orifice, there is a momentary obstruction, causing the differential pressure across the orifice to increase greatly. This pushes the particle through the expanding orifice. The particle is then flushed through the orifice, which instantly returns to its normal size. Normal pressure conditions are restored. The particle continues through the remaining orifices in the diaphragm and out of the NonStop emitter.

An Irrigation Supplement

With an ongoing concern for water conservation, Rain Bird has produced an irrigation supplement meant to handle the needs of water-wise users.

Rain Bird Irrigation Supplement is 98 percent water blended with natural ingredients in the form of a solid gel. Irrigation Supplement is converted back into liquid water by a natural process where the cellulose is gradually broken down over time by a soil-based enzyme called cellulase. It provides moisture around the clock to the root zone where capillary activity in the soil carries and maintains moisture throughout the root zone.

Water is dispersed to most plants for up to 90 days when placed at the root zone through a process called liquefaction. The surface area exposed to the soil controls the rate of liquefaction. A quart of Irrigation Supplement can provide up to the equivalent of approximately15 quarts of water delivered through traditional irrigation methods over the liquefaction period. This is possible because the water released by Irrigation Supplement is directly to the root mass, which prevents losses due to evaporation, runoff and leaching. Irrigation Supplement is not a synthetic polymer and will provide water to the plants instead of competing with the plant for water.

Many large areas of ground cover utilize standard irrigation systems. To conserve water however, pop-up systems can be converted into a drip system.

It is an ideal irrigation supplement for use in establishing native plant material where permanent irrigation is not required. Rain Bird Irrigation Supplement increases survival rates of transplants by providing continuous moisture needed to reduce the stress of relocation and helps establishment in existing landscapes. Existing vegetation is not subjected to over-watering while trying to establish the new plant, and the new plant has its own additional source of water until it becomes established.

This use of water provides a unique water conserving delivery method in an environmentally safe and degradable paper carton. The product is also available in a 3" tube and gel pack configuration. The recommended number of quarts is based on the size of the plant material. All natural and non-toxic constituents are harmless to people and pets and product effectively is not changed due to temperature variations. The non-toxic, water based inks meet landfill requirements as well.

The Drip Mate Professional kit connects directly to a hose tap or an existing sprinkler system to add low-volume emitters.