Setting up a drip irrigation system in the Southwest

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blisterpeanuts Glendale, AZ Apr 25, 2008

Sorry if this topic has been discussed before but the system won't let me search (says it's too hard on the server--huh? I hope they fix that little problem soon!)

My wife and I are planting some plants here in our backyard in southern Arizona. We are both rank amateurs. My main thing was to put three citrus trees in, and I've just run a lead-free hose to each tree and put them on a timer, and that works fine though it looks pretty sloppy.

Her thing is to plant a whole bunch (70+) of flowering plants, mostly desert-adapted, such as bougainvillea, jubilee, lantana, etc. We're going to put in some drip irrigation. A landscaper quoted us $1600 for the whole job--forget it! We don't have that kind of cash lying around, so we're going to do it ourselves. I've dug some trenches and am planning to lay in some PVC tubing, and plug in spaghetti and emitters at appropriate intervals. Will install backflow, filters, and timing system as well.

Can anyone recommend some books and/or websites that provide a good meaty discussion on drip irrigation? I'm getting contradictory information from landscapers and I'm hearing contradictory things about suppliers. For example, one says don't use the hose spigot in the back of the house but run a line from the main in front. I don't know--we're not that big a yard here. Another says, trench must be at least 8" deep if 3 tubes in it side by side. Another says, emitters must be 18" apart.

All these rules--I wonder if this is just opinions. My trench is about 4-5" deep and I don't really feel like deepening it if I don't have to. It will be out of the hot Arizona sun, and not so deep that I can't dig it up occasionally to service it.

Well this is a long posting--thanks for any advice and tips!
-Bp

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shuggins Houston, TX(Zone 9b) Apr 28, 2008

Dripworks is a great company for drip systems. Here is their website...http://www.dripworksusa.com/

I sent them an email asking questions and they sent me back a drawing marked with part numbers for the items I needed to buy. I put in a drip system in my back yard, but didn't use PVC for my supply line. Instead I used the soft plastic pipe for my supply line. I do use the spigot with a 4 head manifold and a timer with 2 zones. I am going to add another zone this fall when I put in 2 more beds.

Also, I had a problem with my timer almost a year after I bought it and since they had a one year warranty, I sent them an email. They sent me a new timer and I sent the old one back to them. I have since seen the same timers at Home Depot, but don't figure they would be as quick to make it right after almost a year.

Anyway, I have purchased from them and have been very pleased. Also, I would be hapy to answer any questions you have if i can.

Hope this helps!
shuggins

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