How to Set Up a Garden Drip System • Longbourn Farm

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Setting up a drip irrigation system in your garden seems daunting but it is totally doable! Step-by-step instructions and how-to video to guide you through.

hoses running through a plant box of dirt and green plants.

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Using drip irrigation in your garden is a great way to water! It allows a really deep watering without getting the foliage wet. Wet foliage can increase the opportunity for disease and rot.

By using a drip system, you allow the water to go right into the soil. This way, there is less water loss from evaporation and the water gets to the roots more quickly!

Most plants love a deep watering, especially tomatoes. Check out this post for more information on watering your garden! By watering your garden for a longer period of time, less often, the soil stays a nice moisture without getting too dried out.

Looking for more in-depth chicken-keeping information? Take my course, Gardening 101!

My exclusive Gardening 101 course guides you through each step, from starting seeds to harvest. This course will teach you everything you’ll need to know about planning and growing your own garden.

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garden boxes with dirt and plants and a child to the side playing in the rocks.

PS: aren't those runner beans from Baker Creek Seeds looking amazing?? I have loved every single thing I've planted from them this year. For rare, heirloom seeds they blew me away with germination and hardiness. So excited to see everything from them grow!

aerial view of wooden log and hose tube.

Table of Contents

What do you need to set up drip irrigation?

Distribution tubing.
Drip tubing (12-inch).
Elbow fittings.
Tee fittings.
Cross fittings.
Pressure reducer (25-30 psi).
½ inch tubing adapter.
Coupler for connecting the ½ inch tubing adapter to the pressure reducer.
Hose fitting adapter.

parts needed for garden drip irrigation.

I also like to get an automatic timer so that my garden drip system is totally hands free! I have a few other systems set up on this spigot, but the green hose is the one that connects to the pressure reducer.

hoses with attachment parts laying on ground.

How to Set up a Drip Irrigation System in Your Garden

Map out your area. Draw out how you want the drip line to run through your garden. This way, you can know how much drip line you need and what connectors you need.

a drawn out plan for how to do irrigation.

Run distribution tubing through your garden up to the spots where the drip tubing needs to start. Distribution tubing does not have holes, it's just for getting the water where you need the drip line to be.

hose with 90 degree angle next to rocks on tarp.

Use the appropriate fittings to get the distribution tubing where you need it to go. Don't bend the tubing too much, use fittings instead. If it gets kinked the water won't flow effectively.

hose going up and over a small wooden fence.

Once you get the tubing where you need it, attach the drip tubing. I like to use tubing with 12-inch spacing for gardening.

Snake the drip line around the box so that water will evenly distribute throughout the box. The drip line will be really stiff and hard to work with. It's much easier if it's been sitting in the sun.

Cap or kink the ends to keep the water in the lines.

Looking for more in-depth chicken-keeping information? Take my course, Gardening 101!

Take me to the course!

What Brand of Drip Line is Best?

I have tried a few different brands and I love Netafim. You can get it at your local sprinkler supply store or Home Depot has a brand called DIG that is comparable.

I have tried soaker hoses and I don't recommend them if you live in an area with hard water. I tried them a few years ago and by the end of the summer, my soaker hose was all separated and broken from hard water deposits.

Here are the products from Home Depot that are comparable to what I used:

DIG Earthline 12-inch Spacing Drip Line
DIG ½-inch Distribution Tubing
DIG ½-inch Compression End Cap
DIG ½-inch Barbed Elbow
DIG ½-inch Barbed Tee
½-inch Barbed Crosses
DIG ½-inch Barbed Connector
25 PSI Pressure Reducer
½ inch barbed tubing adapter to a ¾ inch threaded fitting.
¾ inch coupler to connect the pressure reducer to the barbed tubing adapter.
Brass ¾ inch hose adapter to connect the pressure reducer to the hose or spigot.
Orbit Single Port Dial Timer
Landscape Staples for securing drip tubing.