The BEST DIY Raised Bed Garden DRIP IRRIGATION Install Guide

[@TheowlFreedompharms]

Thanks for this video, it’s much easier to watch and understand than Drip Depots videos. Happy Gardening 🧑‍🌾

[@boinerz]

I've said this before but it bears repeating: I like the logical, concise way your mind works. You make complex instructions easy, even for those of us with only two working neurons. You probably have already thought of this, but I'd like to see how you treat the irrigation system at the *end* of the growing season. I think it would make an interesting future video. Thanks for all your very helpful suggestions!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. I'm glad you liked the presentation. I intend to make a full series. The next steps will be: 1. Drip irrigation to the container garden. 2. Install a water transfer pump from the rain barrels. 3. Winterization of the system. In the end, it should be a complete 6-part series.

[@boinerz]

@@TheMillennialGardener I knew you would have it planned out already. :) I look forward to the future episodes.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@boinerz thanks!

[@maggieclemons5853]

@@TheMillennialGardenerwinterizationn

[@OwenPetgrave-xp7qq]

​@@TheMillennialGardener22:11

[@garden_geek]

Very clean install! I actually bury my 1/2” feeder lines with mulch because it gets so hot where I live that the water will boil my plants roots if the tubing is out in the sun.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

That's what I'd like to do. I've been renewing a ChipDrop request for over a year without any success. If I ever manage to get one, I'd like to mulch the entire garden around the beds. I'm not going to pay for an entire truckload of commercial mulch to do it due to the cost.

[@garden_geek]

@@TheMillennialGardener You may try calling around to see if any local landscapers can drop some off after a local job. I actually got lucky last year and was able to get a few wheelbarrows full from a crew working on my neighbors tree.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I tried that 3 times and struck out. I’m in kind of a small town and I didn’t want to keep calling and be “that guy.” In reality, that’s probably how you get the wood chips. You need to be annoying so they just do it to shut you up 😂

[@jms9057]

@@TheMillennialGardener Just wait for the next hurricane. You'll be able to get more wood chips than you can find uses for.

[@esotericrefuse]

After watching your drip irrigation videos, I finally felt confident doing this in my backyard, it looks and works great! Next stop, rain barrels!

[@stevevaughn2040]

Great job... I was motivated to put in a system...then I remembered I don't have a garden yet

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Haha, hopefully you can build one shortly! Drip makes life so much easier. Thanks for watching!

[@davidhalldurham]

This has been an EXCELLENT series. Thank you for putting it all together.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. All the install videos I watched on KZbin lack complete direction, and now I know why. It's been a ton of work filming all the different shots, so I'm glad to hear it came out pretty well. It, literally, triples the install time taking all these shots 😆

[@patriot-hj5vx]

This is such a wonderful video. My drip system failed last year and i threw in the towel, but you have empowered me. Thanks

[@ninaali6059]

Very thorough in his presentation and doesn't talk to fast. Excellent!! Thank You!

[@TheNoteBuyer]

What an outstanding video! Thank you for being so thorough and detailed. I have not seen anything that compares to this. I'm not technically inclined, but with your instruction, I believe that I can do this. I look forward to watching your other videos.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. I was disappointed with the drip irrigation videos on KZbin, and I wanted to try and make one that had all the information in there to get started. This spring, I'll be putting together another video for running drip lines to a container garden. I'm detailing it all in a playlist here: kzbin.info/aero/PL1gY7BoYBGIHHHsx0JPcYgD4xXzA96usL

[@healthfullivingify]

This is a fantastic, simple system description. Thanks.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@FreeCanadian76]

Configuring it in a manifold system is smart as it will allow the same pressure on each "branch". Great job sir.

[@juliewhite6887]

OMG! This is my dream garden set up! I have worked so HARD this summer of 2022, mostly dry and hot here in sw Louisiana, to have a decent crop. Daily packing water out to the plants! I did have a good harvest (mostly because I am sooo stubborn ) and I am very thankful for what I have been able to cook and preserve. That being said, I am SO doing this water irrigation setup for next spring!😁 Thank you so much for all of your very informative videos. You have helped me more than you know this summer and fall!😊

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Automating the watering has been such an incredible time-saver, it's tough to describe. Between putting down weed barrier in between beds, which has removed 95% of the weeding, and putting drip irrigation everywhere and eliminating 95% of the watering, it's been incredible. I have a playlist here if you need more tutorials on the whole setup: kzbin.info/aero/PL1gY7BoYBGIHHHsx0JPcYgD4xXzA96usL

[@zayze420]

uwu😊

[@fishingpinky3165]

Did you do it? If so, how is it working? I am so tired of hauling water from my rain barrels to my 5 raised beds.

[@muziklvr1729]

Thank you so much for teaching how to do this. I’ve been wanting a watering system for a long time but didn’t know how to go about it in raised beds. Thank you for breaking it down into doable steps. God bless you! 🙏 I wish I could give Dale a 🤗. He’s so cute!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Dale is my favorite person on the planet. He's the most loyal guy I've ever met, and possibly one of the smartest, too! I'm glad you found the video helpful!

[@ArranGreenleaf]

Outstanding drip irrigation video, so thorough, you took the time to cover every detail! ...very impressive! ...had I decided to go with drip irrigation like I almost did when I was in the planning stages of putting my garden together, this would have been the most valuable video in the world to me, however during the planning stage I aborted the drip irrigation route due to a nightmare I had the night before I committed to drip irrigation, in my nightmare the world had sustained some kind of catastrophe and I went to turn on my irrigation and nothing came out! ...for whatever reason public water had been effected to the point of being offline! ...so I had to rethink everything I had planned and convert everything over to self watering, this one change caused me to have to engineer and invent from scratch a whole new way to garden ...after several prototypes and lots of time I solved irrigation to the point to where I am now eating food that I never watered once other than the water added initially to plant the plant. I had no idea at the time that I would end up eating from the plants without ever having to water, that was just a added bonus! ...another bonus was insane bug reduction because the water comes from beneath... and lastly I was able to double the size of my garden with the time I saved not having to water or spend time on installing and maintaining drip irrigation and the time I save from fighting bugs ....all that saved time gave me so much extra time I was able to double the size of my garden ...all thanks to a nightmare! ...go figure! ...talk about win win! ...I probably spent about the same amount of money on the multiple iterations of my inventions/prototypes as I would have spent on drip irrigation but now I’ve tested and found the final successful version of my self watering plants my future costs are a fraction of what I spent and will last for years and years. ...it turns out when you let a plant water itself it will only take what it needs, it also turns out plants aren’t greedy or gluttons like some humans and will not take a drop more water than they need & when they have no traumas or bad experience related to finding water because it’s always magically there they have no water trigger or water related psychosis, this liberates them and causes them to make more roots and grow more vigorously because they no it’s ok to grow because there will never be a shortage of water, contrary to the theory that many preach, many say starve the plant from water ...traumatize the plant ...make it grow roots to find water and you will get a plant with more roots ...not the case at all! ...that’s so not true on so many levels... they have to reroute energy from the plant out of desperation to grow just enough root to find water and that root is not made of the plants best efforts because that root is made from scarcity, so it is far from optimum root, also the roots are getting water all around 360° not from just one side where the drip is, so they grow roots more evenly in all directions except up! ...water torturing ones plants to get better roots is like beating your children to get better behavior, it may yield results but doing so certainly won’t, nor will it ever, yield the best results. Oh, I almost forgot the biggest 3 bonuses... 1 you will never accidentally over water, which can lead to so many horrible things like root rot... fungus gnats or general sickness, infection, illness or less than optimal health and remember if the plant has only the water it needs there is no extra water taking up space that air would be filling ...so your plants don’t just have the perfect amount of water ...they also have the exact perfect amount of air in the root zone as well which is priceless... 2 you will save so much money and time not having to feed them as much because they loose zero nutrients...that’s right not 1 drop of nutrients is ever lost or wasted so you feed them in the beginning and then at flowering and that’s it and when you do feed you only need a fraction of the food you would normally give because none will be lost ...3 you can go out of town for weeks and come back and not only is nothing dead ...it has become an overgrown jungle! Above all the part I am most grateful for is the bug reduction, you will still have to do a little bug control during the rainy times but once the rains stop and things dry up you are done with bugs ...bugs care about food but they care about moisture more than food and they will not be attracted to your garden at all because they will sense no moisture coming from your direction as everything is bone dry except the root zone! ...so far this year I am eating already and have not touched a single plant with neem oil or any other pesticides or fungicides at all ...the only pest defense I have is me and my beneficial insects ...praying mantis ...lady bugs ...and lacewings! ...with all my extra free time I have more time to inspect and pick off anything my beneficials haven’t gotten to first. In all total, out of just under 100 plants and trees I have only hand removed bugs from one plant that I had briefly let be on the ground for a few hours one time I was called away ...so yeah folks never let your garden touch the ground without a sticky perimeter set up in A 360° circle around whatever is on the ground, nothing without wings can get to any of my garden at all! ...I’m a roofer so I use ice and water shield a super ridiculously nasty sticky stuff that comes on huge rolls... if you must put something’s on the ground clear that area of bugs first then lay a forcefield of peel and stick around ...but better off not to ever even let anything ever be on the ground in the first place... sounds impossible but you just have to be creative! ...it takes some engineering but it’s worth it when you are just strolling around looking at your untouched plants thinking to yourself damn I’m glad I took the time to do that! It takes a huge amount of time on the front end to make a garden that has no contact with the ground but after that there really is nothing else to do ...all I do in my garden nowadays is walk around taking pictures of nature and eating stuff... I literally have nothing to do at all except watch it all and eat it all! ...that’s when I get bored and go plant more stuff because there’s nothing else to do. ...now I can’t even do that because I have no more space! ...so I go on KZbin and see what everyone else is doing! ...and I usually end up here at the end because this guy really is a badass! ...he works it so hard and he’s always taking it a step further and he never misses a single detail! ...I love this guy! ...and his crazy dog Dale! ...oh there’s a tip I want to give you MG ...I keep meaning to mention it but always forget! ...the 1st phase of my garden was to never touch the ground, this means if it doesn’t have wings it can’t touch my plant’s...the new side of my garden not even winged beasts can get to, thus totally eliminating any insects, I put my beneficial in there and they die because there’s nothing to eat because they are predators they need something to eat and there is nothing at all to eat because they are netted... I bring this up because they kind of remind me of that one covered bed you have ...here is the tip or recommendation ... put the hinges on the side not on the back and lift it from the side that way you can get way into the bed better! ...right now you have to reach all the way over to get to the things on the back if it was hinged on the side it would lift up taller and you could get to both the long sides and one of the short sides, instead of both of the short side and one of the long sides👍 ...hope that makes sense.

[@sourcecreator2222]

Nice job on your garden - thanks for sharing

[@24KFLOWERS]

thank you for sharing. I have no idea where to start. But after watching ur video I have better ideas and vision for my project.

[@richard9827]

I used Drip Depot as well. My first purchase was large and the shipping cost was reasonable compared to the total. When I went to buy about $20 worth of additional stuff I was disappointed that the shipping cost is a minimum of $16. They only ship FedEx. 😢 I’m going to look at alternate options for these additional pieces. So though I agree with your thoughts about not mixing suppliers I will anyway

[@Chris-op7yt]

this is the hardest way of doing irrigation. also the reason why i never had a system set up when i had raised beds. Now i no longer have raised beds, bought a hoss tools kit with drip tape that you bury in soil. So easy to set up: a main distribution line and full row length runs of the tape.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I agree, raised beds are definitely the toughest to set up. However, I can't grow in ground where I live because of our torrential rains. Raised beds are mandatory so the excessive rainfall drains away, or everything will drown. Now that it's all set up, I'm very happy.

[@Chris-op7yt]

@@TheMillennialGardener : it will rot in a few years. when it does, maybe have a look at using tile drainage, instead of the expense of rebuilding. there's solutions for drainage even if you have no lower point to drain to. Bit of work to set up, but not as expensive as all that timber. Hope your garden is doing well. Here it's cold season in melbourne australia.

[@JeannetteShoreland]

As it happens, I am deciding between the Drip Depot irrigation system & the Hoss buried drip tape irrigation system. Three vinyl raised beds will have a 24"x12' configuration which would lend itself to one or two straight runs of drip tape. Also, the water in above-ground water hoses gets really hot in summer. Happy to hear you have a good opinion of the Hoss buried tape irrigation system.

[@Chris-op7yt]

@@JeannetteShoreland : been using driptape buried and not buried, without issues. soil gets a really good soaking, which i could not achieve with hand watering, in my dry climate. driptape needs to be replaced every two years or so. with raised beds there's an assumption of permanence and people tend to go for more permanent drip systems. these get in the way though and emitter clogging is a frequent problem. driptape deflates after use, so doesnt hold water to heat up. you could wrap supply polly with insulation, if you have a particularly long supply polly. from what i've seen in irrigated gardens and youtube videos, i see many more problems with drip sprinkler systems than with tape. Tape is used commercially, whilst drippers are not, as not reliable enough. Drippers are often also not pressure compensated, whilst the tape delivers accurate amount per inbuilt drip.

[@FlomatonFamous]

Good video, irrigation is a game changer

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It absolutely is. MAJOR time saver! Thanks for watching!

[@tulipsmoran5197]

You've done a great job planning out your grow areas and setting up the drip irrigation. I have four 275gal totes 3 on my home and one on my shed/coop/ run. A single inch of rain fills all four totes. I have passive drip irrigation set up serving 4 major growing zones (fruit orchard/berry orchard/raised bed veg garden area and one for landscape using a utility pump and 100ft hose. I also have a several small polytunnels (16x7 and 12x7) for rotation and season extending as well as 24x10 for hydroponic growing. In the raised beds I use 1/2" feeder line with shut off at each bed and use 1/4 emitter tubing (12 in spacing on the emitters rather than the single 1/4 w/end emitter like you use. I use the spaced emitter tubing because I rotate my beds and would have different positions for single emitter line depending on crops. Just curious why you chose single 1/4 with end emitter. You inspired me with your master/slave set up for fertilizing - in a sense it's like my hydro nutrient tank but intermittently. So I've decided to run a 65 gal urn style barrel as a slave off the raised veg beds 275gal tote. With the tote the master I can run the utility pump to fill the urn if needed. Question: Do you use a timer for your system? If so what is the duration for routine watering? And, when fertilizing? I live on Tennessee Plateau and with the rains we've been getting the last few yrs that end up and late summer droughts, it seems wasteful to not collection as much rain water as possible. Look forward to your response. Thx.

[@sourcecreator2222]

Nice setup thanks for sharing.

[@DavidA-uk9bm]

Thanks so much, I've used the drip systems offered at Home Depot but was never impressed. I like the system you are using and I just placed an order with your link, looking forward to installing the new drip system in my own raised beds. Thanks for your always thorough instructions and positive attitude!!!

[@karenyhogan5196]

Finally getting my outside garden this year re set for drip.

[@karensmith5782]

I just found your channel today and I am so glad I did. What great info you put out and you have to be one of the best at describing how to do something of most of the people out there. You don’t miss anything. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us.

[@pibblesnbits]

Place the irrigation tubing where you want. The sun and hot tubing isn't an issue , just set the timer to irrigate the plants at 3 am while it is cool out.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

The goal is to maximize the lifespan. If you can double or triple the lifespan simply by placing it alongside the beds and not on top, why not do it?

[@pibblesnbits]

@@TheMillennialGardener Totally true Just wanted to point out a solution to the water temperature issue.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It wasn’t for the water temp issue. It was just for lifespan.

[@TheRainHarvester]

@@pibblesnbits keeping it shaded will also keep the water from taking on that plastic smell (and associated particles), when the tube with water bakes in the sun. I have had drip line out in the sun (but only has water during The Rain Harvest) for 2 decades now and it is still good. Might last 80 years if shaded!

[@adamcnessesq]

I should have done this when I set mine up this last weekend. #facepalm drilling a hole into your raised bed, of course! Thanks for the tip. I'll be modifying my setup like your's asap. Thanks again!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It really helps if you want to install some type of row cover later down the road. Thanks for watching!

[@dr.rachelgnali-djaman3567]

Best drip irrigation installation video ever!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful.

[@MikeBius]

This is an INCREDIBLY great tutorial!!!!

[@GrowingSouth]

Love drip depot! Good Video on setting up drip. This can be an intimidating topic to those just getting into installing drip! Thanks !

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad you enjoyed it! It was a big undertaking to design, order and build the system for a garden as large as mine, for sure. If you're growing in a smaller garden, or in an open field, it's a lot easier. I think raised beds are the most complicated to build, but now that it's done, I couldn't be happier. Thanks for watching.

[@GrowingSouth]

@@TheMillennialGardener I would agree. Raised beds require more thought in the design process, and require more connections since you are working with different elevations usually. Landscaping drip is pretty easy - run the distribution tubing, and tap into it with drip tubing where you want it, mulch, and done. haha

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@GrowingSouth so many T-fittings, 90 degree bends and so much drilling!

[@retnavydp]

Great video! FYI you are actually using dripline not drip tape. Drip tape is flat and uses different mostly 5/8" connectors.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

There are, literally, too many parts to even wrap your mind around them all. It must've taken 20+ different parts to complete this build. I should've signed up for an affiliate account with DripDepot just to link to a build list in the beginning.

[@janwilliams4282]

Very nice video. I finished my earlier this year but it is so important to use someone like drip depot so you can be certain everything will fit very well. There are actually 3 different half inch size distribution lines and they don’t or won’t play well together. Really nice. I’m in North Carolina as well so watching your videos will really relate.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

That's the problem: 1/2 inch isn't necessarily 1/2 inch! The 1/2 tubing Drip Depot uses is actually 0.6 inches OD, so couplings from other manufacturers won't necessarily work. This is why I stress sticking with the same manufacturer the whole way. Nothing is worse than trying to assemble your system and realize that parts don't fit. Glad to have you local! Thank you for watching.

[@BikerAU]

great job - extremely impressive! I've just set up thirteen 2mx1m raised garden beds in a similar fashion. What I did was use 17mm pipe as the core and run 13mm offshoots to each bed, go under the edge of the bed and up the inside edge then terminate each in a shut off valve (99% of this is underground). This is where i now differ from your setup - whereas you've used driptape?) for all you 4'x10' beds, what i have done is create a layout for each type of bed i plant out eg some arrangements might have 10 drippers or even only 4 (for say 2 zucchini plants), some might have dripline hose, some might have weeper hose for carrots (might be different to your weeper hose). Then i can move the different arrangements to different beds as i rotate my crops. I've even got an arrangement with two sprayers (which i don't leave on long) for very young carrots and beetroot. I also added an overhead misting system for late frosts. My fittings were simple push on T's and joiners so I had to add SS clamps to each joint to prevent them pulling apart under pressure esp when the pipe is soft in warm weather. I'm enjoying all your videos :)

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I ran drip line to some plants and individual drippers to others. I rotate my beds some, so next year, I will have to run different lines depending on what I put in them. The misters are a great idea for frost! Thanks for watching!

[@DhrubaYT]

Thank you for the careful demonstration. This will be very useful.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@maryannditullio2581]

Another great, very through, easy to follow instructional video. Thank you again for taking the time to make this video. Looking forward to part 3!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. This one took a lot of work! I hope to have Part 3 up within the next few weeks/

[@ravish05]

Superb. Thank you very much. I would love to set up my drip irrigation system just likes yours with two rain barrels.

[@gausura]

Excellent content as usual.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate you watching.

[@gausura]

You cover topics that most other gardening channels don't. I'm 5b and the how to deal with a freeze was very educational. I've only been growing since 2015, and it's a rather humbling experience. It helps to get pointers from folks who've been through ups and downs. The very sight of seedlings emerging in trays in the dead of winter gets rid of those winter blues. Thank you for putting in the hard work to make this wonderful content...and more of Dale please!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@gausura I try to film the things that are impacting me at the current time, be it good or bad. I find if I'm simply filming what I'm doing, my updates always come "at the perfect time." My climate is a little ahead most of the US, so I'm usually able to be right out in front of the issues affecting most people. I lived in New Jersey and Pennsylvania all my life. I grew up in 6b, then lived in 7a for a long time. I couldn't take the long winters with gray skies in Pennsylvania, so I went south to Zone 8a. Even here, the winters are too long for me. 5b sounds like a challenge if you don't enjoy the winter. I'm the kind of person that doesn't mind sweating working outside in 90 degree temps with high humidity, so I guess it boils down to personal preference. Most of the people I know up north claim they don't mind the cold because they can put on layers when they're cold, but they can't take off any more layers when they're hot. I counter by saying I've never had a hot day that physically hurt me to be out in it 😂 Even being able to grow little things like kale, carrots, beets, cabbage and broccoli throughout the winter helps boost the morale. I bet you can grow carrots, radishes and some brassicas in a low tunnel in 5b. It may be worth it to shake off those winter blues.

[@tomdinwoodie1887]

Excellent comment on soaker/Weezer tubing...should be withdrawn from market.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It does have its purpose, but it's only useful to make "drip rings" around plants. You need to connect soaker hose in a circle or else it will not work properly. The manufactured soaker hoses made to attach to your outdoor spigot are entirely useless, because you cannot make a "ring" out of them. For drip irrigation, you can, but you can't run it like drip line fed from only one side. Soaker hose for drip irrigation must be connected in a circle using a T-fitting and kept very short.

[@c.m.chantaltoporow4584]

You are just plain awesome. Thank you! Any videos on onions? I’ve got a great crop. Huge but a few free flowers and. I heard you have to bend them prior to harvest? A tutorial on minimizing seed head forming (I know it’s stress related) and when snd how to harvest and how long to “cure”. I knew about uour figs but had no idea you had such a huge veg garden too!!! Kudos!!

[@c.m.chantaltoporow4584]

P. S. It’s because I saw your lovely onions in the background of irrigation video!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoy the videos. I have two videos on onions: 1. Growing onion sets (bulbs): kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXuwqJ6LjtmBb6M 2. Growing onions from seed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHi5nZWZm9KGgKc If you are having seed heads form, I'm guessing you're growing onions from sets? Planting onion sets sometimes has the onions thinking they're on their second season, so as biennials, they'll try to flower. If you grow them from seed, this shouldn't happen. My seed-grown onions are larger and earlier than all my set-grown onions, and I planted the set-grown onions 2 months before the seed! Seed costs a tiny fraction of the price and has none of the problems. If you're having issues with your onions, I'd recommend growing them from seed next season. I'm done with sets after this year. The seed was so much better.

[@maryse8]

Awesome channel, MG! So informative!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! I really appreciate you watching.

[@davidhalley9795]

Great video! I’ve just started to connect 1/4 hoses to an orbit 8 port manifold that my contractor installed. I’m not a fan because it started to leak. My fault for over tightening. Even with a knew one water continued to come out when the timer was done. Is there a 1/2” elbow that will connect to the riser to replace the manifold. This way I can run 1/2” tubing like yours in my beds and the connect 1/4 tubes with the emitters.

[@WellCoachAmy]

Nice! I'm worried about crossing my main feeder line over my cable and wires run through my yard between my spigot and beds to bury it. Will have to come up with another solution.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

How deep are those utilities? I only spread my sod apart a few inches. I barely got through the sod itself. Now, you can’t see any evidence that that distribution line is under my lawn. Your utilities should be a couple feet deep, and you only need to go maybe 3-4 inches.

[@yuliacherednikov9903]

MPV - thank you so much.

[@emilygardner]

Great video. I've watched several times as I've worked on my shopping list for irrigation. Did you use drip depot for the drip tape and barbs, or are the amazon links in your storefront the products that you used?

[@BettyBombz]

This is great! Thank you!

[@toddster8793]

Nice job on the video, very informative.

[@hycinth5371]

Very informative. Do you put the holes or drips system away in the winter? I am living in zone 5. The winter is pretty cold here.

[@TheRainHarvester]

I never had good results with drip irrigation: the drops went down but did not spread out over the surface of the soil to feed the bacteria. My gardens seemed infertile. I switched to modified wicking beds and WOW! The soil is uniformly damp and I have tomato plants 6 foot high, 3' round and loaded! I still use drip sometimes to get water into my wicking beds. (I can dose upto 55 gallons with a single flip of a valve.) But I'm in Texas so maybe it's hotter/drier here.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

If you live in an arid climate, soil tends to become hydrophobic. The drier the soil, the harder it is for that soil to uptake water, so suddenly pooling water on the surface will often cause it to run off or not absorb properly. If you are in an arid climate, using individual drippers probably wouldn't be a good idea due to your lack of soil moisture. You'd have better luck using drip tape or dripline with closer spacing. The reason why is because you'd wet the soil more evenly. You'd also probably do better with very deep waterings in an arid climate. Using higher flowing drippers for shorter periods of time may not allow your soil to uptake the moisture properly. You'd be better off using lower flowing drip emitters and having them run over a long period of time so they can slowly absorb into the soil. Basically, you'd be better off running dripline where each hole emits half a gallon per hour and running that for 4 hours, than running an equal number of drippers that emit 2 gallons per hour for 1 hour. It'll be the same amount of water used at the end of the day, but the slower drip rate would likely absorb into the ground better.

[@travisevans7502]

they have different emitters that will spray 360 degrees up to 3 ft that may work better in your situation.

[@TheRainHarvester]

@@travisevans7502 I ended up making adjustable ones from pvc for gravity-fed rainwater. They are high flow and adjustable 0 to 360 spray pattern. Dirt cheap too. I wanted high flow so I didn't need to have battery/timer and I could water quickly. Also high flow runs over the surface to really dampen the surface bacteria. I intend to make a video on them.

[@travisevans7502]

@@TheRainHarvester the admitters I ended up going with are adjustable from 0 to 19.5 gallon per hour spread up to 42 inches they were $1.39 or $1.49 something like that.

[@TheRainHarvester]

@@travisevans7502 I use rain tanks without a pump, so I had to make ones that worked with low pressure.

[@esmie1249]

How do you know how many plants you can place on a single line from your faucet? each bed is watered a different time correct? or all at the same time?

[@archstanton9703]

I'd like to try this for next summer. I have half of my plants in galvanized metal raised beds that I bought from Costco and other half in fabric pots. I'm using a watering wand every to day to water the plants. It's getting in the low 90's here and I'm thinking of watering every day. Do you recommend watering every day and what time of the day is best for watering. I've purchased Algoplus liquid fertilizer from Drip Depot and will use them for the distribution tubing and other drip irrigation parts. I'm thinking about using drip irrigation for our fruit trees, but in the meantime I keep using the Wiser Watering Wand. Looking forward to your drip-irrigation video for containers. Thanks for another great DYI video!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I've been using a watering wand for years. During this time of the year, I have to water my containers every day (unless it rains), and my raised bed garden every other day (and demanding plants like corn daily) when I use a watering wand because the surface evaporation is so high. I've been wanting to install drip irrigation for over a year, but I never had the 3 full days to dedicate to doing the whole thing. That's the ironic part - I had to spend so much time watering, pruning, weeding and other maintenance that I didn't have time to do this! I actually took a day off from work to get the ball rolling and just dedicated a day to it. Once you get the main line run, it's not hard to run all the drip line and individual drippers. The best time to water, ideally, is around 5-6PM when the sun starts to set because the plants have all night to uptake the water. However, for my containers, I have to water around noon because they won't make it until 5-6PM without getting a drink. The container video will be next on-deck. It only takes me 7-8 mins to water all my containers, and now we're getting daily thunderstorms all of a sudden, so it's on the back burner, but I promise it's coming!

[@archstanton9703]

@@TheMillennialGardener I just haven't found the time to be able to set up a drip system, but I'm going to make it a point to set up one up for next year. It'll save me a lot of time and money on my water bill. I'm also sure it will result in healthier plants and better yields. I'm going to water every day until the rain comes but that will not be until next month. Hopefully, we'll have a good monsoon this year because we're in a severe drought. You're almost up to 100k subscribers, and I bet you'll get there by the end of the month. Good luck! Thanks for the reply and have a good one!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I had the same problem. I never found the time, but it was truly worth taking a day off to do it. Hoping for 100K by next week! Thanks for watching my videos over the past couple years!

[@bluemoon8268]

… I’m just getting ready to install my Drip Depot kit … I bought the one for 6 raised beds … I actually have 8 beds and several pots that I need to water, so I plan to buy additional parts to extend the system … My beds are 4’x8’ in length and I’m thinking that I want to run the 6” spaced emitter tubing down the two outside lengths of each bed since they will tend to dry out faster than the inside of the beds and run the tubing with the 12” spaced emitters in two rows down the middle … the Texas heat really drys everything out fast ! … how is your system working for you, and what would you do differently now or recommend ?

[@oldjohnsavarese3192]

Hi! I've been following your channel for some time. I like your presentations. I use raised beds exclusively in our garden and I supplement with container bags for extra space. We live in Bucks County, PA - and as a former Philly 'guy", you know our climate and soils. The garden is about 25 ft by 50 ft; multiple raised bed boxes and zones. I started with overhead watering - hated it! I replaced that system with soaker hose. The soaker seemed to work well initially but over time they have aged and clogged and split - time to upgrade to drip system. Do you find that the 1/2 inch distro pipe from the supply source delivers sufficient water volume for all your planting areas? Also, when I use your Drip Depot link, are there any other steps I must take to insure that you benefit from this affiliate? I just want to be sure you get the maximum return from your efforts! Best regards, Old John

[@richard9827]

You installed this new drip system in an existing raised bed vegetable garden. What will you do next season when you are starting out the season with transplants and seeds. What do you do at the end of the season when you are putting the raised beds to bed for the winter.

[@meharris0925]

I am currently designing (on paper) how to install my irrigation to my beds and I am struggling. There must be an easier way. I need to decide where to place my faucet in the garden. Should it be in the middle or to one side? Any suggestions?

[@albongardens3199]

Love these videos. Impatiently waiting on the container one since I need to get mine done asap

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. I had to order new parts for finish the containers, and FedEx appears to have lost the package. It was supposed to be delivered last Wednesday, but the tracking information has since been altered with no delivery date and no package update since June 1. Basically, my container drip irrigation is on an indefinite hold! It's so frustrating.

[@albongardens3199]

@@TheMillennialGardener that sucks. I hope it shows up soon.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Me, too. No updates in over 4 days. Not sure what else to do but (im)patiently wait.

[@albongardens3199]

@@TheMillennialGardener on a sweeter note you are about to hit 100k. That's an amazing feat and well deserved

[@jefflowe8803]

I have a stand alone container garden and wanted to use a self filled bucket and gravity feed drip systems any inputs ?

[@meb3153]

Thanks!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks for watching!

[@brucequedenfeld4729]

can't find you last video on drip irrigation on your buckets the main question I have does your system really work with your rain barrels aka gravity feed I cannot find a system that says it will work by being gravity feed

[@JohnNy-ni9np]

Look like you have a big garden, are your two 200L tanks big enough for watering the garden ?

[@hjmetiva]

I noticed the products on your amazon account are not drip depot products, which do you suggest? And to clarify drip tape or drip tube run through your tomatoes, it looks more like a tube the tape.

[@michaelhuang2477]

Good videos and good tips!

[@Walter-wv6wy]

This is a great channel.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!

[@Lisahbj]

Thank you so much for these videos. Is there any way to put this system on a timer? We have a property out in the country that I am doing a big garden on, but I’m not going to be there but probably 2x per week, so need to water on a timer, since it’s so hot in the summer where I live. I know I have used a timer on city water, but I wasn’t sure with this set up?

[@esmie1249]

you can hook up a timer before the backflow and pressure reducer. i have a DIG programmable hose timer and you can control it with an app.

[@juliepoolie5494]

How long do you have the drip line system on your tomatoes?

[@tabithasherie3279]

Another great video. I learned so much from your rain barrel install video. Just wondering, is Teflon tape wrapped around threading points not necessary?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

The connections here are plastic. I have not had an issue. No leaks.

[@debraanderson7182]

Two questions for you. Is your entire garden watered entirely from one water spigot ? And…do you need to blow out lines for winter if you have hard freeze winters?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Yes, there is one spigot and it's more than adequate. I have hard freezes, but I still use my drip irrigation throughout the winter. However, it only freezes at night here and quickly thaws. If you have prolonged freezes, you'll want your lines to be mostly empty. installing a t-fitting at the low point can easily be unscrewed to drain enough water in the line so any residual that may freeze won't be enough to crack anything.

[@heberildo]

What about the fruit trees how do you water those??

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

Does it make a difference how long the distribution line is to determine what size to use ?

[@JJK]

How long do you typically let the system run to water the beds?

[@tomdinwoodie1887]

Have you considered using "T tape" on the long beds ?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I tend to mix multiple types of produce on most of my beds, so what I use to water them will depend on what I grow. I ran the main line tubes along each bed because it gives me a lot of flexibility in that regard.

[@twin0671]

I’ve installed the system, now how do you fertilize using the drip system?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You have a few options: 1. Use a fertilizer injector to inject soluble fertilizer into your system. This is what I do, and I have what I use linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description. 2. Sprinkle fertilizer crystals along the drip lines. 3. Mix the soluble fertilizers in a rain barrel and drip the contents. I intend to do this later when I find time to set up a pump system. The first option is, by far, the easiest.

[@ericagormley6273]

Do you have a recommendation for a timer? I'm having trouble weeding through online reviews of them

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I don't use a timer. I just turn them on manually as needed.

[@annlyder8657]

Thank you this is so helpful x

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@danallison6543]

Love the video! Curious as to how long you run your lines for?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean "how long" in terms of overall distance? If so, I have the entire build archived here: kzbin.info/aero/PL1gY7BoYBGIHHHsx0JPcYgD4xXzA96usL If you mean "how long" as in time of the year, I use drip irrigation year-round. I don't need to winterize my system, because it doesn't get cold enough here to truly be a problem.

[@danallison6543]

@@TheMillennialGardener sorry meant how long daily to you run them and do you have a particular time of day?

[@crisam8vo]

Hey there, love your channel! 🙂 I missed this one last year. I gotta question, did you use poly or vinyl for your main line distribution hose? (I looked to see if I could find it in your Amazon store but no luck so I went to drip depot but unsure which to get, I liked your setup) Thank you!

[@mykvass]

great detailed video as usual ! BTW is your distribution tubing poly ? or something else ?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It is standard 1/2" polyethylene mainline tubing from Drip Depot.

[@sylvia10101]

Very helpful! 👍

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@seyiesetuosopfii3153]

Any idea on how to get rid of psyllids on citrus?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Pyrethrin will kill them on contact. If you need pyrethrin concentrate, I have both a 100% organic and non-organic (enhanced potency) concentrate linked in my Amazon Storefront.

[@seyiesetuosopfii3153]

@@TheMillennialGardener thanks I'll check

[@garrettmann3270]

Am I going crazy and overlooked it, or did you not upload a video for doing the container plants? Also, did you set up an affiliate with drip depot? I'm sure you've gotten them quite a few clicks from your videos, and if I end up going with them, I would like for you to get a slice of that pie!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You are correct. I did not get a chance to set up drip irrigation to my container garden. That will be a project for next spring. I did not set up an account with Drip Depot. Looking back, I wish I did, because it would have helped so many people get the parts they need. I appreciate you asking!

[@joshadair4744]

A common misconception about soaker hoses is that the water comes out at the start of the hose only and don’t get good flow all the way through. Soaker hoses are intended to be hooked up on a closed circuit of water supply and are intended to be fed through Both ends of the hoses I have hundreds of feet of soaker hose that work great because I have water feeding in on a closed circuit through both ends

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Unfortunately, that’s not how they’re manufactured. Soaker hoses are made with only one female end, and soaker hose purchased for drip irrigation is one-way. It is not a misconception, because they are almost always manufactured for one-way use. Therefore, they don’t work properly and should be avoided in almost all normal applications.

[@joshadair4744]

@@TheMillennialGardener sorry about that I have always used them on a full circuit , what brand soaker hose do you have experience with the ones I have purchased most of the time have been stock hose with fittings you install anyway you’d like .

[@BurbAmbrose]

Since the tubing goes up and in to the beds, is there any way to do this using a gravity fed rain barrel? I noticed it was set up in the last video but this pressure looks to be too much to be gravity fed.

[@woutvandessel1823]

As long as your rain barrels are higher up than where the water needs to go, it should work. With that said, the water pressure from a rain barrel will depend on how much water you've got in the barrel and how large the height difference is. Which is probably why he decided to set his system up so that he can switch between both, in case the rain barrel gets too empty to provide proper pressure.

[@joshadair4744]

Are you still planning on doing fig tree container drip install vid?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Yes, it is a goal this spring. My container area needs rehabilitation for the season after the frosts stop for certain.

[@henryisaacs525]

exellent video

[@annieruth7]

the one thing I can't find on drip depot is the shutoff valve. Can anyone link it for me?

[@ionechisholme7552]

Awesome

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@winrockywin331]

Do you think it’s okay if my drip tape is slightly buried? I put a fresh thin layer of compost on my bed and the tape is partially covered in some spots.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Hoss Tools recommends burying your drip tape, because burying the drip tape decreases the evaporation from the sun and will save you water in the long run. If I had a field like Hoss Tools had, I would bury my drip tape. Because I'm just using small drip line in raised beds that are just a few feet long, I left it on top because I like to be able to see the dripping in action, and it's under enough foliage and mixed in with my mulch layer, so the evaporation rate is low.

[@winrockywin331]

@@TheMillennialGardener perfect thanks!!!

[@redmosq4197]

Do you leave that dripping all day?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

No. I usually use 1GPH drippers, so I only run it for 1-2 hours.

[@GanjaBreadman]

Soo many shut off hand valves! Consider using Blumats irrigation, every bed/container gets only the water in needs. It uses a mechanical device that opens each valve based on the moisture content and what moisture level you have it set to. The hose stays pressurized and water is distributed to anywhere that needs it at all times of day. No over or under watering, just perfectly moist all summer long. I just check once a week or so to make sure everything is functioning properly. I had a critter bite thru one of my lines once. Easy fix but def to check regularly. Blumats might be very slightly more costly but not by much and it's the ultimate time saver but also plants grow better in consistent moisture as opposed to too dry then too wet and repeat.

[@patriot-hj5vx]

He has shutnoff valves specifically to stop irrigation to emptied beds, which blumat does not solve for.

[@GanjaBreadman]

@@patriot-hj5vx sure they do. You just adjust the carrot to think the soil is wet. You can control the moisture content of each bed or pot individually

[@salexxavier]

Don't touch the holesaw because it's hot, huh? Wonder why you thought to mention that? THAT'S HOT!!!

[@joshdunn8544]

Are you still happy with the drip tape after a years use? Is there another product you would consider switching to?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Do you mean the drip line? Drip line lasts 1-2 years. Eventually, the holes will start clogging, either due to sediment or the chemicals building up in the treated water from the town. Drip line is dirt cheap, so when it eventually starts clogging, you just replace it with a new roll. It's really all that makes sense for raised beds.

[@joshdunn8544]

Ok thank you for such a quick response and all the help your videos have been! Any idea why your drip depot link isn’t working for me? It’s supposed to have all the items you used listed right? That would be a huge help!

[@rhadesiabarnes4541]

What’s up wit the Ironman look?!?!

[@tmorrison5965]

just to clarify...that is tubing not drip tape. Drip tape is more flat.

[@andreacoughlin2736]

My drip tape is constantly getting clogged I hate it!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You will need to make sure you have a filter on your drip lines at the water source. It will prevent clogging. Keep in mind that if you use a town water supply, the water treatment chemicals will eventually calcify the interior, so it will need to be replaced eventually.

[@andreacoughlin2736]

@@TheMillennialGardener it’s been 6 months and we’re on a well. I’ll have to look into a filter! Thanks!

[@daveharding6696]

instead of hot water or hair dryer try my method

[@crazysquirrel9425]

None of that works for me. To get a dripper working you need a minimum amount of pressure. For gravity systems, you need a dang column of water 35 feet in the air. So, no drippers for me. Have to use open end 1/4" tubing off a 1/2" manifold line and find a way to control the drip rate for each plant. Without resorting to spending a lot of money. Or any.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

This is why I installed the drip line and individual dripper examples. You can tailor the installation to suit your needs. If you want to use drippers, buying a $60 transfer pump will solve your problems. Currently, I am irrigating with the house water supply, so there is pressure in the lines. For the rain barrels, I will be installing a water transfer pump. That will make the entire system pressurized. It is a simple installation that I will be performing after I finish running drip irrigation to my container garden.

[@jo-annjewett198]

I think that is called drip tubing not drip tape. Drip tape is flat.

[@hozoraelahy6102]

Ur Dale leaves u!.... Boring?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Dale's a hound. He marches to the beat of his own drum.

[@yaima0901]

Where is the third video?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You can find all the drip irrigation videos to date here: kzbin.info/aero/PL1gY7BoYBGIHHHsx0JPcYgD4xXzA96usL