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TheWaterbug
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Drip tape vs emitter hoses; to bury or not to bury?

Rats chewed through about 300' of stored irrigation tubing in my shed, so I had to buy all new. I was probably overdue for it anyway, since some of it has been in use for 9 years and was getting clogged with minerals.

But before I deploy this season, what are everyone's thought on drip tape vs. emitter tubing? I've been using 1/2" Drip-a-long tubing, just laying on top of the soil, for my corn, and I've been pretty happy with the results, but I saw video of commercial corn growers burying drip tape, and starting wondering if that's any better.

What are the reasons to choose one type over the other?

What are the advantages of burying vs. not burying? Does either kind clog up if you bury it?

I do re-configure my garden every year, so I need to pull it all up, store it, and put it back in a different area of the garden from year to year.

SQWIB
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For me I use 1/4" emitter line spaced 12" at 1/2 gph.
I lay it on top and like to keep it visible.
At the end of the season I pull it up and wrap it like a hose and tie it to a post, I do this for every bed.
Each bed has its own drip line sectioned off by a valve.
The reason I do this is because it becomes entangled in the roots of some of the plants, especially my cover crop.
Plus I do a lot of in-situ composting and don't want to damage the emitter lines.

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Gary350
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When I lived in Phoenix I bought a short and long soaker hose. The short hose worked good water pressure was good full length of the hose. The long hose did not work well last 1/2 of hose had poor water pressure most plants did not get much water. Sunlight killed both hoses in 3 months they cracked and split and were trash.

1/4" irrigation hose worked very well sprayers come in many designs and volumes I bought the 1 liter per hour sprayers and gave my garden 15 minutes of water every night at 9 pm using the electric irrigation auto timer.

Vanisle_BC
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Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

Not sure about the terminology here. I use what I call 'drip tape' - flat tube with built-in emitters every 12". I have it on top of the ground. I can accidentally poke enough holes in it without having it buried and hidden! I expected sunlight to degrade it quickly but that hasn't happened and I've been using it for many years. Yes reconfiguring or lifting it for the winter is a pain Some years I haven't even done that - just left it 'in situ.'

I've been happy with the results; but mine is laid out as a continuous system from bed to bed so I can't regulate the supply to individual beds (other than the last one) as SQUIB does. I should perhaps have spent more time & money on the original design. When I have a significant number of plants in pots & containers I can run a spur line over top of them getting each one positioned under at least one emitter (can be tricky.) I've also considered building a tray the pots could sit in with the drip line in it, watering them from the bottom.

One should be careful not to let soil - or bugs - get into cut ends of drip line when repairing etc.

The biggest bother for me has been finding repair/modification fittings of proper size and at a reasonable price. The original mail-order supplier has gone out of business and there isn't a local one.

I don't fancy the systems where you attach individual emitter devices to the line but I haven't tried so shouldn't knock it :).

With the ones I call soaker hoses that are supposed to leak along their length I had poor success. They would always blow out after a short time in use, with jets of water shooting skyward from various places. I blamed poor quality but I now think I should have been using a pressure reducer. Sounds like Gary had the opposite problem; not enough pressure.

pepperhead212
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I use different types of irrigation line throughout my garden, mostly drip emitters, to the plants, or planters. But in my garden row and raised beds I use emitter lines. I usually use the cheap tape - 15 mil, with slow (40 gph/100 ft), 8" spaced emitters. These need pressure reducers. I have to set the timers longer, but the area slowly wets evenly, which is good, with the garlic and greens. I have one raised bed with the 1/4" drip line, 1/2 gph/6", but it doesn't wet the ground as evenly. While the tape occasionally gets a hole, it usually lasts several years in the garlic rows. I've read that it is better to bury it, as for how long it will last, but how would you know if it gets a hole in it? I just roll up the garlic tape every season, and in March, when the garlic starts poking through, I lay it down between the plants (I plant a double zig-zag row, about 8" apart), and check for leaks.

Many years ago, I used to use that "emitter hose", before all this drip irrigation stuff became available. It would work ok, but it would clog up (minerals, I guess) after a few years, and eventually, spring leaks. I would fill those leaks by letting it dry some, but not completely, then put a drop of Gorilla glue on it, and smear it into the hole. The glue would expand in the hole, and cure, to seal it. I only use the 1/4" of this type now, for some of my large pots, but that's all. I'll replace it, eventually, with some of the 1/4" drip tape.

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TheWaterbug
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I wonder why drip tape is typically less expensive than emitter tubing. Anyway I already ordered and received 200' of emitter tubing, so the decision is made for the next few years.

Yes, I just realized that, if I were to bury it, I wouldn't know whether it's working, clogged, or leaking, until it's too late. So I'll probably lay it on top of the soil, just as I've done for the past several years.

But I am still curious about drip tape for future projects.

imafan26
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I don't use drip tape. It is useful if you plant in rows (I don't.) I use 1/2 drip tubing as main lines. I could use PVC, but the system would be more rigid, harder to repair and I could not easily get it out of the way when I want to renew the bed. I have added in line shut off valves so I can create sections that I can turn off when they are not in use or when I want to water one section while I work another. It is easier to repair the tubing on the surface as well. It is important to test the system at least once a month for leaks and especially after weeding the garden. I have accidentally broken or pulled out drip lines doing that .



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