Project 11: Gravity-Fed Watering Systems

Why would you want to do this? You want to use reclaimed rainwater or create an “automated” watering system where there is no pressurized water source available.

Why wouldn’t you want to do this? As with the irrigation-system project, you don’t have enough plants to bother with a watering system, or you are fine with the routine of hand-watering your plants.

Further refinements: You can modify this project with different materials to better fit your situation. For example, I have seen buckets hanging from T-shaped posts (such as laundry-line posts) instead of resting on top of bases; this takes up less ground space and could be more versatile. The structure that the bucket rests on can do double duty as a trellis for climbing plants.

Learn more about it: Visit Chapin Living Waters (www.chapinlivingwaters.org); click on “Bucket Kit Gardening.” Also see the resources listed in Project 10 of this section (Irrigation Systems).

In Project 10 in this section, we looked at how to set up an irrigation system. Depending on the size of your growing area, that system may be too big or too elaborate for your needs. A gravity-fed system allows you to use collected or reclaimed water from a rain barrel or set up irrigation where there is no water source otherwise available. A gravity system is a simple irrigation method used in many nonindustrialized countries to minimize water use and maximize irrigation efficiency when water is not ample or easily acquired.

In Project 10 of this section, we looked at setting up irrigation for your yard or garden; the same principles and ideas can be applied to smaller-scale deck or balcony watering. In fact, there are special clamps and brackets designed to attach pipes to walls or baseboards so they stay out of the way and run around the perimeter of your area. Hanging baskets and window boxes benefit particularly from these accessories because you can run the water- carrying pipes above the planters and hang gentle sprinkler heads or misters right above the pots themselves.

In this project, you will learn how to build a gravity-fed watering system for a small garden or balcony area that doesn’t have a hose or a faucet for hooking up an auto-mated system. A gravity system uses collected rainwater or other water in a bucket or container that is brought from a different location. Special emitter pipe has holes built into it to distribute water to the plants. Friends of ours set up a gravity system at their community garden plot so they can water deeply without doing it by hand. They use their plot’s hose spigot to fill the main cistern bucket.

A gravity-fed system made by Robert and Courtney of His and Hers Homesteading (http://hisandhershomesteading.wordpress.com).

Things to consider when operating a “low-flow” (less than 10 psi) system:

•Be sure that your emitter pipe is not intended for pressurized systems. It should be labeled as “nonpressure-compensating.”

•Keep the distances between water sources and garden areas as short as possible.

•Elevate your bucket/water source as high as possible.

•Test the system by starting with a small version to experiment and get the hang of it.

Mount the water source(s) on any stable, elevated support.

Materials:

•Bucket or other multiple-gallon water container (such as a rain barrel) with lid or cover

•1/2-inch-diameter ABS pipe with optional in-line valve

•Drill with bit the same or slightly smaller diameter than the main-feed pipe

•Piece of nylon pantyhose or knee-high/ankle-high nylon sock

•Rubber band

•Ladder or other support with stable base

•1/2-inch-diameter emitter pipe (called non-pressure-compensating drip line)

•Any necessary connectors for emitter pipe

•Caulk (if needed)

•Joint(s) for ABS pipe (if needed)

Step 1: Decide where you want to lay the lines and how much pipe you’ll need to go from the water source to your plants. Although this type of system works best with straight runs, it can work with gentle curves. Try to keep the lines as short and direct as you can. Also consider that the bucket will be sitting on top of a ladder or high shelf; the higher you place it, the better the flow (alternatively, you can hang the bucket from a strong plant hook, rafter, or ceiling hook, keeping in mind the weight of water: a 5-gallon bucket of water will weigh more than 40 pounds).

Step 2: Drill a hole at the lowest point of the side of or in the bottom of your empty bucket/water container. This hole should be the same size or slightly smaller than the tube (ABS pipe) that will be coming out of it to ensure a tight fit. If it is loose or leaks when water is in the bucket, apply caulk around the juncture of the pipe and bucket.

Step 3: Thread the ABS pipe through the hole and into the bucket, with a few inches sticking in.

Ensure a tight fit between the pipe and the water container.

Step 4: Double-layer the piece of nylon over the end of the hose that’s inside the bucket and secure it with the rubber band; this will serve as the filter. Adjust this end of the hose so that it’s situated near the hole with the filter securely attached.

Step 5: Run the ABS pipe to its destination (where you will start the emitter pipe) as directly but unobtrusively as possible. If you need to curve the hose in places, soften it first by laying it out in the sun for fifteen minutes or so or by using a blow dryer on the spots that will curve. If you need to make a sharp angle, cut the hose and install an elbow joint; the pipe should not be kinked anywhere.

The ABS pipe can handle gentle curves on its way to the plants.

Step 6: Pour some water into the bucket to flush the line and check for leaks and proper flow.

Step 7: Use connectors to attach the emitter pipe to the ABS pipe as needed so that emitter pipe runs along the bases of the plants. Close off each emitter-pipe end either by folding it back on to itself and securing it with a zip tie or by installing a hose end cap or plug.

Install joints if you need to form angles; do not bend the line.

Step 8 (optional): If you are using this system with a rain barrel or another type of container that will have water in it regularly, install an in-line valve somewhere on the outflow pipe. Leave the valve open for as long as you’d like to water, and close the valve when the time is up (set a timer to help you remember!).

Step 9: Fill up the bucket from a hose or another bucket of water. Look at your system go!

Run the pipe to the garden to emit water among the plants.