Drip Irrigation Watering Tips: Keep Your Plants Watered

A drip irrigation system is the most efficient and easy way to keep your vegetable garden hydrated, healthy, and beautiful all season long. Knowing how and when to water your vegetables is key to producing a nutritious and healthy vegetable garden. Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, onions, and other garden delights require the proper water to produce a tasty harvest. Watering too much will make vegetables like squash and tomatoes prone to diseases. Water too little, veggies like onions will not grow to their full potential, and you will get a small harvest. Therefore, it is highly important to water vegetables in optimal amounts with a precise irrigation system, such as a drip system, to prevent unnecessary problems. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the base of plants deep in the root zone, producing stronger plants.

In this drip watering guide, we will share the best watering tips for effectively irrigating your garden with a drip irrigation system.

Best Drip Watering Devices Used for Vegetable Garden

Drip irrigation devices are available in multiple types with different water flow rates, expressed as GPH or gallons per hour. Here is the main drip devices used to irrigate vegetable plants.

1. Drip Emitter Tubing with Built-in Emitters

In-line emitter tubing is a versatile drip device. It is ½ polyethylene tubing with pre-installed pressure-compensating emitters every 9, 12, 18, 24, or 36 inches. Emitter tubing is ideal for watering long or short rows on flat or hilly terrain and raised beds. Since the drippers are pre-installed, installation is easier and faster. All you need to do is roll out the tubing, seal the end of the lines with end caps, and connect it to the main water source.

At DripWorks, we offer the best-quality ½ emitter tubing with a range of emitter spacings and two emitter flow rates (0.5 GPH and 1 GPH). This tubing can be used to irrigate onions, potatoes, radishes, carrots, strawberries, onions, celery, peas, trees and shrubs.

2. Drip Emitter

It is a dripper used for point-to-point watering of single plants. These drip devices deliver precise water directly to the plant's root zone. The dripper is commonly used for irrigating individual vegetable plants and small to medium-sized containers. Attach it directly to the mainline tubing or with 1/4 micro tubing and 1/4 transfer barb. This drip device will water peppers, squash, tomatoes, cauliflower, and cabbage. The emitters at DripWorks are available in pressure-compensating or non-pressure-compensating types. These emitters offer various flow rates: 1, 1/2, and 2 GPH. Higher flow rates are available with some emitters.

3. Drip Tape

Drip tape is flat, durable tubing with innovative emitter design and flow paths that allow water to reach your plants precisely. This is a low-cost and effective way to water vegetables in raised beds and rows. DripWorks offers a variety of drip tape types in various thicknesses (6 mils to 15 mils) and different flow rates to meet your diverse gardening needs.

4. Shrubblers

This is another versatile drip irrigation device that emits water streams that you can adjust from a slow drip to a 24-inch broad spray pattern. Shrubblers are ideal for irrigating small and large vegetable plants. They will cover the plant's root zones and help them soak fertilizers and nutrients. Shrubblers offer a smart way to water plants of different sizes and needs. You can turn off the Shrubbler by just twisting the cap. They are available in flow rates from 0-13 GPH.

5. ¼" Soaker Drip line

The 1/4" Soaker Dripline is ideal for small to medium-sized garden beds, container watering, and shrubs. It is micro tubing with pre-installed emitters at 6, 9, or 12 inches. This drip line is great for pressure systems and provides a flow rate of .42. .80 per emitter at 30 PSI. This tubing is very flexible and durable.

Read More: 8 Amazing Benefits of Drip Irrigation in Vegetable Gardening

How often Should you Water Your Vegetables?

Vegetable crops generally need one inch of water per week, which is the total amount of water the plants receive from irrigation and rain. However, your soil type, vegetable type, and season affect how much water your vegetable garden requires. Monitor the soil moisture and plant health to determine when to water your garden.

Moreover, plants require less water than grass. Run your drip irrigation system:

• Twice a week in spring and autumn
• Every other day in hot and dry summer
• Once a week in early winter or every other week in freezing winter

Read More: How To Maintain a Simple Vegetable Garden?

Average Watering Duration and Frequency of Vegetable Plants

Here are the average watering times for vegetables grown in well-composted soil.

• Row plants like cauliflower, potatoes, spinach, radishes, peas, lettuce, and corn will need around 2 gallons of water per week. In cool climates, run drip systems for 45 minutes twice a week. In warm and humid climates, run a drip irrigation system for an hour twice a week. Run a drip system for around 90 minutes twice a week in hot and dry climates.
• Tomatoes and peppers will need 2 gallons of water per week, with water twice a week.
• Onions and garlic will need around 0.5-1 gallon of water per week, with watering once weekly.
• Squash, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts will require 1-1.5 gallons of water per week, watering once a week.
• Cucumbers and beets will need 1 gallon of water per week.

Check the plants regularly for any signs of dryness. You can increase or decrease the watering depending on the season and plant health.

How Long to Water Your Vegetables with Drip Irrigation

As we discussed above, this varies from plant to plant and soil type. Determine the type of drip emitter, its rate of flow.

• High-flow drip emitter (Up to 20 gallons per hour): 12 minutes
• Low-flow drip emitter (Up to 4 gallons per hour): 30 minutes
• Low-flow drip emitter (Up to 2 gallons per hour): 1 hour
• Low-flow drip emitter (Up to 1 gallon per hour): 90 minutes

To determine the emitter's flow rate, measure the time it takes to fill a tablespoon.

• 14 seconds = 1 gallon per hour
• 7 seconds = 2 gallons per hour
• 4 seconds = 4 gallons per hour

Drip Watering Tips for Irrigating Vegetable Garden

When you are ready to install a drip irrigation system for your vegetables, follow these tips to ensure your crops receive proper irrigation and thrive.

Understand Your Soil Type

Drip watering is suitable for almost all soil types. However, you should know your soil type before installing a drip system. The soil type impacts the entire performance of the drip system. If your garden has clay soil, you will have to water less because the clay soil retains significant moisture after watering or rain. When watering clay soil, the water should be applied slowly for a long time as it might not be necessary to irrigate the beds for several days. Sandy soil absorbs water quickly and doesn't hold moisture for as long as clay soil. So, you will need to water your garden often and monitor soil moisture to determine how quickly it dries out.

Choose the emitter flow rate according to the soil type. For sandy soil, emitters with high flow rates are used and spaced close together. For clay soil, emitters with low flow rates are used and spaced apart.

Read More: Gardening: Know Your Soil Type

Add Organic Matter to Soil

Vegetables grow best in nutrient-rich soil containing organic matter because such soil absorbs water easily and retains it for longer. Mix well-rotted compost and manure into garden beds or raised beds. Add a thin layer of organic matter in summer, fork it in, and plant, then a thick layer over colder months.

Check Soil Conditions Before Watering

Knowing how much water your vegetable plants need is crucial to providing water without overwatering or underwatering. Check soil moisture from the root level by digging a tiny hole with a garden trowel or sticking your finger in. If the soil is cool and wet, do not water. Only water plants when they need it. Similarly, monitor your plants' health closely and notice if any plants show signs of irregular watering. Clay soils will generally need watering once a week. For sandy soils, you will need to water a little more twice a week and water half an inch each time.

Water Vegetables at the Best Time of Day

The timing of your watering greatly affects the amount of water your plants absorb. The best time to water your vegetable garden is early in the morning. It is cooler, allowing plants to absorb most moisture before it evaporates in the afternoon heat. Fortunately, evaporation is almost zero with drip irrigation because you water at the plant's base. Still, some water can unavoidably splash onto the leaves. Watering in the morning gives leaves enough time to dry out before night, reducing the risk of fungal diseases.

Mulch

Planting and growing vegetables in bare soil is never a good idea. It will encourage weed growth, and your soil will dry out quickly or even crack due to lack of moisture. A heavily mulched garden provides an ideal growing environment for veggies as it retains moisture, and plants need less frequent irrigation. You can use well-rotted organic material such as compost, grass clippings, and bark chippings as mulching material. Lay at least a two-inch thick layer on moist soil.

The Bottom Line

Drip watering is beneficial to vegetables in all climates as it provides healthy plants and exceptional produce. With drip watering, water sinks deep into the ground on plants' roots instead of spreading over the surface and evaporating. Tending to your garden and growing nutritious vegetables is a fun endeavor. However, it's impossible to achieve a successful vegetable garden without proper irrigation. By installing the drip irrigation system and using these drip watering tips, you can water your garden effectively while saving water, time, money, and effort.

Installing a drip irrigation system in rows and raised garden beds is simpler than you might think. With a little drip planning, expert system design, and choosing high-quality drip components, you can install the system properly and keep your vegetable garden looking great all season long with proper irrigation. At DripWorks, we stock ready-to-install and affordable drip irrigation kits for vegetable rows, raised beds, and container gardens. Select the right drip irrigation components and get your vegetable garden growing!