Any summer resident or gardener sooner or later thinks about buying a tape for drip irrigation. This allows you to save significant resources, increase yield, reduce the spread of weeds and various plant diseases, as well as avoid damage to beds and plantings. What she is and what are the criteria for her choice - in this article.
How to choose the right drip tape for watering?
Tape for irrigation is a thin-walled tube with holes made with a certain pitch. This device can be labyrinth, slotted and emitter. The first type goes to the past, as it easily clogs, provides uneven watering and is poorly stored in the winter. Slotted is equipped with a built-in meandering channel that slows the movement of water, ensuring even watering, but this is also not the best choice, because it requires the installation of a filter. In the emitter belt, separate flat droppers with a specified pitch are mounted. They prevent clogging and even allow the system to self-clean.
For those who are interested in which tape is best for drip irrigation, it is necessary to pay attention to its step, thus:
- The device with a step of 10 cm is designed for watering plants planted close to each other - lettuce, carrots, onions;
- The device with a step of 20 cm is suitable for cucumbers;
- The device with a step of 30 cm is designed for watering seedlings, planted at an average distance from each other - tomatoes, eggplant;
- a step of 40 cm or more will be suitable for watering plants, rooted in the ground at a great distance from each other - pumpkin, squash, zucchini and melons.
In addition, it is important to know how many liters of water per hour the system consumes. Most often choose the golden mean - from 1 to 1.5 liters per hour.
There is also a spray-tape for irrigation, which is also called a watering tape "fog" for the similarity of finely dispersed drops with this natural phenomenon. It is suitable for salads, greens, early vegetables, cabbage, carrots.