One of life’s simplest joys is being able to grow your own food. While the ease and convenience of going down to the supermarket to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables is undeniable, there’s just something about growing your own vegetables that makes what you cook better. And what better time than now to start your very own home veggie garden?
By now you’ve probably read up on the easiest vegetables to start with, and might already have the beginnings of a garden in your backyard. But if you’re wanting to really make sure that your veggie garden will flourish on your first attempt, it might be a good idea to create an easy and simple reticulation system to give your veggies the best chance to grow.
Getting Started
Starting up your own reticulation system might be a big project, but if you do your research and take your time, you’ll find that it’s a good basic foundation for a thriving garden.
It’s important to plan out your veggie garden to give it the best possible start. This is the same thing when it comes to reticulation systems. Use a pencil, scale ruler, and paper to measure and draw up your garden’s perimeter. Keep in mind that you need to measure your water pressure too, which you can do by measuring the time in seconds it will take to fill up a bucket with your tap on full pressure. Divide the size of the bucket by the seconds it took to fill it up, then multiply by sixty. This will give you your maximum flow rate per minute. Plan for large trees and other obstacles for your reticulation system, too.
What’s Next?
For sprayer systems, you’ll need poly pipes to attach sprayers to. These are effective in hot houses and vegetable patches, and are available in flexi-tube options with attached risers. Attach a sprinkler using a hole punch to make a hole in the poly pipe, and push the adapter into the pipe. Push the stake of the sprinkler to map out where you’d like the sprayer to dispense water.
For drip systems, you’ll need to roll out a poly pipe and measure it on a large area so it’s easier to work with. These work best with hedges. You’ll have to lay the pipe in the garden, pin it in place, and make cuts or holes for the water to drip through. Cut your flexi tubes to size, and cut for each hole you’ve made in your poly pipe.
You can then attach double-end adapters into the flex tube, and one end into the pipe. Attach dippers on the other end of the flexi tube, and place the dripper on the base of the plant.
You can also use drip lines. You can buy them with holes along the piping, making them easy to install. Just make sure to pin down the pipe of the drip line and cut to size. In order to join them together, you’ll need 13ml elbow and 13ml locking clamps, and at the end of your drip line, you’ll need to install an end cap by hammering it in to secure it. A pro tip: if you’re struggling to get the fittings into your drip line pipes, run some hot water over it to make it more pliable.
Attaching a drip line system to the dripper system is easy – make sure to grab a 19-13ml reducer and 19-13ml lock and clamp, attach the pipes accordingly.
At the end of it, you should be able to connect your simple reticulation system to your garden tap. Now all you need to do is to turn on the tap, and your veggie garden will get its much needed hydration.
But if you’re after a more professional, and reliable reticulation system, it’s important to note that automatic reticulation systems not only save you more water in the long run, but are also ideal for bigger gardens, or specific plants that have greater or lesser watering needs. Consult with a landscaper, or a contractor, and they’ll be able to work with you to figure out the best Perth reticulation installation that will not only be beneficial for your vegetables, but also for the rest of your landscaping. And what’s more, automatic reticulation systems can be set to water on specific days, in specific locations of your garden, so you’ll never forget to water your plants again.
Having the freedom to adjust and modify your watering cycle, and let it run automatically, not only ensures that your plants are being taken care of, it also lessens the hassle of doing it yourself. So you can focus on the important things, like what you’re going to cook with your homegrown veggies!
