There are many different sources for both basic and advanced kits that contain all the basic supplies to set up a system. Even Lowe's and Home Depot carry them. And there are lots of discussions the search pulls up with recommendation for various sources/suppliers/

I work with Dripworks.com. They have several levels of kits as well as all the supplies you may need to customize any drip system. If you email or fax them the details on your layout/containers sizes. etc. they will put a custom built kit together for you with all you need. Some of their kits are a bit more expensive than the basic ones offered elsewhere but I find the quality to be better and so is their customer service.

Kit prices range from around $20 for an inexpensive basic kit to $200+ depending on how you want it laid out and the size of supply tubing you want. Besides Lowes and HD, Gardens Alive sells a basic kit, IrrigationDirect.com has them, even amazon has various kits for sale.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: amazon DI kits

Got mine at Lowes - Mr. Landscaper brand - I like it and it is not that expensive .

Hi, I got a Raindrip "Patio Kit" on clearance at Lowes for $33. I have seen them for that price around town.

It might be as simple a system as you could start with. It is all 1/4" line, in line drippers, and a simple timer. It is a good way to start. After using it for a while you can decide if you want to get fancier.

It is doing a good job for my tomatoes so far.

Update: it has two types of drippers: 1 gph and 1/2 gph. You can work a ratio with that, like watering tomatoes twice as much as peppers, but I am now moving to adjustable drippers. They allow much more fine tuning. An inexpensive kit for ~30 pots with adjustable drippers would be ideal.

This post was edited by johns.coastal.patio on Sun, May 25, 14 at 21:38

Thanks, John, I didn't even know there was such a thing as adjustable drippers, but it sounds like a good idea. Especially since I will likely include a few pots other than tomatoes. Are system parts interchangeable? If I start out with one system and find better drippers or some I like better later, can I just add them to any system?

The best analogy I can think of Sue is putting together a jigsaw puzzle - looks overwhelming to begin with (even with one with only 50 pieces) but quickly falls into place and the picture becomes clear.

But no you can drive over them. :) You'd use a regular garden hose you can drive over to get the water to where the drip system begins in the garden or on the patio or whatever.

Yes for the most part, parts are interchangeable, replaceable, adjustable, and mistakes can be fixed (plugged) even if you don't stay with the same maker. But it takes a basic kit hands-on watering experience first to understand what adjustments may be needed.

Have you ever used soaker hose? If so email me and I can explain how differently this works based on that experience. If not then yes, it does have a fairly big learning curve I can help you with via emails. I'd advise buying the least expensive container system you can find for your pots and start there.

Dave

I second Dave's endorsement of DripWorks. Over the years I've ordered all sorts of supplies from them.

For my 20-gallon tomato tubs, I get the water to them from my faucet via 1/2" tubing, then run 1/4" tubing to each tub. In the top of each tub I circle a piece of their 1/4" "soaker dripline" (with built-in emitters that are spaced 6"), and plug the end with a "mini-quart dripper." I use a variety of T's, elbows, and other 1/4" fittings to connect.

I also place a 30psi pressure regulator on the 1/2" mainline tubing. It only takes 15 minutes to completely soak the tubs.

-Bruce

OK, looks like a Memorial Day trip to HD may be in order. I was close to ordering the drip line economy set for 69.95 but it does seem a little more than I need to start with. I watched the video on the deck kit on the dripline website and it seems pretty easy to set up. It is the details I need. My first question after looking at that is how many pot drippers do I need for one 10, 15 or 20 gallon pot? Should I look for dripline, pc or non pc emitters or is there only one type of pot dripper? I just need an idea of what type of emitters are best and a rough idea of how many I need to pick a prepackaged starter system. Thank you everyone for your help. I hope others who have considered this type of system will be able to use the information, also.

Ok I suggested emails as this isn't really a forum-related topic, especially when it has its own forum.

y first question after looking at that is how many pot drippers do I need for one 10, 15 or 20 gallon pot? Should I look for dripline, pc or non pc emitters or is there only one type of pot dripper?

It isn't as simple as saying 1 per 10 gallons, 2 for 20 gallons, etc. There are too many other variables - depth of container, soil mix used, weather, ambient temps, type of plant etc.

The kit you buy will come with its own basic emitters or dripline. Begin with that and learn as you go if the container needs more or less to fit your specific needs.

We all have personal preferences for the many different fittings so all we can tell you is what works for us. You will have to develop your own preferences based on your experience.

I will say that for providing consistent soil moisture levels in containers I prefer slower delivery over longer periods of time ranter than fast delivery with short watering times so I prefer multiple low-capacity drippers per container rather than drip tape or drip hose segments. I use drip tapes in the in-ground beds.

Think of it as watering with a shower type sprinkling can vs. watering with a full-on garden hose. But that is just a personal preference.

Dave

FWIW, these are the drippers I am trying. Not sure if that was the vendor, but similar price. They are kind of fiddly below about 1/4 gph, but that might be expected. Can do a steade 1/2+ gph (est).

Sighhhh, I know Dave, but sometimes I wonder what is appropriate for this forum. There are other forums for disease identification, containers, compost, organic gardening, irrigation, cooking, harvesting, canning, growing from seed, seed saving, seed exchanging, and vegetable gardening to name just some of them. I am sure I have left some out. Questions about which varieties are best tasting or best for a particular purpose are usually told by at least one person that it is personal taste and no one can tell you those things. Some where, I guess, there should be a list of what topics we should bring here, lol. It would be a I much shorter list, I think. I will refrain from posting about this here, and thank you for offering to help via email.

In a world where YouTube has 1,280,000 tomato videos, what's a little more redundancy?

I do Google the whole internet for my tomato questions, emitters per pot, and things like that. Google often does point here, to these forums, choosing one thread or another.

Which is fine, and a little more conversation, to be chosen later by Google or not, is fine too.

Thanks, John. I ask in a forum like this, not because I don't know how to search the internet, but because I have frequented this forum for some time and I am familiar with many people here. I know who the experts are, who has had lots of personal experience, and whose advise I feel is trustworthy. I know that if others offer advise that is not, there are those who will speak up and disagree. I have seen a lot of bad advise on the internet, and You Tube is no exception. The ability to make a video does not make you an expert on the subject of the video. But I guess if I need to do that more rather than coming here, I certainly can.

YouTube sure is a mixed bag. I was just watching Utah Extension on how to trellis cucumbers, which I trust, but there are a lot of people who will show you a "novel" start to something and no follow-up, which I trust less. How did it work out? They were never heard from again. :-/

The easiest way to get started from scratch when you have no working knowledge of it is to either (a) just buy a cheap system at HD and experiment with it until you get a handle on the set-up or (b) draw up a diagram of your container layout with sizes and type of plants marked on it, the distance to your water supply indicated, and any other concerns you have.

If you go with (b) then call/fax it to Dripworks (other suppliers probably provide the same service too I don't know) and ask them to you work you up an estimate of what you would need for a basic system for that layout. Be sure to ask them if you will need a backbone (bigger supply tubing) for your set-up as it depends on the number of containers and allows for greater expansion down the line.

They will gladly answer any questions, tell you which drippers they would recommend and how many for each container, the order the containers need to be in for single line supply or multiple line supply, and will even assemble some of the components for you before shipping. They can also advise you via phone on any set-up or maintinence issues.

Dave