Here’s a DIY project to provide drip irrigation for a container garden, easy to do watch the video to see how.
Container gardens dry out quickly, which is why I built this system. This is based on using soaker hoses to wrap around the inside of each container, and attaching the hose to a water timer.
The hardest part of this drip irrigation for container garden system is getting the water. I can’t answer that one for you, as each situation is different. For this rooftop, we were able to bring the water up through a kitchen window in the back of the building. If you are going to bend the hose over a ledge, be sure to provide support where it bends over the wall, it can rub and leak.
The first thing to do when starting this is to uncoil the hose in the hot sun, and let it sit there for a few hours. This will allow the hose to straighten and you can work with it easier. Try to find 3/8″ soaker hose for this project. It bends easier.
To keep the hose inside the containers, you can use coat hanger wire cut into a U shape and pushed over the hose into the soil. Or use cable ties with holes drilled into the plastic pots. Rocks can also hold down the hose, but then you have to get rocks onto your balcony or roof. Not fun.
If you have a container garden on a patio, this is perfect. Water is easy to get to. I push the pots together to create a mass planting, and to hide the hose as it goes from pot to pot. As you can see from these photos, this system also works great for urban areas. How are you planning on using this? Let us know in the comments below.
There are brass fittings to connect the soaker hose to the supply lines between each container, which you can source in the plumbing department of your hardware store. The hose used looks like black vinyl, it works well because it disappears visually, I think.
