PVC drip irrigation advice.

I have a new 4x8' raised bed that I would like to make a rain barrel suppied,  gravity fed  PVC drip irrigation.

My 10 yr old son planted / transplanted all the plants,  so our peas are in rows at the back  (North side),  a few tomato and pepper plants in front of that then  some carrots and cucumber plants.

I think I can adequately cover all the plants with 3 rows of drip style irrigation.  Provided I can get about 6" of spray on either side of the pipe.

I am thinking about 1/2" CVPC pipe for all the runs and the header,  The smallest bits I have are 1/16th".  0.75-1 hole for each pea plant,  2-3 holes per cherry tomato plant, pepper plant or cucumber plant....  I might have 50 1/16th" holes drilled in 16 to 24' of 1/2" pipe.

I have 2 55 gallon rain barrels that are linked together, and likely will have 4-6' of head water pressure depending on how full the barrels are.   The outlet of the barrel is controlled by a 3/4" ball valve, so little restriction that way.   The water will be routed to the garden by a standard garden hose.  The water is filtered through a large 'peanut sponge' (like you would use for car washing before microfiber became the rage) as it is drawn out of the rain barrel.  The filtering still allows me to fill 2 gallons into a bucket at the valve in about 10 seconds.

The system will be on a Toro 53746 drip timer set to come on in the mornings (by 8am).  I am hoping to set the time so that it will water about 2-5 gallons of water per day in the morning...  We are away a lot in the summer, so this will be our standard for irrigation once I get it running.

Any insight?

Petee, Are the holes going to be evenly spaced along the pipes? You may want to rotate planting the next time so the watering should be uniform. The pressure will only be 2-3 psi which I thik would result in a drip system instead of a spray system. ??

sanderson wrote:Petee,  Are the holes going to be evenly spaced along the pipes?  You may want to rotate planting the next time so the watering should be uniform.  The pressure will only be 2-3 psi which I thik would result in a drip system instead of a spray system.  ??

I believe you're right.

We hooked up a 1/2" hose and put a spray wand on it....  Spray at the garden didn't really go very far.... maybe a couple inches at most with the rain barrels about 2/3rds full.   I will need to investigate further....

About 1 psi per 2 ft elevation. The holes at the end of a run may not get any water. For vacations, an automatic pressurized drip system from the faucet may be your best option.