Off The Grid: Junk The Water Hose For A Simple $35 DIY Rainwater Irrigation System

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Junk The Water Hose For A Simple $35 DIY Rainwater Irrigation System

One of my favorite summertime passions is gardening. I generally attempt to grow all the needed vegetables I consume over the course of the summer as a way of ensuring I am eating high quality products while also saving a little bit of money.
I already use landscaping fabric to keep the weeds to a minimum, and I employ a variety of other methods to help with water retention in the soil. I am always concerned with maximizing space and effective pest control measures to ensure the crops I am able to harvest are the best I can get.
But one of the hardest things for me – with a busy summer schedule — is keeping track of watering the garden. I do my best to make sure that each plant receives the necessary amount each day if there is no rain, but this isn’t always an option. Just like everyone else, there are days that I just can’t get to it.
Due to the design of my yard, the area I am able to use as a garden is far from a water source. It requires me connecting two hoses together and keeping two doors propped open in order to reach my garden – something that simply isn’t practical.
So what I have done this year is to begin construction of an irrigation system that utilizes some of the things I already have in place. I currently have a shed that sits within 10 feet of my garden. It is roughly 15 feet by 15 feet and is equipped with a set of old gutters. The gutters originally funneled to separate downspouts and out into the yard, but I have since tied them together to one communal downspout. I don’t live in an overly rainy area, although as the phrase goes, “when it rains, it pours!”

Thus, I am building a functioning irrigation system that can be utilized as needed. Here is what I’m using. All total, it cost about $35:
Materials
40 feet of ½-inch PVC pipe
Four (4) ½-inch PVC T connectors
Five (5) ½-inch PVC pipe caps
One (1) ½-inch PVC elbow
Six (6) ½-inch PVC ball valves
Two (2) ½-inch PVC adapters
Two (2) pipe clamps
10 feet of ½-inch plastic tubing
One (1) 50-gallon garbage can with lid
(Things I did not take into account when pricing this project: I had previously reworked the gutters to one downspout for a separate purpose and already had the garbage can prior to this project.)…..More Here