Small Farm Drip Irrigation Kit Buying Guide

About Drip Depot Small Farms Drip Kits:

Drip Depot Small Farm kits are designed to make it easy to install a professional drip irrigation system. Our kits come complete with everything you need to create a working drip irrigation system and hook it up to any standard water faucet or garden hose.

Our small farm kits are designed with .25 GPH drip tape which is easy to setup and extremely economical. Drip tape has built-in emitters that are preset to drip at a given rate. This means that no hole punching is needed in order to insert thousands of drippers. Installation is simple. First, tap into your mainline header row. Next unroll the tape down the row you wish to water then cut and cap the end of the tape. Our kits come with 15 mil drip tape that is durable and, with care, can be used season after season.,

The low emitter rating (.25 GPH) of our drip tape coupled with 3/4” tubing allows a farmer to cover a much greater area under a single drip irrigation system. 3⁄4” tubing can handle up to 480 GPH in one system or zone. At .25 GPH per emitter, a farmer can have 1,920 drip emitters in the system, so it is possible to water 4 rows at 500 ft. in length at the same time without overtaxing the system, as long as your water source can deliver a flow rate of 480 gph. If your water requirements are more than this you will need to break your system into 2 zones or manually turn on/off the water to certain groups of rows while watering.

The following useful guide was written to help you choose the right kit for you. It will show you how to design your drip irrigation system, gather the necessary parts and information and it will show you which kit to choose to suit your particular crop watering needs. 

Step 1: Gather Information

To help ensure that you gather all the critical information needed to successfully choose and install a small farm drip irrigation kit we created a list of questions below that will act as an information-gathering guide.

Questions to Answer:

1. How far is my water source to the last row that I need to water? 

This will help you find how much mainline/header row tubing will be needed. You will need to measure from your water source to your rows. Then you will need to measure the distance from your first row to the last. This distance will be your header row, which is where you will run your lateral rows of drip tape down each row. When you add the tubing required to reach your plot from your water source and the length of your header row you will get the total amount of mainline tubing needed. 

2. How many rows do I intend to water? 

The number of rows correlates to the number of fittings that you will need. Each row will need a tape take-off valve and a tape end cap. Our kits come with a predetermined number of rows for each kit based on the number of fittings included in each kit. If your configuration is for more rows than the kit provides, then you will need to make note so that you can add extra fittings to match your layout. 

3. How long is each row? 

This will help determine the total amount of drip tape that you will need. Add up the length of each row. For example The max run length for drip tape with a 0.25 GPH emitter is 606 ft. at a 0% grade with a 90% uniformity. 

Step 2: Creating a sketch

Once you have answered the questions in Step 1 we recommend creating a sketch of your project area. We have found that a sketch helps to visualize the area and ensures that you have not overlooked any details, which may result in not ordering enough parts or incorrect parts the first time. We have enclosed a sample sketch of a project to show the details that you want to provide in your sketch. 

Step 3: Using your information to choose the right kit

Now that you have gathered your information and created a sketch of your project area it is time to use that information to choose the best small farm kit for you. Below is a chart that lists the quantities of important items in each of our small farm kits. Start in column 1 and work your way to the right by choosing the quantity that best matches your results. When you have finished with each column look to find the kit that best matches your needs. Remember, every part we sell is available individually so if you find a kit that is closest to your project requirements, choose it and add the parts you need.

No kit fits your design needs exactly?

Let’s say that you have accomplished the above steps and you still don’t find a kit to suit your needs. We can help! Just use the Drip Depot exclusive “Customize this drip irrigation kit" feature.

To start: choose a small farm kit that is close to your design needs. This will become the template for your customized kit. Once on the item page of a kit, near the "add" button you will find a "Customize" button. Click on the link to begin customizing your kit.   Below is a short video (1:30) that will walk you through how to customize any of our drip irrigation kits.

Installation Tips:

Although installing your own professional drip irrigation system might sound difficult, it is actually very easy. In fact, many of our customers who were apprehensive at first, found that the installation process was very easy and took less time than they thought thanks to our kits. You don’t need any specialized tools or training and we even provide a useful video tutorial that you can watch before or during the installation process. Watching the video will save you time and frustration, so check it out. 

Don't forget a timer:

Adding a timer to your drip irrigation system is one of those extra incurred costs that are well worth it. It reduces the time you have to put into your system by automatically turning it on and off and ensuring that you never under water your garden.

With less human error involved, a timer can do its job of ensuring that a regular watering schedule is being adhered to and that the plants are less stressed. Studies show that a less stressed plant will deliver a much higher yield so be sure to add a timer to your drip irrigation system and watch as it pays for itself season after season.  Shop drip irrigation timers.

Lastly, every Drip Depot kit is...

Durable

Drip Depot kits use only the highest quality parts in every one of our kits to ensure our customers receive many years of repeated use.

Reusable

We use Perma-loc fittings in our kits because they are durable, reusable and reliable. They offer flexibility and ease of assembly making our kits the best in the industry.

Backed by a Lifetime Guarantee

Every kit Drip Depot sells is backed by a lifetime guarantee. We are confident that our kits, including the components within, will provide our customers many years of use.

Expandable

We sell our components individually as well as in kit form. This means that you can add to your drip irrigation system at any time without having to buy new kit. Our components are in stock and ready to ship today, making Drip Depot your reliable source for drip irrigation kits, components and accessories.

Drip Tape Mistakes to Avoid: