Irrigation

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Volume 3 describes a simple gravity-fed drip irrigation system hooked up to an above-ground cistern. The suppliers for some of the parts are listed below:

Drip irrigation emitters for low-pressure gravity-fed systems

Rain Bird 2-gallon/hour Xeribug emitters and 4-gallon/hour flag-type emitters work well with gravity-fed drip-irrigation systems.

Tucson & Phoenix

Sprinkler World
www.sprinklerworld.com

Low tech/low cost irrigation timers that work with low-pressure gravity-fed systems

Note: All such timers work better if there is a drip-irrigation Y-filter just upstream or up-flow from the timer to prevent debris from clogging the device.

Toro® Battery-Operated Hose-End Timer (Model 53746)
This timer can be set to a watering frequency ranging from every hour to once a week. Watering durations can be set from 1 to 120 minutes. It requires two AA alkaline batteries, although models are available that can be connected directly to an electrical line. It is placed between the tank’s faucet and the hose or drip irrigation line. Available at larger hardware stores. Cost: $30.

Orbit®/SunMate® Mechanical Hose Faucet Timer (Model 62018)
This timer cannot be programmed in advance. Simply set it for anywhere from 15 to 120 minutes at the time you want watering to begin and it will remain on for the duration you selected. Maximum operating pressure of 80 psi. For use with any standard outdoor cold-water hose faucet. Six-year warranty. Available from Amazon.com. Cost: under $15.

Gardena® Mechanical Water Timer (Model 31169)
This timer cannot be programmed in advance. It can be set for 5 minutes to 2 hours of watering time. It connects easily to outdoor faucet, and has continuous flow feature (no need to remove timer for untimed use) and a quick-connect adapter for snap-on/off convenience. Although at the time of this posting (Summer 2009), this timer was out of stock in all the online stores that usually carry it, the listed price is about $40.

Unglazed clay pots for clay pot irrigation

Look up “Pottery” in your yellow pages, and ask for the discounted chipped unglazed pottery since you will be burying it.

AlbuquerqueGrowing Awareness Urban Farm (a micro-enterprise of East Central Ministries)They make ollas specially for subsurface clay-pot irrigation.
growingawarenessurbanfarm.com/ollas

Tucson
Cutting Edge Ceramics
https://cuttingedgeceramics.com/collections/ollas

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