T-Tape® for Raised Beds in Home Gardens
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T-Tape® is an excellent, economical
product for backyard gardens having raised beds or individual long rows.
We suggest the 8" On Center (OC) spacing for almost all home applications.
An 8" OC emitter will wet up to a one foot diameter area on the surface, depending
on soil type and duration of watering.
Underground, the water will spread out up to two feet in diameter, depending on soil type.
Plants that are farther apart; tomatoes, squash, melons, etc., or plants that have lower water requirements, such as herbs, can use the wider spaced T-Tape® at 12" OC.
T-Tape® with differences in spacing, water output or thickness may be mixed in any system and will still work properly.
We carry less than full roll quantities of 15 mil T-Tape® for home use. Click here to view the selection in our on-line store. Also check out our full line of Tape Loc fittings.
Your system must have a 200 mesh filter and a 10 to 15 PSI pressure regulator for the system to work correctly.
Plants that are farther apart; tomatoes, squash, melons, etc., or plants that have lower water requirements, such as herbs, can use the wider spaced T-Tape® at 12" OC.
T-Tape® with differences in spacing, water output or thickness may be mixed in any system and will still work properly.
We carry less than full roll quantities of 15 mil T-Tape® for home use. Click here to view the selection in our on-line store. Also check out our full line of Tape Loc fittings.
Your system must have a 200 mesh filter and a 10 to 15 PSI pressure regulator for the system to work correctly.
Designing for Raised Beds
You will need to determine how many lines of T-Tape®
you will run in each bed.
Generally a 3' wide bed will require a minimum of 2 lines, but 3 lines will give better coverage.
A 4' bed will need between 3 and 4 lines.
Note: For bed lengths of 12' or less, 1/4" Soaker Dripline is often more economical due to the lower cost of fittings and longer life of the product. Also, if your beds are over 6" off the ground, i.e. built up in wood or timber frames, it's often easier to use 1/4" Soaker Dripline, due to its flexibility, than making a lot of 90° turns to get 1/2" mainline tubing up the sides and across the top of each bed.
The following sections illustrate some common garden bed setups.
Note: For bed lengths of 12' or less, 1/4" Soaker Dripline is often more economical due to the lower cost of fittings and longer life of the product. Also, if your beds are over 6" off the ground, i.e. built up in wood or timber frames, it's often easier to use 1/4" Soaker Dripline, due to its flexibility, than making a lot of 90° turns to get 1/2" mainline tubing up the sides and across the top of each bed.
The following sections illustrate some common garden bed setups.
Typical Design
This is the most common and simple design for T-Tape®
in a home garden.
Half inch mainline tubing runs across the top of the bed as a header.
Each row of T-Tape® comes off of the
mainline with an LSB Tape Loc x 1/4" Barb fitting.
The row is ended with an LSGS Grip Sleeve fitting to
close off the T-Tape.
Hint: Attach the T-Tape® to the large barbed end of the LSB Tape Loc x 1/4" Barb fitting. Punch a hole in the mainline and insert the 1/4" barb of the LSB into the hole. | |
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Bed With Shut Off
This design allows you to shut off an individual bed. Many gardeners want the flexibility to control which beds get watered depending on watering durations, planting or harvest dates. In this illustration the mainline runs past the top of all the beds. Insert an ELMT Easy Loc Male Hose Tee fitting in the mainline before each bed and then add an HSOSW Hose Shutoff, a ELFH Easy Loc Female Hose Beginning, a short piece of 1/2" tubing and an ELL Easy Loc Elbow. From there, extend the header across the width of the bed. | |
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Framed Bed
This is an elevated bed with wooden sides.
The black 1/2" mainline tubing was run up the side using an ELL Easy Loc Elbow
after branching off the mainline with an ELMT Easy Loc Male Tee fitting,
an HSOSW Hose Shutoff and an
ELFH Easy Loc Female Hose Beginning.
The tubing is then run across the width of the bed.
The Hose Shutoff
can be used to shut off the water to the bed when it is not needed.
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