Installing Drip Irrigation in Raised Metal Beds
Jul 4th 2025
Raised metal beds have made starting your own raised garden easier than ever. With some planning and effort, you can enjoy raised bed gardening and reap its numerous benefits. Discover how to set up a DIY drip irrigation system in your metal raised beds. This system is connected to a nearby spigot or faucet. It's simple, straightforward, and will save you a lot of water, time, and energy. It can also be readily automated by using an optional hose timer.
In this guide, we have covered the whole process of installing our raised bed irrigation system.
About Raised Metal Beds
Metal raised beds are durable, appealing, and affordable option for a thriving garden. They keep the soil healthy and in place while the plants grow. Since they are raised off the ground, they are less likely to be damaged or stepped on by the numerous humans and pets.
A raised bed garden allows you to use your available garden space efficiently by packing veggies, flowers, shrubs, and other plants into the beds. These beds will enable you to maximize your growing space. They also extend the season by keeping the soil warmer. These raised beds are fantastic because they are made of durable metal and should last a lifetime. We also appreciate them since they can be built in a variety of forms and sizes to meet your specific demands.
Many gardeners are turning to metal beds because they offer many benefits and require no upkeep. Many vegetables grow well in raised garden beds, such as cucumbers, beans, garlic, carrots, eggplants, onions, tomatoes, radishes, zucchini, and leafy greens. Almost all plants thrive in raised beds.
Read More: How to Grow Vegetables in Raised Beds
Why Use Drip Irrigation to Irrigate Raised Garden Beds
Installing drip irrigation to irrigate your raised garden beds will save you a lot of water, money, and time throughout the growing season. Consistent and targeted watering from a drip system will help your plants grow and thrive.
Here are the benefits of using a drip irrigation system for garden beds:
- Saves water, reduces water loss from runoff and evaporation
- Deliver water directly where needed
- Help to promote stronger plant growth and prevent diseases
- Efficiently irrigates uneven and narrow areas
- Allow you to automate your garden watering with a timer
- Reduces weed growth
- Produces healthier, abundant yields
Read More: A Beginner's Guide to Starting A Raised Bed Garden
Supplies for Installing Drip Irrigation in Raised Metal Beds
You don't need any special tools to install an automatic garden watering system. Here are the supplies you'll need:
How to Install a Drip Irrigation System in Raised Beds
Here's a step-by-step process of installing a raised bed drip system.
Attach the Y Connector to the Spigot
To connect your drip irrigation system, choose the spigot closest to your garden. Attach the Hose Y connector to the spigot tightly. If you have the plumber's tape, wrap it around the male thread before attaching the connector.
Attach Timer
Choose one side of the Y connector to attach your timer tightly. Turn the knob of the connector to the closed position so you can test the system when the timer is set to manual settings.
Add Pressure Regulator
Attach the pressure regulator to the bottom of the timer. If your kit includes a faucet adaptor for the tubing line, connect it to the bottom of the pressure regulator.
Connect Tubing
Connect the tubing to the end of the pressure regulator with a female hose start fitting. The tubing will carry the water from the source to the garden. To hide your tubing, cover it with mulch.
Bring Tubing to Raised Beds
Bring your tubing to the top of the raised bed and add an elbow fitting. Use a special, durable cutter to cut the tubing. Cut the tubing to the height of your bed and attach a connector at the top so that the tubing comes horizontally into the bed to connect to the drip line.
Arrange Drip Lines
To make the process easier, straighten out your drip lines before you start working with them. Some drip irrigation kit manufacturers recommend leaving the lines out in the sun for a while. After unboxing them, you can give them a day or two to settle and straighten out.
Determine how many driplines each raised bed will require. Cut the drip line to the length of the garden bed. Three to four drip lines will provide proper coverage for a 4 ft x 8 ft bed. Now, place the drip lines on metal raised beds. In each bed, connect one side of the dripline to the transfer barb fitting, run it to the end of the bed, and close the other side with a goof plug. Use landscape staples or stakes to hold driplines in place.
Set the Timer to Run
Set the clock and then set the start time on your timer. The best time to water your raised garden is early in the morning to help the plants prepare for the day's heat. The system run time depends on the plant's growth stage, current season, weather pattern, and plant types, and these settings change from month to month.
Most vegetable gardens need an inch of water per week. However, we recommend watering your plants depending on the season and the plant's needs. Turn off your system during rainfall. Check your raised bed garden to determine what works best for your plants and make adjustments.
Test the System
Before moving on to the remaining beds, test the system to ensure it's working properly.
Tips to Maintain a DIY Drip Irrigation System in Raised Beds
- Check the timer batteries every three weeks, especially before going on vacation.
- Inspect the drip system once a month and check for leaks. Check on your plants and ensure they get the right amount of water without over- or underwatering. If your plants are turning brown or wilting, these are the signs of dehydration. If leaves turn yellow or rot, this is a sign of overwatering.
- Adjust the watering schedule and frequency per season to meet the garden's needs.
- Provide deep, long, less frequent watering instead of short, shallow watering daily.
- Winterize your raised bed drip irrigation system before freezing weather arrives. Drain the system, protect drip lines with mulch, and store the timer, filter, and pressure regulator in a protected indoor location.
The Bottom Line
Drip irrigation is the best way to irrigate raised beds as it delivers water straight to the roots instead of the spaces between plants and nearby areas. It keeps the soil moist and provides all the nutrients your crops require. The durability, efficiency, and longevity of drip lines make them an excellent option for metal raised beds of any size.
DripWorks offers high-quality drip irrigation kits for metal raised beds in small, medium, and large sizes. These kits contain all the components needed to install a complete drip irrigation system and can also be customized to meet your garden's specific needs. With DripWorks' durable metal raised beds and drip irrigation kits, you can irrigate your thriving garden efficiently and enjoy all the benefits of raised bed gardening.