Consider Bubblers and PVC

I get it. Some people like to let their dogs roam freely on their property. Uncontrolled dogs can do a lot of damage to home irrigation systems if they dig where there is water. Drip tubing laying close to the soil surface is dug up and the emitters are destroyed. But not if it is buried! That’s were bubbler and basin irrigation come in.

Basin and bubbler irrigation relies on normal pressure bubblers an very flat irrigation basins. The basins are only about two inches deep if the inside of the basin is flat. Otherwise water will soak into the soil unevenly.

The basin is large enough to water at least half of the area under the trees canopy. When the tree gets large, the basin must also get wider.

The basin inside the donut or moat is filled with about two inches of water during an irrigation. Outside the basin the landscape can be on a slope but not inside the basin. It must be flat!

For large trees use two bubblers. For smaller trees (25 foot tall or less) use one bubbler.

Basins can have many plants inside of it. Go ahead and plant inside this basin. Other plants with a similar rooting depth as the tree can also be grown here.

Here is a pine tree irrigated with a bubbler inside a basin. Bubblers range in size from 1/2 to 2 gallons per minute (gpm).

Irrigation bubblers should spread water out in a full half circle if there is enough pressure and the bubbler is not plugged.

Bubblers range in gpm from 1/2 to 2 gallons per minute (gpm). They are not expensive so keep some around in case the ones you installed get plugged. That does occasionally happen.

PVC pipe is buried deep in the soil and doesn’t leak if it’s installed right. For mature trees you may have to cut a few roots. On young trees the roots won’t bother it.

Class 200 pvc is buried going to the basin. 3/4 inch class 200 pvc can safely handle about 10 gallons per minute (ten each 1 gpm bubblers). One inch can handle about 16 gpm (16 each 1 gpm bubblers).