Serious question about drip irrigation systems in the North Valley

I kept hearing from everyone that you need a professional install for a drip system to work right here in Albuquerque's clay soil. But last summer I just bought a $40 Orbit kit from Lowe's and set it up myself with a pressure regulator. My tomatoes and peppers did better than my neighbor's who paid a landscaper $600. Has anyone else had good luck with the cheap kits around here?

3 comments

3 Comments

terryr461mo ago

I'm with you on that one. I did the same thing last year with one of those Orbit kits from Lowe's, just the basic $35 one with the drip line and a pressure regulator. My neighbor spent $700 on a pro install and my chiles and squash outproduced his all summer long. The clay soil actually seems to hold the moisture better with those simple emitters if you soak them slow enough.

betty_reed611mo ago

That's exactly how it went for me too. @tara_palmer your friend Mike knows whats up. I put in a simple $30 drip system from a big box store for my raised beds two seasons ago. The cheap little emitters let the water trickle down real slow into the heavy clay we have here. My cucumbers and beans just took off while the neighbors fancy sprinkler system just wet the top inch and it all evaporated. The slow soak makes all the difference with clay soil, it lets the water actually sink in deep instead of running off. Sometimes the simple stuff just works better because the plants get what they actually need.

tara_palmer1mo ago

My buddy Mike tried the same thing last year with a cheap drip system from Home Depot. He spent maybe $40 total and ran it off a hose timer. His tomatoes went nuts, like he was giving away bags of them at work. Meanwhile his father in law paid a crew $900 to install some fancy Rain Bird setup and the guy's lettuce bolted in July because the system was set to sprinkle instead of soak. Mike still jokes about it every time we fire up the grill.