Drip Irrigation Helps This Sidewalk Container Garden Grow

I ran across this soaker hose drip irrigation setup in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Using drip irrigation to water a container garden is great, as the soil in containers dry out fast, especially those pots made out of terra cotta. The setup shown in the pictures here is similar to the one we built for our DIY container garden drip irrigation GardenFork video here.

I like how the supply hoses are tucked away, you don't see them unless you look closely. The supply hose runs around the end of the fencing and into the building, where its hooked up to a water timer. I can't tell if this is a system the owner bought or they built DIY from hardware store components.

There are brass fittings to connect the soaker hose to the supply lines between each container, which you can source in the plumbing department of your hardware store. The hose used looks like black vinyl, it works well because it disappears visually, I think.

Putting the soaker hose system on a timer is essential, it keeps you from forgetting to water the plants, and it keeps you from over-watering the plants. Overwatering is one of the reasons plants die, one can drown their plants in water, which causes all sorts of fungus and disease.

On the topic of container gardening, here is a good book on that: