What is capillarity irrigation: advantages and disadvantages of this system and how to use it in your garden

Qué es el riego por capilaridad, sus ventajas y desventajas y cómo implementarlo en tu jardín

Imagine there was an irrigation system that:

• Is automatic. 
• It barely requires investment.
• Saves water.

Impossible?

Nothing of that; this system is very real, and it is called capillarity irrigation.

And in this post we are going to explain to you:

• What exactly is capillary irrigation.
• The pros and cons of using it in your garden.
• How to implement it (for individual plants and for several plants).

Prepared?

So let's go there.

What is capillarity irrigation and how does it work 

First of all, we have to explain what capillarity is.

And for that nothing as an example.

Imagine that you have a nail in a wall and you tie a cotton string to one end. The other end, the one closest to the ground, you put in a glass of water.

After a few hours, a good portion of the string will be damp. That is, the water will have "creeped" through the cotton.

That is capillarity.

A property of water that allows it to fill in voids within a material (in this case, the nooks and crannies between cotton strands), even to do so it has to go against gravity.

Well, capillarity irrigation is the system that takes advantage of this property of water to bring water to the plants.

There are several ways to do it, but the most common are:

• Put one end of a cotton string or other porous material in a bottle of water. On the contrary, you put it in the soil of a pot.
• Place a bucket of water under the roots of one or more pots, so that the plant absorbs the water through them.

Then we will see in more detail how to put these two systems into practice.

But first, it is important that you understand in which cases it is interesting to use this system.

Advantages and disadvantages of capillary irrigation

We start with the first.

1. Advantages

The benefits of this system are very similar to those of drip irrigation.

• Save water: plants absorb the water they need very gradually. This way you do not run the risk of giving them more water than they require or than the earth can absorb and that half ends up being wasted.
• Low risk of overwatering: in line with the previous point. This system does not flood the land, because the water enters very little by little. So you don't run the risk of drowning the roots (and causing disease or fungus).
• Keeps the soil moist: which is very beneficial for plants that need to always have a moist substrate, such as some tropical ones.
• It is "automatic": you do not need to be aware of your plants, because they water themselves.

2. Disadvantages of the irrigation system

Now we come to the “less good” points:

• Installation can be complicated: if you have many plants, designing a capillary irrigation system to water them all can be complicated and require some technical knowledge.
• It is not suitable for any plants: there are species that need to have the substrate completely dry between irrigation and irrigation. With the capillarity system, these types of plants run the risk of wilting due to excess water.

How can you implement this system with your plants

? Are you already clear that you are going to use this irrigation system in your garden?

Then we tell you how to do it.

1. For pots/small garden

If you have only a few plants, either because you have them on a terrace or because you have a small garden, you can water them one by one.

It's very simple:

• Take a large bottle
• Take a string that is twice as tall as the bottle
• Put one end into the bottle filled with water.
• The other you place in the pot you want to water.

In case it is easier for you to see it on video, we leave you one here:

2. For a large garden

This process is much more complex, but in return it allows you to have several plants being watered with the same installation.

Go looking for gloves and comfortable clothes, which we will begin to explain:

• Choose a piece of land in which to place the plants.
• Dig a hole that is at least half a meter deep (the extension can be whatever you want, depending on how many plants you are going to plant in it).
• Level the ground at the bottom of the pit to ensure that the water does not stagnate or create unevenness. Also take the opportunity to rake and remove stones and any other obstacle.
• Place a waterproof fabric that covers the entire pit. This will prevent water from leaking out. Before placing it you can water the soil to make sure it settles. 
• Find a PVC pipe in the shape of an L. On one of the sides of the L (the one you are going to place inside the pit) drill several holes. This will allow the water to spread evenly. Eye! Make sure all the holes are facing the ground (otherwise they could be plugged by roots).
• Place the tube inside the pit, making sure that one end comes out of it so you can pour the water.
• Once the pipe is in place, fill the pit with gravel and then apply a layer of soil to fill in the gaps.
• Install a support that can be filled with soil and that allows you to plant the plants on top. Thus, the roots will grow into the pit and absorb the water from them.

Once done, you will only have to fill the pit with water through the PVC tube every time you want to water your plants. Thus they will absorb what they need through the roots.

And ready! You already have your garden ready.

In case you need it, here is a video where the whole process is explained step by step (in the video they do it with a planter instead of a pit, but the process is the same):

Are you going to use this system to water your plants from now on?

You have already seen how to install this system whether you have a few plants or a garden with a large area.

But remember, whichever method you use, the important thing is to give each of your plants the water (and nutrients) they need.

If you have doubts with this, we can help you.

At Viveros González we have been helping our clients to keep their plants healthy and happy for more than 40 years.

In addition, we also carry out garden design and installation tasks, so if you need us to install an irrigation system of this type (or any other) we can do it for you.

Entering here you can contact us and explain your situation.