Vegetable garden with irrigation by capillarity.

An orchard with capillary irrigation is an excellent technique to cultivate in environments where water is scarce. By creating a reservoir of water below the earth where we will plant the garden, and flooding it periodically, the earth will absorb the water; and the plants will in turn absorb the soil moisture; thus creating the moisture gradient the soil is drier than the deposit. And since the lower half is waterproofed, water will not escape into deeper layers of the earth; as it would happen in natural conditions.

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The basic system of the garden by capillarity consists of creating a barrier so that the water does not leak to the deepest layer of the soil by digging a hole in the ground and coating it with a plastic or waterproof sheet. Thus, by preventing water from seeping into the soil, it becomes saturated with water and by capillarity this excess water rises to the layer where the roots of the vegetables grow, keeping them constantly irrigated.

How can we build a garden with irrigation by capillarity:

The first step we must take is to dig a hole in the ground, which will contain the deposit with the land and water. The depth of the pit should be approximately 20 - 30 cm, regardless of the size or shape that we want to give to the garden. The total height of the garden, once finished, will be approximately 50 cm. As a part will be above the ground level, we will have to build a reinforcement around the perimeter of the garden to contain the raised part. In this case you can use wooden beams or other material that achieves the same function.

The bottom of the pit should be well smooth, level and without stones that can pierce or pierce the waterproof canvas. If it is not well leveled the water will accumulate on the deeper side. We need the water to be distributed evenly throughout the base of the deposit. Next we compact the base of the pit. If necessary, we can moisten a little to facilitate compaction.

Installation of two waterproof layers:

The bottom of the pit and the walls are covered with two waterproof layers. The first is a plastic sheet used in construction and the second is a canvas. The intention of putting two layers is so that the bottom protects the top, preventing the stones from causing the canvas, holes or slots where we would escape the water. The measurement of both sheets will depend on the size of the orchard, and may protrude from the pit, preferably not more than 40 cm.

Placement of a PVC pipe:

The PVC pipe will serve as irrigating pipe. We drill holes equidistant along its length so that the water comes out and is distributed evenly throughout the bottom of the tank. The holes have to be made in the lower part of the duct, so that the roots of the plants do not enter it. The tube must have a sufficient length that crosses and protrudes from the length of the diagonal of the bottom of the tank (in order to distribute the water better).

This tube can protrude from the pit about 50 cm (a minimum of 20 cm above the total level of the garden), to facilitate the discharge of water when we want to water the garden. We place a layer of gravel (medium and small) on the bottom of the tank evenly.

It is advisable to install a small overflow pipe in case there is an excess of water, (for example rain) to prevent it from overflowing out of the garden and thus not damage the root system of vegetables. This overflow pipe will cross the waterproof canvas through an incision in it, serving as a drain to the outside of the garden. It is important to block the end of the PVC pipe so that it does not enter the ground and also obstructs the exit.

Place a cover of gravel layer with earth:

We began to cover the gravel layer, with the earth that we took when digging the hole. This earth does not necessarily have to be good, since it only serves to absorb the water along with the gravel. At the end of covering the gravel with the earth up to about 15-20 cm., We compact it later and cover it with a mesh antimalezas.

Build the sides of the garden:

The laterals are constructed to contain the layer of fertile earth. The sides can be constructed with recycled wooden beams, pallets, bricks, or any other material. We folded over the beams, the surplus of the waterproof sheets for greater support of the garden.

Select the type of soil or substrate:

It is advisable to make a mixture rich in organic matter and as airy as possible. With aeration, it is sought to facilitate, thanks to the exceptional porosity of the earth, the ascent of the water from the lower tank by capillarity. To obtain a good aeration we can use perlite. As organic matter we can use horse manure as a compost, as it is very rich in organic matter, very suitable for vegetables.

We prepare the mixture of substrate with the 3 ingredients that will make up this upper layer of the garden; Organic matter, pearlite and good quality land that we can buy in a nursery. The proportions are 1/2 of horse manure, 1 of pearlite, 2 of substrate, and 8 of earth (of good quality.) Once the mixture is finished, we compact the soil well, stepping on it.

Perform the transplant of the seedlings:

You can plant paprika, tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, cucumber, or any other vegetable that you like. It would be excellent to be able to cultivate in the garden with irrigation by capillarity, the vegetables that are needed to prepare our meals.
The amounts of irrigation will always depend basically on the climate conditions, size of the area of cultivation and / or number of plants, and requirements of each species.

Irrigation must be managed in such a way that the soil is always maintained at field capacity; that is, that it is kept at a sufficient humidity so that the plants can absorb the nutrients from the soil.

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Having a garden with this system is excellent for when we are away from home and we do not have anyone to irrigate our plants, so they will not suffer from lack of water and we can have our fresh vegetables.

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