Drip Lines

What a drip line is

A drip line is a thin flexible pipe with built-in (inline) emitters at fixed spacing. It runs along the crop row, releases water slowly at each emitter, and does so at a designed flow — typically 1.6 to 4 litres per hour per emitter in common Kenyan setups. Multi-season drip lines are the standard for vegetable farms, greenhouses and orchards; their durable pipe is designed to be rolled up, stored and reused for several seasons.

Drip lines drip tape is its thin, single-season relative for dense row crops — see the comparison before choosing.

The specification, number by number

How emitter spacing follows the crop

The rule is simple: emitters should wet the whole root zone between plants, so emitter spacing stays at or below the plant in-row spacing — usually roughly half to three-quarters of it.

• Onions at 10–15cm in-row → 10–15cm emitters (drip tape territory)
• Tomatoes at 40–80cm → 30–40cm emitters, typically on two lines per bed
• Cabbage at 45–60cm → 30–40cm emitters on one or two lines
• Watermelon at 1–1.2m → 20–30cm emitters on a line between rows
• Orchard trees → 40–50cm emitters on multiple lines per tree (see orchard irrigation)

Crop by crop, the full logic is in the crop irrigation pages — this page is the equipment side of the same decision.

Standard vs pressure-compensating

A standard inline emitter's flow follows its inlet pressure: 10% more pressure, roughly 10% more water. On a flat bed with a steady supply that's fine and cheaper. On slopes, on long lines, or where pump pressure varies between zones, the flow at the line's start and end can differ noticeably — the fix is pressure-compensating (PC) emitters, which hold a constant flow across a pressure band. PC emitters cost more per metre; the design says whether your layout earns the cost. See how the hydraulics work.

Lines per row — the other half of the choice

One line per bed leaves half the bed's width to dry; two lines split the wetted area and give the middle of the bed coverage. The common pattern: one line for wide-spacing crops (watermelon between rows), two lines for most vegetables on standard beds, three for dense crops (onions). Line count × emitter spacing together set how evenly the bed is wetted — that's the specification the crop dictates.

Installation notes

• Run lines straight and level where possible; kinks and sharp bends choke flow and stress the wall.
• Cap every line end — a running open end is the fastest way to waste water and drop zone pressure.
• Keep lines off stones and sharp debris; in hot, exposed conditions, UV-stabilised pipe matters for season life.
• Leave the flush ends accessible — flushing is the cheap insurance against the blockages that end drip lines early. See line cleaning.

Common problems

• Blocked emitters — almost always a filtration problem first, a line problem second. See filtration.
• Uneven wetting along the line — pressure variation (fix: PC emitters or better zoning) or a partial kink.
• Line bursting at the head — pump pressure above the line's rating; a pressure regulator is the fix, not a stronger pipe.
• Punctures in the field — animals, stones, machinery; repairable with line couplers, which is why the system should carry a few spares.

Choosing the right line

The sequence: crop → in-row spacing → emitter spacing → flow rate from the crop's daily demand and soil → diameter from line length and pressure → PC or standard from the layout. That's the design service in one sentence. For your farm's exact specification, request a quote — the line choice is the first thing we fix in the design document.