A big advantage of growing plants in containers is that it can be done anywhere. A big disadvantage is that plants in containers tend to dry out more quickly than plants in the ground. To address this problem, you can water your container plants more frequently, but there’s a better way.

In this video, Patti Moreno, aka the Garden Girl, shows how she installed a drip-irrigation system with parts from DripWorks to service the water needs of the plants on her patio. Because container plants need food as well as water, she incorporated a fertilizer injector into this system that supplies her plants with an organic fertilizer. Watch as Patti takes you on a tour of her system, where she demonstrates the following steps.

1. She begins at the spigot, where she displays the manifold she used and explains how the water and fertilizer lines are connected to it. Her system also includes a filter to catch any impurities that might be in the water.
2. Clamps along the edge of the patio support the main-line tubing. These are easily installed with a hammer. In a corner of the patio where the main-line tubing has to make a right-angle turn, Patti demonstrates how to cut the tubing and install an elbow.
3. Not all of Patti’s plants have the same water needs, so hers is not a one-size-fits-all system. At various points along the run, she shows how to install a pot dripper (for an orange mint), a down-spray sprinkler (for lavender), and a soaker drip line (for tomatoes, basil, and marigolds). She even attaches quarter-inch tubing from the main drip line to a post near a hanging basket so that she can bring water to the plant in the basket.

For more on drip irrigation
An Easy Approach to DIY Drip Irrigation
Drip-Irrigation Basics
Setting Up a Garden Drip-Irrigation System