Each dripper delivers a precise amount of water. Common rates are either one or one-half gallon per hour. At that rate, it takes about one hour for the drippers to deliver enough water each day for most vegetables.

On the soil surface, you see a small wetted area around each dripper but under the soil at the roots the wet area extends out up to 30 to 48 inches in diameter. The wetted areas combine to form a continuous wet root zone under the surface for the length of the dripline.

Dripline is easy to install. A length of 1/2" tubing or a garden hose is used to deliver the water from the nearest tap to the edge of the garden. A length of 1/2" tubing is laid down the end of the rows as a supply header. Tee and elbow fittings are used to connect a length of dripline down each row.

If you are using bedding plants, it's best to install the dripline in the rows and plant one plant at each dripper. If you are seeding the row, you either have to rely on the soil moisture or rain to sprout the seed or else setup mini-sprayers to keep the soil surface damp until the seedlings grow large enough to find the drip irrigation water in the soil. Mini-sprayers are available from drip irrigation suppliers.