A sometimes useful one to have in the tool box, no special tools or skills required to assemble. This month we have a water lance.
A water what?
A water lance, water jet, whatever you want to call it really, mainly used for planting long stem tubestock along waterways. II’s also good for general plantings or where you need to get water deep into the soil (particularly when trying to help struggling trees). Very simple and easy to make and use, the only drawbacks are it can use quite a lot of water (though have managed to have it as low as 10-15 litres per plant), you need to have a good source of water and need to drag a hose along.
This one gets used for some plantings around the yard and is made from a few easily sourced parts, it’s ¾ inch (18mm) pipe and fittings, you can go to 25mm but need higher water pressure.
It took about 20 seconds to drill in this far, some soils take much longer.
Parts are simple and can be easily sourced from hardware shops or irrigation supplies: about a metre of ¾ inch galvanized pipe (with the bottom cut off to 45 degree point), an elbow, ¾ male to male fitting, gate valve, and hose adapter (for 18mm hose, the standard 12mm hose is just too small). New the parts should cost no more than $40-50.
If you’re not sure take this article into your nearest irrigation supplies shop and they’ll find all the bits and probably assemble it for you too.