Maintaining a garden irrigation system is essential for keeping your plants healthy and your garden flourishing. One common issue that gardeners may encounter is a leak or damage to PVC pipes in the irrigation system. Repairing these PVC pipes is crucial to ensure the efficient operation of the irrigation system and a successful garden.

Recently, our learning garden suffered a major break in the irrigation system. It was hard to determine where the leak was because the entire area had flooded before we knew there was a problem.

After turning off the system and waiting a day for the flood to subside, we were able to identify the area in need of repair. Then, we drained the irrigation system by opening the ends of our driplines.

Of course, this is where I enlisted the assistance of my Master Gardener Support Team (MGST), AKA my husband, Mike. When I use the word ‘we' in the rest of this text, you can be sure a lot of the ‘we' was ‘him'!

As with any leak, the hard part is usually not in the repair, it is in the digging of layers of mud and gravel to get to the leaking pipes. We dug until I thought we would reach China before we located the pipe.

The problem was two-fold: while some pipes had cracked, others no longer adhered to the ones next to them. This can be caused when one uses the incorrect glue for the job. We have had much success using the two-part glue system; one colored purple (primer) the second colored blue (glue). The glue that had been used was mostly clear (Failed PVC with an off-brand glue).

We then assessed the supply needs and went home to gather the necessary tools and equipment. We forgot the mallet. When we returned, we cut out the damaged section using a hacksaw, carefully removing the damaged sections of the PVC pipe.

After sanding the spots to be ‘welded,' we applied PVC primer to the ends of the existing pipe and the replacement pieces, then added glue to the same pieces, quickly joining them together. We held the pieces in place for a few seconds to allow the cement to set and create a strong bond. When the cement had cured (we waited 30 minutes or so to ensure the glue would hold}, we turned the water supply back on, checking for any leaks or issues with the repaired section. It held!

Once we celebrated our success, Mike built a box around the pipes and a lid to sit on top. This saves us from another day of digging when the pipes need assistance in the future.