The Irrigation Maze

1 May, 2012 Reply
Sprinkler with rainbow and sparkles

Sprinklers are fun to play in, but not very efficient for watering your yard.

We’ve all heard that putting in an irrigation system is the way to go, but how do you decide what you need, especially if you’re still putting in your yard and are not quite sure what the final plan will look like? We keep changing our minds about what we want; where and how many of this or that we want to grow.

Not only that, there are new developments every year, or at least that I hear about, so keeping up with options can take a lot of time. I am actually starting to look at putting in a permanent system in the backyard, as we are completing the vegetable garden section of the yard.

The best thing you can do is put together a landscape design. In this day and age of water conservation is a good idea to plan a water wise yard. A great resource for planning water efficient designs is http://www.epa.gov/watersense/outdoor/landscaping_tips.html.

Finding irrigation supplies is the first trick. Local big box centers usually have some supplies, but they may not be the best quality or the latest technology. For instance I found an indoor controller online today. It looks very interesting and I’m going to have to do some research on it, as the controller we have is quite old, relies on a computer to run it, with an interface that any new computer we buy will not have. It is moving into the realm of old technology rapidly.

If your yard has stabilized and you pretty much know where trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and grass are going to be grown, you can just make a list of the various supplies you’ll need, such as the length of hose; emitter or sprinkler heads, and the various patterns you’ll need; control boxes; sensors; valves, fittings, and tools, etc. You’ll need to take measurements and then plan for a little extra, as well as some mistakes, when buying the tubing. Having many different emitter and sprinkler head styles is important, too, so that you can be sure to cover every single area. You don’t want to end up with a dead plant of grass patch. You’ll need to know your water pressure, as well, because some systems will require you to lessen the pressure, while others may not run well if you have a low pressure system like we do.

If you have questions about what will work, any company should help you sort it out. Doing it yourself will save you a lot of money, but in the end, if you just don’t have the skills, having it installed may be the best, albeit much more expensive, option.

Designing Gardens

14 October, 2011 Reply

Anytime is a good time to design new gardens. Even in the dead of winter you can be deciding where to put a garden once the ground can be worked. In some parts of the country fall and winter are excellent times to prepare a bed. Then let it sit and “mellow” a little before planting it in the spring, especially if you need to add amendments to correct soil pH.

Let a sprinkler system do the work for you.

Nowadays, even in areas that get ample rain most of the time, putting in a drip irrigation system is being recommended. There are several reasons for this. First it uses less water, which conserves what we have, and costs less money for those on municipal systems. It gets the water to the plants and not the weed seeds, so there is less germination of unwanted weeds. That means less manual weeding, which is a plus for any gardener, as we’d all like to be planting, nurturing, and harvesting, rather than getting rid of unwanted plants.

You can give different amounts of water to plants in the same beds. That means a plant that needs a drier soil can be planted near one that needs more water. By using different emitters you can give one of them ½ gallon of water, another 1 gallon in the same time frame. Also, if you travel you can rest assured that your plants are getting the water they need, as long as you had the system in long enough to make sure all the plants are getting watered.  Just add an electronic timer to your system.

If you have a large lawn include lawn sprinklers in the design. Again this saves water and gets the job done without having to drag hoses and sprinklers all over.

When considering the irrigation supplies you’ll need, make sure you look at the add-ons and see if they’ll be useful. I spoke of electronic timers. This means that the gardens get watered on schedule and you don’t have to do a thing, except change the batteries as needed. There are also water gauges that can be added to some systems. If it rains enough that the plants don’t need any water it doesn’t turn on until they do. This can really save on overwatering during a rainy period.

Also, consider whether you need drippers for each plant, or if you an area that will need emitters that will water several plants at once. Larger shrubs and trees usually need their own dripper, but flower gardens can sometimes be watered with emitters that work like miniature sprinklers, with various patterns to make sure you cover the entire garden.

Speaking with someone who can guide you to buy just the system you need can really help, especially if you’re looking to do a combination of different types of plantings. That way you’ll know that your investment of both time and money will be well taken care of.

Using Water Wisely

10 May, 2011 Reply

These days there is a lot of talk about growing things that will need little if any watering, especially in desert climates. Xerascaping is a great way to have a lovely landscape without water worries.

What do you do if you want to grow fruits and vegetables, though? Most of them do not grow well without any extra watering. The next best thing is to put in a drip irrigation system. This puts that water where it’s needed and you lose a negligible amount to evaporation.

Today you can visit you local home improvement store and find all that you need to take care of your yard. It can be confusing knowing how much water you need to drip per hour for different plants, so do some research online before you go to buy. Salespeople at big box stores often don’t know much about drip irrigation and will sell you items that you don’t need. If your local garden center carries drip irrigation supplies, they’ll know more about installing it and what different plants will need.

A super simple method of dripping is to get soaker hoses and meander them throughout your gardens. The only problem with that is that all plants get the same amount of water, which may either be too much or too little for their needs. Often, though this can be a good way to start out. Then as you gain more knowledge you can move into a more complete set-up.

A great addition to a drip system is an automatic timing system. This way, once you’ve got everything laid out you just connect it up and it will water without any need for you to do anything but check the batteries.

When you first put in a drip system it is important to keep an eye on you gardens until you are sure you’ve got it set up so that none of the plants is being missed. Once that is done, sit back and watch your garden grow. Watering just where needed cuts down on weeds, too, as you’re not watering all the soil, so seed germination is less.