Irrigation Systems 101
It’s hot. Your back hurts. You’ve been outside for who knows how long watering your plants. You’re thinking about how you’re going to need to get someone to come over and water when you’re on vacation. It might be time to think about adding an irrigation system! Irrigation can seem daunting, something that only large properties need. But the smallest gardens can thrive with a self-watering system, and in reality it isn’t too complicated! Today we’ll go over the benefits and the basics of irrigation installation.
Why irrigation?
Aside from making your life easier, adding an irrigation system has numerous benefits. For one, it saves water, which is both ecologically friendly and saves you money. When hand-watering plants with a hose, a lot of that water ends up where it’s not needed - on the leaves. Drip Irrigation provides targeted water right on the plants’ roots, requiring much less H2O. There’s a lot of control that comes with an irrigation system; you get to decide just how much water each plant gets and when, allowing for precision and the most optimal conditions for thriving plants. Installing an irrigation system will ensure plants receive consistent, deep watering, leading to stronger root systems and better growth.
We have been seeing more and more droughts occurring in Massachusetts, especially in the Boston region in recent years. Having an automatic watering system set up for your plants ensures that they will get the water they need when these dry spells happen.
The basics
Irrigation systems can range in complexity, but the systems Green Urb Gardens install primarily consist of a battery-run timer on your spigot that is connected to a hose which is connected to tubing that winds throughout your garden beds. Smaller tubes branch off of the main tubing with drip emitters that direct different quantities of water to your plants. We use different emitters depending on the size and needs of each plant.
The photo just below shows a drip emitter system set up in an agricultural environment. It’s similar to what we do with our systems, but we cover ours with mulch so that it’s hidden in your garden.
For a simpler (and less expensive) but less precise method, you can also use a soaker hose. It directs the same amount of water to each plant by slowly releasing drops of water from a perforated rubber hose, like the one shown below.
There are numerous intricacies that can make your system work specifically for your garden’s needs. Contact us today to discuss how to upgrade your garden to make it the best it can be for you and your plants!
