Choosing the Right Irrigation System for Your Garden
It’s no secret that keeping your garden well-watered is one of the most important things to take care of when it comes to garden care. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, it is also one of the hardest things to keep on top of.
A lot of the most popular plants are relatively high maintenance and require consistent watering for them to stay healthy.
One of the best ways to keep on top of this is to install the right irrigation system into your garden - that way it is one less job for you to do.
Why Install an Irrigation System in Your Garden?
Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy from installing an irrigation system in your garden:
Saves a lot of time with the automation of watering your plants
Saves on water waste since you just water the areas that need it
Keeps plants watered and healthy year-round
The irrigation solutions that we have listed below are all fantastic for keeping your lawn and plants healthy and thriving throughout the year. Each one works slightly differently, so be sure to consider your plant’s water requirements and the design of your garden, too.
Drip Irrigation
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Drip irrigation systems typically come in two forms, one of them being above ground and the other below. Either way, they both work using the same method.
Drip irrigation is a very effective method of watering your plants in your garden. It works by running a pipe network from your water supply to the plants that need watering. These pipes then drip out water directly over the plants/soil so that the vast majority of the water is soaked up where it is required.
You can easily control how much water is expelled from the pipes with a pressure gauge, the higher the pressure, the faster the water will come out. If you want to stop watering the area, then simply cut the water supply.
This is one of the best methods for minimising water wastage as only the areas that need the water will receive it. It is a relatively easy system to set up, and you should be able to do it yourself if you have the time, patience and equipment.
Sprinkler System
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Sprinkler systems are one of the most popular irrigation systems that you can set up in your garden. They are often easy to assemble and are typically inexpensive, depending on the model and the range of coverage you need.
The beauty of the sprinkler systems is that the majority of the pipework is buried underground so it won’t be an eyesore in your garden. The only thing you will see popping up is the sprinkler head, and you can grab yourself some pretty nice designs to match your garden decor if you wish.
You can even get sprinkler heads that rise from the ground and so they only visible when they are in use.
These systems are great for all gardens, just be sure to calibrate the sprinkler head correctly and make sure that all of the plants are being watered by the sprinkler.
It is not uncommon for people to overwater their plants when they first try out there sprinklers, so be sure to keep an eye on that.
Bubblers
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When using a sprinkler system, it can sometimes be hard to reach all of the plants and vegetation that you wish to water.
This can be for several reasons. Maybe you have a few big trees in the way of the sprinkler trajectory, or perhaps the layout of your garden is slightly awkward, and some plants are harder to reach.
Either way, you need to fix that problem and make sure that all your plants are getting the water they need. Cue the bubblers.
Bubblers can be added to any other irrigation system to saturate the soil at ground level. This gives your irrigation system the ability to nourish multiple types of vegetation at any one given time.
Bubblers are usually best placed next to the base of larger trees and shrubs that would often miss out on the sprinkler water. They are great for larger trees that need a lot of water to remain nourished. With a bubbler, you are delivering the water directly to the root system.
Micro-irrigation
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A micro-irrigation system is a method of irrigation that typically uses lower volumes of water and at a lower pressure than the standard systems.
As the name suggests, the system is usually smaller than the others mentioned in our list. However, these systems work in the same way. The micro-irrigation systems are typically very similar to drip irrigation systems, but instead of pipes they usually consist of small tubes.
You can feed these tubes around your garden, either above or below ground, and you can water your plants and vegetations directly at their base. It’s a fantastic way to get water directly to the essential areas without wasting water unnecessarily.
This is perfect for watering flower beds and small vegetable patches that don’t require large amounts of water to survive. You can even use this in a greenhouse, just make sure that you have enough tubing to go around the entire area.
With a micro-irrigation system you can set up any emission type you like, it doesn’t have to be restricted to drip irrigation. For example, you can set up micro-sprinklers and micro bubblers if you wish.
The Bottom Line
You must consider your options before you go ahead and buy an irrigation system for your garden. You need to make sure you put some thought into what plants you have in your garden and how much water they need access to stay healthy and nourished.
Also, some systems are great for specific garden layouts, while others are not. Make sure your irrigation system is doing its job correctly and reaching all the areas it is supposed to.
Author: Emily Miller
cover image © pixabay
