Do you love your garden? Is it full of beautiful flowers and lush plants that make you happy? What about your lovely green lawn?
Of course you love them so you should know that the irrigation system you choose plays a vital role in maintaining and enhancing both. And, to get a well-irrigated lawn and garden that will keep your plants thriving without wasting water, you should choose drip irrigation. This is the most efficient way to water plants while saving water, fertilizer and energy.
Let’s find out how.
Why Choose a Drip Irrigation System for Your Garden and Lawn?
Have you considered watering via drip irrigation? Here’s why this method can help you save water and energy while maintaining a lush green lawn and vibrant garden.
What Is Drip Irrigation?
Also known as a trickle irrigation system, it involves slowly delivering low pressure water and fertilizers to plants through a network of plastic tubes, pipes, valves and emitters. These are placed near their base to get to the roots. The tubes and emitters can be placed either above the soil surface or buried below.
Types of Drip Irrigation Systems
The various types of drip irrigation systems are based on their mechanism. They are:
- Porous Soaker Hose System: Ideal for garden beds, hedges and rows of shrubs, this system involves an extruded small-diameter flexible pipe made with recycled rubber from old tires. The pipe, which is laid along the base of the plant, has several tiny holes for watering them.
- Watermatic Drip System: This system is perfect for trees and flower beds and can be used if you have a poor amount of water supply. Plants are watered with micro sprays, thus minimizing water loss and evaporation.
- Emitter Drip Irrigation System: As the name suggests, this system emits small drops of water into the soil. Its only problem is that it clogs easily.
- Micro Misting Sprinklers: Also known as low volume sprayers, this system is a combination of drip irrigation and sprinkler system. Ideal for vineyards and orchards, it provides equal amounts of water to every root, thus increasing yields.
9 Benefits of Choosing Drip Irrigation
Why does this system water your lawn so efficiently? Let’s find out.
- 1) Less Evaporation
One of the biggest advantages of drip irrigation is that there’s less water loss due to evaporation, runoff or wind. This is thanks to its direct watering method, where pipes installed below the surface deliver water directly to roots, thus reducing evaporation.
- 2) Improved Plant Health
The slow application of low pressure water encourages plant growth, with water penetrating deeply into the soil to keep roots moisturized for a long time. As a result, your plants grow quickly, with uniform watering giving them the perfect environment in which to prosper.
- 3) Improved Soil Health
Unlike watering plants with a hose or sprinkler, a drip irrigation system is mulch-friendly. Instead of washing away the mulch with high-pressure water, it directly waters the soil to keep it intact. By remaining with the soil and allowing better water and air movement through it, the mulch helps moderate soil temperature by acting as an insulator. This helps your plants thrive.
- 4) Weed Control
Because drip irrigation places water exactly where it’s needed, weed seeds starve as they don’t get water to germinate and thrive in your lawn. This discourages weed growth and keeps your lawn healthy.
- 5) Cost- and Time-Efficiency
When you install drip irrigation, you don’t have to drag a hose around your lawn. Instead, you can use a timer and relax while your lawn is watered well. This arrangement saves you the time it takes to water your lawn and reduces your water bill.
- 6) Minimal Risk of Fungal Disease
Irrigation systems like sprinklers provide plants with too much water. This keeps your foliage wet, thus encouraging fungi growth, and eventually, disease. Drip irrigation reduces the risk of fungal diseases as foliage remains dry and minimizes the occurrence of mildew and other fungi that grow in damp conditions.
- 7) Versatility
The best thing about a drip irrigation system is that it works with all types of gardens, lawns and landscapes. It can be used just about anywhere, no matter the type of soil, plant or landscape, including vineyards, greenhouses, row crops, hillsides, and flat terrains. That said, the system can be easily adjusted or expanded to accommodate additional plants. You don’t need to add fertilizers to the soil separately as they can be fed to the plants with the help of a fertilizer injector in the irrigation system.
- 8) Least Clutter
Since the pipes and emitters can be placed beneath the soil surface, you can easily hide the tubes to make your lawn look clutter-free. You don’t have to worry about mechanical fittings and pipes ruining your home’s curb appeal. A drip irrigation system blends in seamlessly with your lawn and makes it look clean.
- 9) Easy Operation
A drip irrigation system doesn’t need a lot of devices installed or require multiple changes to your lawn to configure it. Just hire a reliable irrigation system contractor to take care of the rest.
Tips to Make the Most of Your Drip Irrigation System
- Drip irrigation isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Check the pipes and emitters to ensure they work well.
- To check whether your system is functioning properly, stick a pencil or sharpened stick into the soil. If it slips easily, the soil is moist and your irrigation system is working fine. If it doesn’t, add more emitters or change their spacing to increase the watering level.
- Plant flowers and shrubs near a low hedge or wind barrier to reduce the need for watering and loss by evaporation.
- Instead of placing the tubes beneath the ground, conceal them with soil and mulch as systems above the ground tend to clog less than ones that are buried.
- Think ahead by building a system with the capacity to supply the amount of water your plants will need when they mature. This is especially necessary if you’re irrigating perennial fruit trees.
A drip irrigation system is a versatile solution to watering your plants conveniently and effectively while ensuring minimal water loss due to evaporation and runoff. It fits in with all types of soil, plants, lawns and gardens, even unlevelled ones, and waters the plants uniformly and directly where needed. So, if you’re looking for a smart irrigation system, choose drip irrigation.