A lush garden needs watering. There are some misconceptions about using irrigation to water your garden. We’ll have a look at those as we discuss 4 reasons why you should consider getting garden irrigation installed on your property.
1 Irrigation provides convenience
This one is probably top of the list for many. No need to get out the hose and watering cans. Just turn a knob or push a button (or let the automated watering system turn itself on) and you’ve got your watering underway.
Even small gardens can require a fair bit of effort to hand water. In hotter months they need enough water to soak the roots. This can require standing in one spot running a tap for a goodly period time.
2 Irrigation provides certainty
Once you’ve got your irrigation set up with timers or sensors, you know it’s always going to get done. This is important for a number of reasons. We all know that plants need water. But what about the soil? Healthy soil has millions of organisms in it, eating organic matter and breaking it down into nutrients for your soil. (This is why you should mulch and add compost to your garden.) Those organisms don’t survive too well when the soil dries up. If you’re going through boom and bust cycles with your watering then you may deplete your soil.
Dry soil is also terrible at absorbing water. If you’re not watering often, keeping that soil moist, you’ll find that a lot of the water you do apply runs off. Sometimes gardeners apply wetting agents to their garden. These are usually made up of something like a detergent. They help water penetrate the soil. The natural alternative is to give soil the water, organic matter and nutrients it needs. Irrigation provides certainty for the water part of that equation.
3 Irrigation provides economy
We’ve just discussed how water can run off dry soil. That’s only one of the ways that water can be wasted.
Irrigation systems can comprise elements that use water more efficiently. For instance, drip systems deliver water directly to plants.
It’s important to group plants of similar requirements together in order to maximize efficiency of your watering system. For instance, ferns and tropical plants might benefit from humidity from a misting system. Vegetables do well with drip systems. Lawns will prefer sprinklers.
Often, when we’re watering a garden ourselves, we might use a sprinkler for all our gardens. I know what it’s like. I’ve done it. I got lazy and just dropped a sprinkler in the middle of my garden. It wasn’t the most economical way to water my garden.
Irrigation systems can be timed to water during the coolest hours of the day. They can also use sensors so they’re not watering soil that already is damp enough. These systems all combine to make irrigation systems very efficient and economical with water.
3 Irrigation provides vibrancy
When you have an irrigation system you deliver water to your garden when and where it is needed. If you’ve ever let your tomatoes dry out you’ll know they don’t recover too well. Sometimes a dry spell will lead to a poor crop, even after watering is recommenced. The same applies to the rest of your garden. For optimum health and vibrancy, you should optimize your watering. Irrigation is a great way to do that because it combines all the benefits we’ve just listed above.
