Watering the Garden
If watering by hand, try using a watering wand. It breaks up the water stream and softens the flow, ensuring that you don't wash any soil away from the roots of your plants.
Soaker hoses let out a small amount of water over a long period of time. The water goes directly to the roots so you won't have a problem with evaporation or wet foliage.
Mister systems are best for hot, dry climates where dust needs to be washed off leaves and plants need to be kept cool.
T-fittings allow you to customize your irrigation system and get water to hard-to-reach spots in the garden.
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KEEPING ........
plants watered during the summer heat is crucial. Because water enters a plant through the roots and transpires through the leaves, keeping a constant flow is vital for any plant. There are a variety of ways to water for different areas of the garden.
Watering with a hose is the simplest method. Be sure to take the time to thoroughly drench the garden. It's okay if the water puddles a bit. Just let it soak in and water again. You don't want to water it so much that the soil runs off, though. Watering by hand can be relaxing, but it can also be time consuming.
Another common watering method is to use overhead sprinklers. These cover a larger area with less work than a hose. There are some drawbacks, though. Sprayed water can evaporate before thoroughly soaking the plants, and it can be hard to tell when you've watered enough. To check how much water has reached the soil, place a pan or bucket in the watering area. When you have an inch of water in the container you know your plants have received about the same.
A mister system is easy to install and can be hidden under soil or mulch. Most kits allow you to insert sprinkler heads where you need them along the main hose line. This allows you to concentrate the water spray in areas that need this type of watering. In humid climates, excessive overhead watering can encourage and spread disease.
For narrow garden areas like border gardens, a soaker hose system works well. The hoses have tiny holes all along their length. Just attach it to your water source and lay the hose around your plants, close enough to ensure that the roots receive all the water. The only limitation with this method is possible difficulty in getting the hose to every part of the garden.
Similar to the soaker hose method, drip irrigation is meant to be installed for long-term use in a single area of the garden. These systems can be operated on a timer, eliminating the chore of remembering to turn the water on and off. The kits come with all the necessary hardware you'll need, but you can buy separate parts to suit your needs. The only other items you'll need are a hose, a water source and a sharp knife. Drip irrigation systems are fairly easy to install:
- First lay the header line--the main line--along the length of the longest side of the garden bed. Cut off any excess from the header line so that it fits neatly inside the bed.
- At the end of each row of plants, cut the header line apart.
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- Attach the T-fitting and then attach the small lateral hoses. Stretch them down the rows. If you need to, you can cut these smaller hoses to fit inside your bed in the same way you cut the main line.
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- Cap the end of each lateral hose, otherwise water will shoot right out the end and your plants won't get the water they need.
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- One end of the main line attaches to a garden hose and the other needs to be capped. Before you hook up the line to the hose, insert a small filter to keep any dirt or pebbles from clogging the small holes of the lines. Attach the adapter to fit the hose and line together, and the system is complete.
It takes a little time to install this system, but it makes day-to-day watering easier. On the average, this system should be on for about four hours a day. The ideal length of time is determined by how long it takes to get the soil wet about six inches down. Check this by sticking a wooden stake into the soil to see how far down the water got. Drip irrigation actually conserves water by reducing evaporation rates; they use about 50 percent less water than overhead systems--so they save money too.
No matter what zone you live in, many common plants require more water than naturally falls. Remember that younger plants need more water than established plants. Whatever watering system you use, be sure to water less often but more thoroughly when you do. Watering too lightly causes the plants' roots to stay at the surface of the soil, making them vulnerable to drought. Also, water early in the day so your plants are dry by evening. Plants that sit wet all night run a greater risk of getting diseases.
The home gardener has several ways of irrigating the garden: a watering can; a garden hose with a fan nozzle or spray attachment; a portable lawn sprinkler; a soaker hose; or drip or trickle irrigation. Most of these options are simple to use and work adequately. While drip or trickle irrigation requires special equipment, it is the best method to use for conserving water.
The watering can and hose are fine for small gardens. When watering with the hose, the low pressure stream of water should be directed to the base of the plant and not the foliage.
Overhead sprinklers offer a wide range of watering patterns and area coverages. They are convenient but not very water-efficient. During hot, windy days, especially with small droplet sizes, a considerable amount of water is lost to evaporation. Also, many sprinklers deposit less water as one moves outward away from the source. The sprinkler needs to be placed at staggered locations to provide adequate overlap; this usually results in an overapplication of water beyond the plant’s needs. Oscillating sprinklers apply water more evenly than overhead sprinklers and can be easily adjusted to cover square or rectangular areas. Watering the foliage with a sprinkler may increase disease problems; however, watering in early morning should reduce the chances for disease outbreaks.
The soaker hose is an inexpensive and easy watering device. It is a hose made of plastic or canvas tubing that allows water to seep out all along its length at a slow rate. Water is conserved because the flow is directed into the ground near the plant with little loss to runoff or evaporation. The gentle stream of water causes little or no compaction of soil or splashing of muddied water on plants.
Finally, the drip or trickle system has emitters ideally suited for raised bed or container gardens. Short tubes, or emitters, come off a main water supply hose. The emitter places the water directly at the roots of the desired plants leaving leaves and fruits dry. The drip system allows the gardener to replace the water lost on a daily basis. By including a filter or self-flushing emitters in the system to prevent clogging, the drip system is a cost-effective irrigation tool that uses a minimum amount of water.
A gardener should be aware of periods in the development and growth of vegetables when an adequate amount of water should be available. Generally, the first few weeks after planting and transplanting and during the development of fruit or storage organs are times when plants may be adversely affected by shortages of water.
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