Types of irrigation for your garden

 

All types of garden whether they are a vegetable garden, a lawn area or purely a floral garden, need watering. All kinds of vegetation need water.

Watering the garden on a regular basis is an essential part of the work of the gardener especially in periods of hot weather. It can be a tedious task having to water flower beds from a half gallon watering can, and while it’s fine to water the lawn with a garden hose attached to the kitchen tap, the jet of water may be too strong for vegetables and flowers.

Fortunately, however, there are easier methods of carrying out the garden watering process by using simple garden irrigation systems. The two most popular ways are either by Leaky Pipe Irrigation or using Drip irrigation. Let’s take a very brief look at both methods.

Leaky Pipe Irrigation

This is literally watering from a leaky pipe. Sometimes referred to as a soaker hose it allows water to permeate the soil in a controlled manner, and supplies the plants where the water is most required at the base of the plant. The device is simple. It consists usually of a flattish pipe made from recycled rubber with a connection at one end to connect to the garden water tap, and has as coupling at the other end for many smaller leaky pie outlets. When arranged to face the stems of plants in a row the leaking water is evenly distributed to suit their requirements.

Trickle Irrigation

Also known as Drip Irrigation, the idea is very simple. By having a main line flexible pipe water feeder, a series of mini pipes are plugged in and guided to the stems of the plants for watering. The tips of the mini water feeders are weighted and place at the base of the plants. The water delivery does not require a high pressure, hence the name trickle irrigation. It is possible to create such a system on a DIY basis but kits are available at most garden centers fairly cheaply.