Irrigations Systems

Irrigations Systems: (Hard Piping)

Burying pipe and allowing for sprinklers to water the garden in overlapping spray arcs is the most common. The plan for these systems is also not complex and it can be surprisingly inexpensive. Pipe, sprinklers, risers and all that are pretty affordable. What we pay professionals to do is to provide a perfect system with a warranty while we learn it. But any pro can tell you, it is surprisingly easy to do oneself. The only borderline expensive items are for the installation of “Backflow Preventers” (little mechanisms that keep the water from a system from reentering the potable (drinking) water of a house system) and for the timers to run the system. Backflow preventers are a wise and actually a code requirement in many places. If you already have a system for your lawn in place, then you will already have this item. But they can also be purchased within a Control Valve itself and this is a remarkably intelligent way of proceeding. The control valve is what releases the water into the pipes serving the garden. This can also be run manually instead of off a clock, which an overwhelming majority of gardeners prefer. Control Valves are wired to connect to a clock/timer, releasing water at appropriate, pre set intervals. This is the best possible way of insuring watering gets done, yet still the most expensive up front cost. I will explain Irrigation Ins and Outs in later posts and in much more detail.

Irrigations Systems: (Soft Piping) Or, as it is otherwise known, Drip Irrigation.

This requires much less excavating. In fact, the flexible piping of a drip system allow adaptations at the ground level. Nor do they really need burying at all! Typically, people prefer to see soil and plants only, especially in gardens composed largely of blooming flowers. Even still, these pipes can be buried an inch or two below the surface easily. Thus, they are far more serviceable and more adaptable. Another supreme benefit of a drip system is the fact that the water used goes directly to the root system! It is hard to quantify why this is so superior, but it is. This means, as in a spray system such as the irrigation system typified above, or even in the oscillating sprinklers we attach to hoses, much water is lost to evaporation. As water becomes an ever more precious commodity, the wisdom of drip irrigation becomes a huge ally.