Landscape Design : Utilizing Drip Irrigation Plans

Using sprinkler watering systems, moisture is lost through run off, evaporation, blown away by the wind, and wasted on non-landscaped areas. The drip irrigation system is generally more than 90% efficient at allowing plants use all the water applied, whereas sprinklers are only 70% efficient.

It's a good idea to create a drip irrigation system for your yard. Then you don't need to worry about getting the right quantity of water delivered at the right time, nor must you have to move sprinklers all the time.

An irrigation system is not initially cheap, however it will pay for itself within a few years and most do-it-yourselfers can install it easily.

What Is It?

Drip irrigation actually refers to a combination of several types of low-pressure, low-volume water delivery methods. The exact term for such systems is "microirrigation". Each microirrigation system is noted by a different type of emitter (the part that releases the water).

Drip irrigation is the precise and slow application of low pressure water directly to the plant's roots using emitters. A drip irrigation system is a series of interconnected flexible pvc tubing. The tubes have holes cut at specific spaces to match the placement of your plants. The whole system is either buried or placed atop the soil next to the plants.

Advantages

By keeping the plant's roots moist (but not saturated) you really use less water than with normal watering techniques. Maintaining a perfect moisture level in the soil at all times causes:

-deep watering
-more efficient watering
-the conservation of water
-very little evaporation loss
-water only where plants are
-no wind to blow the water away
-deeper roots
-healthier roots (because of decreasing disease problems caused by high levels of moisture on plants)
-plants are hardier: more resistant to pests, drought, and disease
-more abundant foliage
-greater crop yields
-no uv degradation of plastic and other materials exposed to sunlight
-decreases water, fertilizer, and labor if managed properly.

Where To Use

Drip irrigation systems are usually installed around flowers, shrubs, and even trees. This targeting allows watering to be more effective and efficient. It helps ensure that each of the landscape's individual elements are appropriately watered.

A drip irrigation system can be easily hidden by a layer of mulch, so that even an above ground system does not diminish the sight of your landscape design.

How To Set Up

Installing drip irrigation is easy using kits obtainable at almost all home improvement stores. Kits come with instructions that clearly explain all the procedure. There are a few tools needed for the installation, but you probably already have them. The installation takes 1 day or less.

You can make operation much easier by adding a timer to your system. The timers can be obtained at home improvement stores and are simple to install as well. Timers insure that your plants get watered at the correct time without you needing to remember to do so. They help your plants get precisely the right amount of water at the right time.

Your drip irrigation system should be used with "irrigation zones" in your landscape. Plants with similar water needs should be grouped together, so that they can be more efficiently watered. This helps you to not overwater some plants just because others nearby need more water.

It's easy to change the configuration of a drip system. So, a system will evolve as your needs change.

All things considered, drip irrigation systems are economical as well as a good choice to keep your plants healthy and hardy. They can help to improve your home ... the easy way.