Article
Landscape Irrigation Systems
By Joey Reynolds
An irrigation system can enhance your landscape in a number of ways. It can keep your plants watered during a dry spell. It provides water directly to the roots, cutting down on waste. It helps lower the maintenance of your landscape, saving you watering time.
You should know which plants need manual watering, before installing an irrigation system. Some plants are drought-tolerant, and either do not require water or will die if they receive too much water. Next, map-out where your system will be. This is to make it easier to install, and gives you a record of where it is in the landscape for future planting purposes.
An irrigation system comes with hose, spaghetti hose, emitters, end caps, t-joints, back-up preventer flow valves, and a hole punch. Some irrigation systems give you a larger stream of water, than others; depending on what you are irrigating. For landscape plants, trees and shrubs, you would want the water at the base of the plant, to reach the roots. For a lawn, you might prefer a larger stream, to reach a larger area.
Irrigation systems flow at different PSI's (Pressure Square Inch), depending on the system. A home garden irrigation system would require a lower PSI than a commercial one. The ones I have seen range in price from $30.00 to $60.00. You can also control your PSI by how much hose you use, or how long your irrigation system is. A shorter system will give you a heavier flow, than a system over 200 feet long. Most systems recommend not going any further than 200 feet, as you lose too much water pressure beyond that.
Shaded landscape areas will require less watering than full-sun areas. Sloped areas can get some run-off, so be sure the emitters are close to the base of the plants to help prevent this. You should use at least one emitter per plant; but for larger plants you might consider using two or three emitters. Be sure your water shutoff valve is in a convenient place to be able to control your system. You can install an irrigation system for your landscape easily yourself at home. You bury the hose about six inches in the ground. A larger or commercial system installation might require heavy equipment, and may be better installed by a professional.
An irrigation system is a good choice for areas with watering restrictions. There is less loss of water through evaporation. Most plants require an inch of water per week. Newly planted or large plants, trees or shrubs may require more watering. Adding mulch will help the soil stay moist.