Irrigation overview

We have had so much rain lately that it seems odd to be discussing irrigation, but water

is still probably the most important component of healthy plants. When I first moved here

almost thirty years ago, I made a simple observation; it can go from too wet to too dry in two

days. That’s a silly little saying, but all too often it is true.

There are two main types of irrigation delivery systems, and they are spray and drip. The

only feasible way to irrigate lawns is through a spray system, be that manual watering or some

automated type. Spray irrigation is far less efficient than drip irrigation as far as water

consumption is concerned, as much of the water can be lost through evaporation. Disease is

often a problem with sprays, too. Spray irrigation often interferes with outdoor activities, too.

That doesn’t mean spray irrigation is bad. One good thing about spray irrigation is that it

is easy to tell when the system isn’t working properly. Sometimes hard water can partially or

completely clog spray nozzles. When this happens, they must be cleaned or replaced. Cleaning

can be accomplished physically or by soaking the nozzles in a chlorine solution or products such

as CLR or Lime Away. There are many of these that can be found in grocery or hardware stores

and many garden centers.

Drip irrigation gets the water to the roots where it is needed. This technique usually

consumes less than a third of the water that would be used in a spray system. There is also no

water residue on leaves that can lead to foliar diseases. That’s great, but there is one major

potential problem. When using a drip system, it is important to check on your landscape as

sometimes drip emitters can get clogged. When this happens, you probably won’t realize it

until plants begin to suffer. Water softening systems can reduce these hard water issues, but

they can add sodium to the soil, which can be a problem.

Low tech systems, like soaker hoses are easier to monitor, so problems are less. Low

tech systems require more labor though to get the results you want. Over a long period of time,

it can be a hassle to drag hoses around to mow the yard, but with our sporadic rains and sandy

soils, some type if irrigation is a must.

Most modern irrigation controllers are easy for anyone to operate, and they aren’t

expensive, especially if you spread the cost over several years. Most have a water budgeting

feature that can increase or decrease the running time without reprogramming. In addition to

that, I like to install manual override switches in all my irrigation zones. That way, I can let some

zones run and keep the others off while not going through the trouble of reprogramming the

controller. Some advanced systems even have soil moisture sensors that take care of those

problems automatically, which can save a lot of water on large areas.