Sprinklers, Drippers, Hand watering???

There comes a time in every home gardener’s life when they must decide how they are going to ensure that all their plants get watered effectively. They have the following choices:

• Sprinklers

• Drippers

• Hand watering

During my years as a gardener, I have worked through a couple of droughts and I’m currently worried that another one is around the corner! During these droughts, some of my client’s gardens have had to convert their sprinkler systems to drippers during water restrictions, only to change the system back to sprinklers once the restrictions were lifted.

I personally do not believe we should have to change to drippers, and I don’t subscribe to the idea that sprinklers use more water. If gardens are watered properly, both sprinklers and drippers should be using similar amounts of water. I do however concede that many badly designed sprinkler systems waste copious amounts of water.

Before deciding on your watering regime, the first thing to do is consider the plants you have in your garden. If you have chosen very drought tolerant plants, such as native or succulent plants, you may only need to water during the establishment stage and then rely primarily on natural rainfall. In such cases, a highly sophisticated irrigation system – whether it be sprinklers or drippers – is unnecessary. Conversely, if you have a more traditional European-style garden, then a well-designed irrigation system will reap rewards.

When installing drippers:

• Do not mix with sprinklers on the one line. The pressure will be too strong for the drippers.

• Don’t try to water a large garden with one line of drippers. Too much pressure will be lost. Instead, break it up into separate stations.

• Drippers work best in narrow garden beds and are particularly effective along the root zones of hedges.

When installing sprinklers:

• Purchase sprinkler heads where you can increase or decrease the watering arc. There is nothing worse than seeing sprinklers watering the pavement.

• Make sure the sprinklers water the lawns or garden beds evenly.

• Position sprinkler heads where they won’t be obstructed by tree stems or large plants. This may require you to reposition where you place the sprinkler head or buy different sized risers.

My last piece of advice is to keep the system simple.

If there are areas that don’t need watering, don’t waste water.

If you have a large densely planted garden, I strongly suggest you get your irrigation system installed by an irrigation expert. I know that this can be very expensive, but if not done properly you will have to replace it and the money you spent will amount to nothing.

Also, please don’t feel that you must install an irrigation system as there is nothing wrong with hand watering.

If you have time, hand watering is a great chance to relax and assess how all your plants are looking as you plan future garden projects. And lastly, make sure you water after the sun goes down or first thing in the morning to minimise losing water to evaporation.