Friday, May 10, 2013

Drip Irrigation- The Right Thing To Do This Dry, Hot Summer

It has been weeks since the last rains here in upstate New York. It looks like it's going to be a long hot summer with little rain to speak of. Even if you get the rain you need where you live, now is the time to switch to drip irrigation for your gardens. I have been adding 100-200 feet of new drip irrigation to my garden each year, making watering less and less of a chore. While the lack of rain is one good reason to make the switch, some other good reasons include a.) the plants like it, b.) it saves 80% of our most precious natural resource (water), and c.) it's the right thing to do. 

If money is an issue, know that the price of drip hoses have dropped significantly. You don't have to but professional, using 5/8th inch hoses, 1/2" will do and with connectors and regulators you can have a professional setup for about $.10- $.12 a foot. 
Add a water timer and meter and you can simply turn a dial and you will be set for the day. 
If you have a large garden like I do you might need a multi-hose connection. If you use quick connects on all your attachments you can quickly move the water timer to each leg of your garden. 
The combination of all these tools will make you a very environmentally friendly gardener. It will free up a lot of time and will save all of us a lot of water. Your plants will love it, your garden will love it and the world will love it. For those of you who get a lot of pleasure hand watering (and I'm included), you can still hand water certain parts or certain plants to get that enjoyment. I have 4 raised beds I still stand over of hand water and suck up the love. Have a great summer. 








1 comment:

  1. Great Post Hal! The great thing about drip irrigation in my opinion is that it's been around for a long time, so there is a large body of knowledge to tap into and a lot of great products. I was using drip in my gardens and flower beds at my first home in Austin, TX 20 years ago! It worked great during the long dry Texas summers. Here in NY, we do have to bring in our drip equipment every fall to avoid freeze damage across the winter, but it's worth it!

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