Did you know that conserving water can actually help your garden? Drip irrigation has revolutionized the home landscape, effectively delivering water to a plant’s root zone to support lush, healthy plants with far less water than traditional methods. The advantages of drip irrigation are many, and installation is easier than you may think. Knowledge of the fundamentals, a basic parts list, and expert tips will have you set up for success and ready to tackle this new challenge, one drop at a time.
What are the benefits of drip irrigation?
- Water Conservation. Drip irrigation is 95-100% efficient in delivering water, versus the 75% or less efficiency of traditional sprinkler systems, saving considerable amounts of water. By watering directly and slowly at the root, there is less water lost to evaporation, wind, or runoff into the street. Add a timer and make optimal water delivery even easier!
- Lush Plant Growth. When your plants get water right where they want and need it – at the roots – less water is lost, which help keep nutrients in the root zone to foster healthy plant growth. As a bonus, keeping water off plant leaves helps prevent fungus and mildew growth that can be a struggle in our already damp climate.
- Flexibility. Drip irrigation can be applied to raised-bed gardens, landscape beds, trees, and even pots! Length and layout can easily be adjusted to water the right plants at the right time while navigating around obstacles. Drip irrigation can even be used to water your foundation!
- Easy Acquisition. Many hardware stores now carry relatively inexpensive drip irrigation kits, allowing gardeners to peruse the kit options in-person and choose one that best suits your needs, such as a soaker hose, drip hose, or a conversion kit for a zone of your automatic sprinkler system.
- Rebates. If you are a Woodlands Water Agency customer, there’s the added perk of eligibility for a partial rebate of the cost to install drip. Be sure to save your receipts and check out their website to take advantage of this offer.
What do I need to know about drip irrigation?
- Installation. Drip irrigation does require installation, including specific parts and tools for proper setup. Installation can include converting existing spray heads, designing a new drip irrigation system, or attaching the system to something as simple as a garden faucet. With guidance and a little DIY, drip irrigation installation can be done yourself. Otherwise, there are many companies that can install a system for you.
- Regulating Water Pressure. Functioning in a fundamentally different way than traditional sprinkler heads, drip irrigation systems typically operate between 15 and 20 psi – whereas municipal water can be 40, or even 80, psi. A pressure regulator is necessary to reduce and maintain pressure for a successful system.
- Beware of Blockage. Relying on a lot of little holes to deliver water, solid materials can occasionally plug up drip and soaker hoses. In-line filters, treatment of water, and hose flushes can solve this problem to ensure your system continues to work effectively.
Learn more about how to start your drip irrigation journey from expert Bob Dailey in this recorded online class. Watch The Woodlands Township website for our next drip irrigation class and reach out to Environmental Services with any question as you begin!
