Its finally gotten a little cooler, and the clouds have gathered. Yesterday it rained which was a blessing for two reasons. One it cooled things down, and two i didnt have to water the garden, which as i was in bed all day feeling like blechhh, is a VERY good thing.
The thing about gardens, like pets, is that they chain you to them. It doesnt matter if you need a break, the garden still needs to be tended and watered, as i found out rather dramatically last year, so something ive been looking into lately is irrigation. The other reason for looking into irrigation systems is that i have rather bad sciatica, which can make it impossible to stand for long periods,and if i dont have irrigation and i extend the garden as i plan to, SOMEone will have to stand there with the hose.
The thing with irrigation is the bewildering plethora of kinds and makes, and ofc like most of these things most makes arent compatible....hell, why make the purchasers job any easier?
The basic types are i guess, drip and seep systems, and sprinkler systems, and ofc sometimes both are combined, and i have to admit that the whole thing just confuses me something chronic!
Sprinklers are my least favoured idea. Theyre the most inefficient method of watering allowing a greater amount of evaporation and its hard to site one so that the water all goes to the plant intended. Most nurseries run a drip system because its efficient and gets the water where its needed which is to the roots of the plants. They work very well in a system of rows of plants, but its not so straightforward when the plants arent placed so regularly. They can also be a bit of an eyesore, and while that doesnt matter in a nursery it does in a home garden. Ofc there are ways around this, but some, like digging the pipes in, are hard work and expensive. Its also hard to work with containers unless its done at potting up time when a line can be threaded through the drainage hole of the pot. That however means that the pot then becomes fixed and immovable, which isnt always whats wanted.
Seep systems are the "leaky hose" kind of irrigation. This is also efficient but again there are issues with placing of the hoses for maximum efficiency and so that the hoses arent in your face. Again this system is better with rows rather than clumps and drifts of plants.
In principle, theyre simple enough. A drip system consists of the water source, a pipe or hose that has holes in it to allow a slow water release, and end caps for the hose to seal the system. A more complex system might have T junctions to allow more lines to run off the one hose and might also include a computer to automate the watering cycle.
Ive seen several examples of drip systems done with pvc piping, which would work well as long as you could arrange the plants in rows. Might be a go for the fruit trees though id still have to get over the issue of needing access between the two lines of trees, and allowing wheelchair access through too.It wouldnt work at all for my deck plants tho, nor the garden beds which arent arranged in rows or anything close to it.
A hose system would be an option there, but to do it myself would require sourcing the fittings which is a task unto itself! i have seen them for sale in garden centres but theyre expensive, ofc then theres always going to a hardware, DIY place and purchasing items that might not be meant for the task but that would do it just as well. It can be a process of trial and error though, finding the right items to do the job.
Then theres the option of purchasing a system, but the trouble with that is that a bought system never quite fits your needs, plus theres the expense involved. Theyre not cheap at all.
LOL i know i sound like a real pessimist, but i prefer to be that way and then be pleasantly surprised when things work, than frustrated the other way when they dont quite ;)
I guess i need to do more research and pricing, but hopefully ill have a system of some sort in place by next summer. That would be my ideal.
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