Freedom from the hose

Once a garden has been planted, there is nothing more important than water for its ability to survive. 

The best time to water is in the morning (6-9 am) or early evening (5-7 pm), before the sun sets. Since I rather sleep in the morning, I spend my evenings watering each vegetable bed by hand using a hand-held sprinkler.

Not only is overhead watering a waste of water and an invitation for disease, I spend more than 12 hours per week watering all my gardens. Last year I vowed that it was going to be my last year lugging around a garden hose to water the vegetable gardens.

The most economical method for watering vegetable gardens is to use a soaker hose. However, in the past, I found that the soaker hose needed to be on for several hours to provide sufficient water to the roots of each plant. At the time, I really didn't feel that the plants were being watered well enough to encourage a deep root system. 

After considering the alternatives, I decided to install a drip irrigation system. Not only is a drip irrigation system a great time saver, it supplies water directly to the roots of the plants. This minimizes the loss of water due to evaporation and runoff (which occurs with overhead watering) and helps to reduce water bills. An added benefit: direct watering should keep the area between plants dry, which helps limit weed growth. BONUS!

I used the Mister Landscaper Drip Irrigation System (plus additional tubing, emitters, stakes, etc.) for my garden. Setting up the drip irrigation system was easy, but it did require some planning ahead of time. Something I do not usually do when it comes to something like this. 

Ryan efficiently used all the parts to design a simple system while my setup was far more complicated (and messy). I believe my lack of engineering skills showed through in my set up. Nonetheless, after six trips to the big box store to get additional parts, Ryan and I have completed the installation of a drip irrigation system in my vegetable garden. And...IT WORKS! :)

I placed 1 gallon per hour (gph) emitters on all the pepper plants, 2 gph emitters on all the tomato plants, and 10 gph adjustable misters to the rest of the garden (onions, lettuce, beans, etc). I have no idea whether this is the best rate for each plant. I am currently trying to optimize the watering schedule so I do not over or under water each plant. 

Once the system fully operational, it doesn't mean I can just walk away and assume the garden is being properly watered. Periodically throughout the season, I will monitor the soil's moisture level to ensure sufficient water is delivered to the roots of the plants.

Only time will tell whether the investment of the drip irrigation system will pay off. But I am looking forward to the system being a significant time saver for me. I plan to use the my extra time harvesting, weeding, and maintaining my garden, rather than watering.