Whether you grow a vegetable garden, prize roses, or just have a few shrubs and flower beds sprinkled around the yard, good irrigation practices are a must to keep your plants healthy. The right irrigation systems can make watering the beds easy.

1. Drip Irrigation

When it comes to saving water and ensuring healthy plants, drip irrigation is the way to go. Water is delivered straight to the root zone of the plants instead of spraying down from above. This minimizes water loss from wind and evaporation while also ensuring that leaves stay dry and mildew-free. The lines run on the soil surface and have emitters at intervals to supply water directly to the plants. The lines can be covered with mulch.

2. Automatic Systems

The point of failure in many irrigation systems is human absentmindedness. Forgetting to turn the system on when plants are dying of thirst, as well as leaving the irrigation running too long and drowning the plants, are both risks. Putting the system on an automatic timer that has been adjusted to the needs of the varying zones of plants in your yard is the best solution for human error.

3. Moisture Sensors

Too much water is just as damaging to plants as too little, and both problems occur all too easily. For example, even an automated system can cause overwatering if it continues to operate even during periods of intense rainfall. Moisture sensors are devices that are inserted into the soil in the different irrigation zones that make up your yard. The sensors tie into your automatic system so that the watering duration will automatically alter to meet the existing needs of the soil.

4. Smart Automation

You can take irrigation automation one step further with a smart system. Smart systems go a step further than automated systems, as they may run completely off sensors that use current weather and soil conditions to develop a custom daily irrigation schedule that requires little to no input from you. These systems can be monitored and controlled remotely using a computer or phone application.

5. Rain Collection

If water conservation is a necessary part of your irrigation plan, then rain collection may be useful. These systems typically require the installation of sufficient guttering along with a cistern or similar collection storage container. An irrigation system, either automatic or manual, can then be hooked into the rain collection system

Contact a local company for more help, like Jones' Wells, Pumps and Irrigation.