Irrigation

Drip irrigation is the slow and precise delivery of water to chosen plantings. It uses flexible polyethylene tubing with devices for dripping water (emitters) and low-volume sprays. Drip irrigation maintains near-perfect moisture levels in the root zone of plants, avoiding the too wet/too dry swings typical of overhead watering. Drip systems are controlled by hand or by an automatic timer, and can also be used to apply fertilizers directly to the roots of plants.

Drip systems irrigate all types of landscape: shrubs, trees, perennial beds, ground covers, annuals and lawns. Drip is the best choice to water roof gardens, containers on decks and patios, row crops and kitchen gardens, orchards, and vineyards.

Advantages - A drip system produces healthy, fast-growing plants. In traditional watering methods there is an extreme fluctuation in the water content, temperature, and aeration of the soil, resulting in plant stress. Drip watering keeps the moisture content of soil relatively constant and ensures that oxygen remains available to the root system. For many gardeners, water conservation is the main reason for installing a drip system. When you water your garden, your purpose is to water plants rather than soil.

Drip irrigation gives you the ability to put water exactly where it's needed and keep paths and areas between plants dry. This reduces both waste and weeding. You can regulate precisely the amount of water used during irrigation so that nearly all of it remains in the root zone. Water lost to evaporation is negligible compared to overhead watering.

Traditional watering methods deliver water faster than most soils can absorb. If water exceeds the soil's percolation rate, it can only run off the surface, taking valuable topsoil and nutrients with it. On a slope, drip can be designed for minimum runoff and is often the only means of bringing a hillside into cultivation. Another advantage of drip is that you can deliver equal amounts of water to plants over a wide area. This is very hard to accomplish with other methods of irrigation.