Irrigation And My Garden

To produce a healthy, productive garden you’ll need loamy soil. It should crumble easily in your hands, not too much clay aspect, not too much sandy quality. Clay-like soil retains too much moisture and doesn’t allow proper drainage. Sandy soil doesn’t provide adequate support and drains too well, as well as lacking needed nutrients.

To produce that kind of soil, two obvious things are needed: good fertilizer and the right amount of water.

Know what type of soil you’re starting with before you add anything. Testing kits are inexpensive and can tell you what kind of soil you have. pH levels and nutrient levels will be tested. Most vegetables are best suited in a pH range of 6.0-6.5, but some favor acidic soils and other prefer alkaline earth.

To adjust the pH you can add sulfur or lime. Those nutrients can be supplied by adding fertilizer. You should adjust the soil pH several months before planting. In some locations you will do this after harvest time, before the first snowfall.

If you’ve created a compost pile, add the material to the topsoil about three weeks before planting. That will give it time to naturally leach the needed nutrients into the soil before you plant. You can speed up the process somewhat by tilling it into the top few inches. Otherwise, you can add organic or artificial fertilizer (such as NPK 8-8-8) to enrich your soil. Add that right before planting. About 20 pounds per thousand square feet is enough in most cases.

Vegetables love lots of water, unlike most herbs and some other plants, although most are not suited to sit continuously in a pool of water, which leads to root rot. Continuously moist soil, however, will aid your plants growing and support themselves.

Water is essential to your plants. It is used to transport nutrients throughout the plant, participate in photosynthesis, and give rigidity and firmness to cell structures. For most gardens, one inch of water per week is sufficient (about 65 gallons per 100 square feet). This may cary slightly depending on your soil type. You may need to supplement if natural rain activity doesn’t supply that amount from April through September.

Fortunately, it’s easy to supply.

If applied in moderate temperatures, watering vegetable plants from above doesn’t wilt them, unlike flowering plants. There is still common considerations to apply. Allow leaves and topsoil to dry before nighttime temperatures settle in by watering early in the day. This is one way to prevent fungus. Building an inexpensive, simple drip irrigation system is another way to accomplish the same goal. Rubber tubing that leaches water should be placed near the plant in order to supply water to the roots.

Only occasional watering is then needed to keep leaves clean and their pores open. But don’t water when it’s very hot. Leaves evaporate moisture when their pores open. Watering when it is very hot will defeat the purpose of watering, as your plant will evaporate more moisture than you supplied. Also, Water droplets can act like small magnifying glasses and cause burns.

Everyone loves to have a garden in the lawn. The color of the flora and fauna, the chirping of the birds etc are invaluable. But one of the most important factors to consider while opting for a garden is water and water is an extremely precious commodity nowadays. Depending on the area that you live in, you might need to employ one or more irrigation methods in your garden to conserve water. Here is a look at some of the best ones out there.

Drip irrigation has made a rapid progression from agriculture to commercial landscape gardens. Initially, drip irrigation systems were created in countries which had an extremely dry climate and limited water supply. The system works by supplying water directly to the roots of the plants with the help of sprinklers or emitters. These are interconnected by a network of pipes that are suspended over the ground surface. The result is that there is minimum wastage of water due to evaporation. Drip systems are also easy to install and any handy man can create a drip system in the garden.

On the other hand, if your garden has a large surface area that needs to be watered, then you might just consider using a sprinkler system. Sprinklers and micro sprinklers spray water over a large area where usage of drip systems is not feasible. They are equally efficient when delivering water without too much wastage.

Xeriscape is a widely popular gardening method from Colorado which focuses on creating a lush garden while minimizing water usage. The system was created to give everyone the lush green garden even in the dry arid climate of Colorado. The system comprises of seven gardening principles that will give you the green landscape that you always wanted. It is ideal in areas where water supply is limited. The first part of any Xeriscape garden is effective planning. The turf or grass is limited to very few parts of the garden. The plants which are used in the garden are also low water plants. It also uses the best irrigation methods which combines sprinklers, drip emitters, irrigation timers and garden hoses.

Organic gardening methods can also be employed to enhance the look of your garden. If you are new to the concept of organic gardening, then you can get comprehensive information about the techniques on the internet.

Author: Jonathan Goodman

There are a number of decisions of a design nature that determine whether or not your roses will look good. There are also special seasonal tasks, such as pruning, that are essential for success. But sandwiched between the two, are the basic cultural requirements that have to be met in order to get the most from the rose bushes. These requirements could be termed the preconditions for success.

Choosing the right location.

Roses require exposure to at least six hours of direct sunlight in hot Mediterranean climates, mostly in the morning. In regions with less light intensity, they probably need more. Roses should not be planted under trees, not only because of the shade, but also because they compete poorly with the trees’ roots. For the same reason, they should not be planted too close to shrubs either.

While roses can thrive in hot, dry climates, they suffer in warm, humid ones. Gardeners can unintentionally create excessive humidity, by planting the bushes where there is insufficient movement of air, or by placing the plants too close to each other. Whatever the cause, humid conditions are ideal breeding grounds for fungi that plague roses, such as powdery mildew. It is important therefore to know the width of the plants’ growth, and to fix the distance between the roses, accordingly. Do not be tempted to over-plant.

Soil conditions

To grow well and flower profusely, roses need highly porous soil. If the earth is clumpy and hard, it must be broken up and improved with massive quantities of compost. In either very heavy, clay soil, or alternatively, extremely light, sandy soil, some 60 liters per square meter, is by no means excessive. In medium, loamy soils on the other hand, about 20 liters should suffice.

While many wild species of rose are of Mediterranean origin and even harsher Central Asian climates, the cultivated varieties that make up the bulk of garden specimens are not especially drought resistant. In areas without summer rain, it is essential to supply them with regular water. Unquestionably, drip irrigation is preferable to overhead sprinklers, because not only do the latter waste more water, but they add 100% humidity into the bargain! Never forget that an improper watering regime is liable to deplete the soil of oxygen; a condition to which roses are particularly sensitive.

Mulching the soil

Covering the soil with an organic mulch helps to reduce water loss, retard weeds, and perhaps most crucially in hot climates, moderate the temperature at the topsoil level. In my view, mulching with an aesthetically pleasing material like wood chippings is preferable, design wise, to under planting the rose bushes with flowers. While in cultural terms, infinitely improved growing conditions are attained, without the roses having to contend with any competition from rival plants.

About the Author

My name is Jonathan Ya’akobi. I’ve been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I’d love to help you get the very best from your garden, so you’re welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com or contact me at jonathan@dryclimategardening.com

Which irrigation is best for your lawn spray or drip? Choosing an efficient irrigation system for your lawn or garden has never been more important. With water conservation now being a key issue in many communities, you need to do your homework to find out which one is right for you.

Spray irrigation has been the traditional way to water domestic and municipal gardens and lawns. Spray irrigations covers a broad area by a fixed or moving sprinkler device. There is a lot of runoff and evaporation when using this irrigation system. You not only waste water but you waste money too. If you choose to use mini-sprinklers and fine mist spray devices on your spray irrigation system you are creating a moist environment around a large area. Spray irrigations are needed for some germinating plants, are easier to service and when it is used during the hottest part of the day it can have a cooling effect on some plants. They can also promote weed growth, and are exposed to the elements of the weather.

Drip irrigation is by far the more efficient method of irrigating lawns and gardens. Drip irrigation delivers water slowly and directly to the roots of the plants and lawns by using a hose that is full of tiny holes. Because the water is delivered directly to the roots there is far less water lost due to evaporation, less tendency to over water, less risk of plant disease developing as a result of excess water pooling in the soil and collecting in the garden mulch. If you have trees or vine crops, you can install micro-spray heads, which spray water in small areas. Installing a drip irrigation system not only mimics Mother Nature but pampers your plants. Most gardens love it when they are watered gently and slowly.

Drip tape or tubing can leak or become plugged up, so you must also choose the depth carefully so it will not freeze and it won’t accidentally get cut.

You want a drip system that best fits your needs. Do you have plants that need to be germinated? Do you have plants that need the humidity? Or, will they do better if you use drip irrigation instead of a spray? Also do you live in an area where you have to save water? All of these must be taken in to consideration when deciding what type of irrigation you need.

Author: Bill Doane

Regular watering is an integral part of successful gardening in any region that has long, hot dry summers, such as in Southern California, the Middle East, or South West Australia. Regular watering should not entail opening the taps every day or so, or whenever the plants look tired and dry. There is neither the water available for that, nor is it usually best for the garden plants. An appropriate irrigation regime involves understanding the importance of maintaining a proper balance in the soil between air on the one hand, and moisture on the other. With insufficient water, the plant withers and dies, while with insufficient air available in the soil, the roots cannot breathe. In principle, “how often should I water?” is a question of correctly applying that understanding.

Assuming that the soil has adequate drainage, the next most significant factor is the frequency by which water is applied. Light, sandy soils drain excellently, but retain water poorly. It follows that the intervals between each watering have to be relatively short. Conversely, heavy, clay soils possess good water retention properties but drain slowly. As the greater the length of time that the soil is saturated with water, the less air is available to the plants’ roots, watering intervals should be relatively wide. As we shall see with some of the following examples, it is often best to make those intervals as long as possible.

Plants that grow naturally in arid regions are often or not particularly sensitive to low oxygen percentages in the soil. Situations where the top soil layers are permanently moist are liable to cause roots to rot, or at the least, not to develop properly. Many fine ornamental trees and shrubs, such as Melaleuca, Eucalyptus, Callistemon, Leucophyllum , Olive and Cypress, belong to this category. In clay soils, watering once a month (sometimes less frequently) through the summer, is often sufficient for established plants, providing that enough water is applied so that it reaches down to at least 50 cm, (1.5 feet) preferably I meter. Frequent but deep soakings also play the crucial role of leaching excessive salts from the soil.

Most lawn varieties grown in hot, dry, summer climates are heat resistant species. They are not drought resistant however, and of course require regular irrigation. In heavy soils, the interval for established lawns can be over 2 weeks, although 1 week to 10 ten days is preferable for private gardens. The interval for sandy soils can be between 3-5 days. Delaying the watering involves virtually no risk to the mature, healthy lawn. On the contrary, not only does the gap allow air to be present in the soil, but it encourages the deep-rooting species like Bermuda grass, to grow into the sub soil. Such lawn types recover quickly from small doses of drought stress.

Herbal plants are with some exceptions largely of Mediterranean origin or grow naturally in similar habitats. Oregano, Sage, Artemisia, Rosemary and Lavender, to name but a few, all respond well to properly …#34; drained soil, and suffer from boggy, anaerobic conditions. As they do not need be watered as deeply as trees and shrubs, the intervals should be correspondingly shortened.

Herbaceous flowers, whether annual or perennial, have to be watered very frequently on the other hand. In very light soils, those with very small percentages of clay, watering might have to be as often as once a day, whereas in very heavy soils, it may be possible to stretch it out to 3-5 days between each watering.

You may well ask - “What should I do if my flowers are mixed up with the trees and shrubs?” The short answer is that you have to water according to the needs of that plant group that require water most urgently. The more involved answer though is that it is impossible to irrigate intelligently, if different plant groups with entirely different watering needs, are planted together and watered from the same irrigation line.

About the Author

My name is Jonathan Ya’akobi. I’ve been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I’d love to help you get the very best from your garden, so you’re welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com or contact me jonathan@dryclimategardening.com

Effective irrigation and efficient water management are about supplying suitable quantities of water to the garden plants, at the right intervals. Both these parameters differ in accordance with various groups of plants. Trees and shrubs of tropical origin may thrive on soil conditions that are almost permanently moist, while species from dry climates invariably prefer the soil to dry out somewhat between the waterings. Herbaceous flowering plants need to be watered frequently, while under such a regime, herbs are liable to suffer from a lack of air in the root zone.

The cardinal rule of garden irrigation is therefore to install separate lines for the different groups of plants that make up the garden. While sprinklers are used for lawn irrigation, drip irrigation is more suitable for the rest of the garden plants. Needless to say, both have to be separated from each other, to avoid them being operated together.

In addition, separate taps for drip irrigation should be installed for those groups of plants that have different watering requirements. The greater the separation, the more accurately one can calculate the quantities needed and fix the intervals between each watering. For example, in a hypothetical garden in Southern California, entirely independent lines would be installed for the shaded beds containing ferns and tropical fruit trees, the mass of water-conserving shrubs and landscaping trees, the herb garden planted in a bed of pebbles, and the annual flowers growing in pots.

Professional irrigation therefore has two principle sides. It aims to provide optimal growing conditions to the garden plants, while using as little water as possible. Does all this though have to be at the expense of the beauty of the garden? As it happens, grouping plants together that have similar water requirements also makes good design sense. In other words, plants that grow in similar habitats tend to look good together, while the opposite is also true. Here are some examples that clearly illustrate the point.

*Olive trees and date palms grow in radically different habitats, yet they are often planted together in Mediterranean gardens. Now ask yourself; do they go well together?

*I’ve seen the massively -leaved Philodendron “Beefy”, an archetypal tropical plant, planted next to the fine-leaved Pyracantha, a Mediterranean species. The look is totally incongruous. As one would expect, the tropical Philodendron requires an entirely different irrigation regime from that needed by Pyracantha.

*On the other hand, herbs like Rosemary and Lavender associate perfectly in visual terms with other arid and semi-arid plants like Junipers, Pistachios, Sumacs and Pomegranate. All can be grown on a similar and limited water regime, typified by deep, occasional soakings. In fact, it is not by chance that this is the case. All possess the small leaves typical of a climate where the plants reduce water loss by restricting the surface area of the organ (the leaf) through which water evaporates into the atmosphere.

Author: Jonathan Ya’akobi

The winter is the ideal season for checking out all the different components of your irrigation system. It may be stating the obvious, but from my over 20 year’s worth of experience as a professional gardener in a hot dry country, many people tend to forget about it during the rainy season, only to wake up in a panic at the first sign of hot weather in the spring. So make a commitment to go through the system 8 weeks or so before the onset of spring. Let’s see then what has to be done, section by section.

Underground lawn sprinklers

Firstly open the tap to see which sprinklers if any are not working properly. Underground or pop-up sprinklers can sometimes sink somewhat in the ground. Adjust the height of the whole housing if necessary, even if that involves some digging to do so. Modern sprinkler heads have small filters inserted in the housing. Clean out each one. Three minutes work per unit can save a lot of frustration later, as part of the grass browns off in the summer, due to poor water coverage. It’s also important to check the state of the nozzles. They become worn over time, and should be replaced every 3-5 years.

Drip irrigation

Irrigation drippers tend to get blocked in time. Switch on to see which ones are not emitting water. If the drippers are pre-set in the pipe by the manufacturer, then insert a “button” dripper next to the blocked up units. To reduce blockages in the future, it is essential to flush out the lines at least once a year. After turning on the tap, simply open the end of the line and let the water flow for about 5 minutes or so. The life span of dripper lines is usually up to 10-15 years, as mineral deposits in the water eventually make the line inoperable. However, neglecting to periodically wash out the system will significantly reduce their operable life span. I’ve seen drippers block up after 3 or 4 years when this simple routine task is ignored.

The Irrigation head unit

A professional irrigation system will include a controller, or timer, filters and pressure regulators. Needless to say, wash out the filters thoroughly. A dirty filter reduces the water flow rate, resulting in reduced pressure to the sprinklers, and blockages in the dripper lines. The operating efficiency of the pressure regulators should also be checked. These are vital for ensuring that the drip system is operating at the prescribed dynamic pressure, which is something between 1-2 Bars for a home unit. You may need professional assistance in this, but don’t neglect the task, because high operating pressure can cause the connections to come away and even to burst. Replace batteries where necessary.

Finally, spray oil on all the metal parts of the unit. What a pain it is to try and unscrew a fitting attached to the wall, only to find the screws are totally rusted! As a very great comic actor and writer once said - “Silly little point but it does seem to matter!” I wonder if you know who that might have been.

About the Author

My name is Jonathan Ya’akobi. I’ve been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I’d love to share my knowledge and experience with you. So you’re welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com

It is common to find amongst home gardeners, the idea that perennial flowering plants demand far less care and attention than annuals. As annuals live for no more than a season, an annual flowerbed has to be re-planted at least twice during the year, and more usually once more within a season. Conversely, because perennials live beyond a single season, they are often considered a factor in “low-maintenance gardening”. This view from my 24 years gardening experience, is false.

The truth is that successfully growing herbaceous perennials is one of the most labor-intensive activities in the gardening task book. Many plants require frequent clipping and pruning in order to encourage dense growth and a compact form, while if left to their own devises, merely become long and leggy. Timing is often all-important, particularly with perennials that originate from Mediterranean climates. Good examples are many of the South African perennials like Arctotis, Osteospermum and Lampranthus, where unless one’s finger is held firmly on the pulse, the aesthetic value of such plants is lost very quickly.

Neither is the term “perennial” always sufficiently understood. Some species look poor within a year or two, and need to be replaced, albeit less frequently than annuals. In short, it is not possible for a flowerbed comprising largely of perennials to perform satisfactorily through the year, without constant, clipping, lifting, dividing, replacing and re planting. From the point of view of time spent, and energy expended, replacing annual bedding plants every so often, is probably easier than maintaining a perennial border.

Yet there are two very good reasons for growing herbaceous perennials. Firstly, our gardens would be so much the poorer without them. Some of the finest non-woody flowering plants are perennial - Salvia, Chrysanthemum, Verbena, Dianthus, Digitalis, Geranium, Viola, Delphinium - the list is endless.

The second reason is more specific to dry climates and concerns water management. Overall, annuals in Mediterranean climates require at least 1000 mm (1000 liters per square meter) of irrigation water a year. In continental climates, such as the American Mid-West, or Central Asia, the requirement is considerably more. This colossal consumption rate is untenable in dry and not so dry regions, and so the use of annual plants must be severely restricted. By way of comparison, many perennials such as Salvia and Chrysanthemum can be grown on less than half that quantity, while some species like Lampranthus or Drosanthemum, (Ice Plants) can survive on seasonal rains alone. In dry climates therefore, annuals are best restricted to limited use in pots and containers, and grown primarily during the wet season.

About the Author

My name is Jonathan Ya’akobi. I’ve been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I’d love to help you get the very best from your garden, so you’re welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com or contact me jonathan@dryclimategardening.com