Larger yards take a lot of time to water by hand, especially if you grow fruits and vegetables. Depending on the plants you grow, they may need watering twice a week during the summer. Installing an automatic sprinkler system may seem like a costly endeavor, but have several advantages.
Automatic Sprinkler System Prevents Disease and Weeds
Specialized drip automatic sprinkler systems direct water specifically to each plant’s rootball, rather than sprinkling the entire garden like a typical rainstorm. As a result, surrounding weed seeds cannot germinate, so you’ll have less weeding to do. Water at the roots also prevents leaf diseases caused by standing droplets on the foliage. Because the water does not strike the leaves or flowers, blight diseases have no chance of proliferating.
Conserves Water and Time
Hand watering with a hose or watering can takes substantial time and early morning and evening watering rituals take away from family and work. Both drip and automatic sprinkler systems have timers that can be preset for daily or weekly watering so you do not need to monitor the watering because the timer shuts the water off when it has finished. Your water bill should be lower if the irrigation system is effective.
Preserves Soil Structure and Nutrients
Watering with a wide open garden hose may allow too much water to seep into the soil. As a result, nutrients leach out with the water runoff, leaving the plants with fewer nutrients available. The soil may also become compacted when you water with a hose. Plants may show signs of withering or root disease with suffocating, compacted soil. Using either drip or sprinkler irrigation produces smaller droplets, helping to preserve nutrients and reducing soil compaction.
Gardening Flexibility
If you have a busy schedule, you’ll appreciate being able to work in the garden at the same time as the plants are being watered. While one garden section is being watered, you can plant and prune in another area.