How do you irrigate?

I love to water, I don't do well with low maintenance plants that don't like water - I can't help but water them too much.
I drag the hose around and have a million different nozzles and sprinklers.

Without our sprinkler system, we wouldn't have nearly the gardens we have.

dave

Dragging the hoses around does the job most of the time, but soaker hoses help out with the roses too.

I drag the hose, use the watering can and use a sprinkler.. it just depends on what needs watered when and how lazy I am feeling

We've had so so much rain this year, the main problem has been making sure every pot had drainage hole! I do make sure certain containers, window boxes, annuals etc. get daily or every-other-day soaking with a watering can or hose. As a survival-of-the-fittest gardener, I try NOT to water established plants.

xxxx, Carrie

I love doing the hose as I can see what needs watering....

We have an underground sprinkler system but there's something so peaceful about a watering can and a long walk around the yard. So on the days I feel like meandering, I mix a bit of liquid fertilizer (usually a bloom buster type) in my two 2 gallon watering cans and wander the yard pulling my little green wagon. I also just started using the new MG liqiud that attaches to my garden hose. I guess I should have said marked "all of the above".
Have a great day, God bless, Margo

I use a watering can to water the various plants around my yard. I add a little plant food each time I water according to the type of fertilizer a plant prefers, whether it be an all purpose or an acid type, as required by rhododendrons, blueberries, etc., and feeding through the leaves seems to help quite a bit. I find that watering with a watering can often, keeps the soil moist and creates an environment that most plants seem to like. Most established large trees or shrubs however, are left to mother nature to provide nourishment.

I voted 'other', I use a combination of methods, lol

My flower beds get watered only when my favourite plants droop and threaten to give up for good, or have been newly planted. (Lee Valley aqua-spikes) I've learned to plant 'drought resistant' varieties, lol.

The veggie garden gets watered regularly in addition to the rain. Lawn is NEVER watered, it doesn't bother me if it turns brown and crispy in August..... it comes back after a thunderstorm, lol.

I have 'system' of 8 rain barrels (recycled olive barrels) that provide water for my greenhouse, the flower beds and veggie garden. The 'system' gets set up in late March/early April, depending on the weather.

There's one barrel supplying the greenhouse directly, (eavestrough from greenhouse roof into barrel on a stand about 4 feet off the ground, outside, plumbed through the wall with a fawcet and hose inside, low pressure gravity fed, but gets the job done)

The veggie garden (square foot method beside/in front of the greenhouse) is watered by hand (watering cans) dipped from three barrels to conserve water.

The four barrels at the house collect the water off the house, then I use a hose (gravity) to fill the three outside the greenhouse/veggie garden in the back yard. If the greenhouse barrel is low, I throw an electric pond pump/hose into one of the veggie garden barrels and fill the greenhouse barrel.

The four barrels at the house are in two pairs. One pair on each side of the house, (2 fawcets, two "Y" connections and a hose interconnects all 4 barrels)

I use either a watering can from the house barrels or use the hose (gravity fed off the barrels) to provide the flower beds on both sides of the house.

The barrels are stored in the greenhouse for the winter.

We're on a well, so the water is COLD-COLD-COLD, and I don't want to run the risk of draining the well, so the saved rainwater is the best solution for us.

Should I run out of rainwater this growing season, I will use the well water to fill a barrel or two, and let it warm up......

If I had an irrigation system..........

Sue

We use the complete negligence method of gardening. Once the plants are up, they are on their own. :)

If it is realy dry we will water them. We still have a pretty small garden, so we've stuck toflowers ~ perennial favorites. ( haha)

Our grass is really well estabilished, like sod, so if we have pumpkins or tomatoes, we stick them right in the lawn, and they do well with all the grass holding the moisture in for them.

I should have a watering system, but as I both lazy and not mechanically inclined, it will never happen. But since I have over 1000 species of plants in the yard, some needy, thirsty ones stupidly planted next to sensitive cacti, watering by hand allows me to simultaneously check everything's health while also trying to send the water only to exactly where it's needed. Of course, where the lawn is concerned, this never works out... so the lawn is slowly becoming extinct.

I am the Irrigation System. I have interchangeable parts: I have the Dram Gun with 11 settings from Mist to Soaker. I have the Sprinkler head also with various settings. I have the soaker hose, and I have the watering can. I am looking into having biomechanical surgery so switching from each irrigation device isnt such a pain.

I wish I had an automatic sprinkler- actually we have them in the front and back yards but when we bought our house they were so old and in such disrepair that they are beyond help and there are other more pressing repairs needed on the house.

I have a permanent irrigation system, one of the first things I did in my new home. I add to it and move emitters it as the garden is always changing and growing. But, I still water some areas by hand, more theraputic than necessary I suppose.

I use soaker hoses with a timer for my roses, trees and shrubs, a sprinkler with a timer for the lawn, and watering cans for my pots. My timer allows me to water for 5, 10 or 15 minute increments wih a 15 minute pause in between, so that the water can be absorbed. I get better results wih less than half the water.

I primarily drag the hose around in the back, but large beds, brugs, canna & confederate rose have soaker hoses. In the front I have installed a sprinkler system for my rose bed.

X

I actually do my watering two ways. I use my watering can & a bucket for potted plants & newly planted shrubry.( I am affraid I'll hurt some of the plants.) I drag my water hose for those far away places, as I am kinda lazy to carry a can that far.

We have had such a severe drought this year...and my gardens are brand new. It takes me about 2 hours every day to water all my plants. We had some rain a week or two ago and I put out buckets under the eaves of the thouse to catch the runoff. I ended up with 7 big buckets of rain water, which I used to water my conainer plants (most of which are going to be in the yard eventually, but it is just too hot and dry to plant right now.) ON the last bucket, I mixed the Miracle Grow and SuperThrive in the rain water which made for some very happy plants.

Right now I'm wishing I could go out and spend a fortune on some of those canopy-type tents to shade my gardens and my brugs. But for now there is no room in the budget for them....so I just keep watering and watering and watering..... So far, I've only lost two plants to the drought. Not bad considering that most of the local farmers lost their entire corn crops and are worried about losing their row crops (cotton and peanuts). The only way I can get my galds to bloom is to cut them when they start to show color....otherwise they wilt before they boom. And my cannas are blooming, but the flowers are wilted as soon as they open. (sigh) Next Spring I'm moving a lot of my plants to shadier locations.

I am in the process of setting-up a drip irrigation system for my flower beds which is partially complete. So I water three ways - drip irigation, water hose and with a watering can. Whenever I run the hot water I try to collect the cold water before it gets hot.

I guess I'm an "other". We have an overhead sprinkler for parts of the yard, soaker hoses for other parts, and we water the plants in pots and on the side slope using a watering can. You have to do that when it doesn't rain half of the year and the other half is undependable. Most things get watered once a week. We have heavy clay soil that holds the water pretty well, all things considered. We collect rain water when it rains and use that for the potted plants as long as it holds out. We also collect the condensate from the air conditioner and use that for my fussy plants that aren't too big on the hard tap water we have.

There wasn't an option to chose more than one. I have soaker hoses in some places, I use the watering can for some, Hand water by moving the hose for some and use the sprinkler every once in a while. Then there are a couple of places that I mostly let nature do what it will do.

My gardens are pretty new since we just moved here last December. Prior to that, my land was undeveloped.

Putting in an underground system is not on the list of priorities, but water certainly is, until the plants get well established.

I bought about 9-10 50 foot hoses that I have situated strategically for minimal "dragging" around. There are some oscillating sprinklers in place and some pulsating in other places. I can only run water for 2 pulsating and 1 oscillating at the same time, but not on the same spiggot. On the days that I water, it takes all day to do it.

I try to save rain water. I have buckets and bins sitting about, but we just haven't had that much rain and since my ground is primarily sand, the water drains down pretty quickly. The rain buckets don't provide enough to do the whole garden anyhow.

Molly

I use the watering can for some of my plants since I can garantee that they will get plenty of water that way and I also use the hose for those that are close enough. When we hit a dry spell i let most of my plants go and tell them they are on their own. Some of them don't mind too much.

My plants get water according to need and I have my own "system" depending on those needs.

I use the hose for the newly planted and water lovers.
I use a soaking tub for pots and also a watering can.
I let the rain take care of my well established plants and trees, except during a drought then I water them occasionally deeply with the hose.
I syphon rain water off the roof and use that for compost tea ,to fill up the pond, water my orchids as well as all the plants if I have enough.
We have a sprinkler system underground for the lawn, but we don't use it. Water is expensive here and with watering restrictions the grass looks brown anyway. It comes back when the summer rains start. Rain is free and my plants like it the best!

Michelle

I used to have to drag the hose around, but not any longer! My wonderful husband and father-in-law installed a brand new sprinkler system for me this Spring! I hardly know what to do with all of my extra time...LOL!

I voted for other 'cause I use all of these:

I use a watering can
I drag the hose to where I need it
I use a soaker hose
I set up a drip irrigation system each year

The plants usually never get enough water... til this year..... you can read a story about it here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/621220/

~* Robin

We have a sprinkler system that gets used when we don't have enough rain. It's hooked up to the canal behind the house, so we don't have to pay for the water. Believe it or not, Florida has drought conditions much of the time so that's a real luxury. I also hand water new plants and plants in my screened pool enclosure. The orchids are on a mist system, but they quite often need a little extra. I hand water the hoyas and other hanging plants so that I can have some control over how much water they get. Right now, it's raining every day, so my watering is at a miniumum. My goal is to not spend more than 30 minutes a day watering - leaving time for all the many other chores.

I voted other because I use all of the above.

Some get only what nature provides.

Some beds have permanent watering system installed.

I hook up soaker hose to the permanent system in the spring to keep my Impatiens blooming nicely.

I used to have to water twice a day for about 45 mins. But now I only water once a week or so if it has not rained.

The soaker system has been great.

Here is a photo of one of the Impatiens beds. They are starting to fill out pretty good now.

I voted other, as I have all of the systems activated that are listed above. Some plants, however, need special care, so then I use a watering can with fertilizer or whatever potion I have mixed for that particular one; Brugs, Datura, Plumeria, Passiflora, etc. For my perennial bed, hostas, Iris, I use a drip system. I use an sprinkler system for my veggie garden and roses. so, it's a combination of care for me.

Since I can't check them all, I chose Other. Mostly drip, some hand watering with hose and sprinkling can and some in-the-ground sprinklers. Believe it or not, there is one set of in-ground sprinklers that I can't find a way to turn on! I have found both ends without any way to do it. When you move into a place like mine and don't know where the water lines are located it is a matter of digging until you find the line (or puncture it lol). I've learned to splice PVC pipe, too.

I have a hose, but it's too short to reach everywhere, so I use a watering can, too. The watering can is good when I want to deep water something specific.

A wonderful in ground sprinkler system is on my When I win the Lottery list,,LOL Right now, it's dragging the hose around.

I voted other since I have a perment underground system, yet to be put on timers, drip irrigation and I also use the hose to water the new plants that may need extra TLC. I want to find water barrels after last winters downpours mostly to use for all my potted plants and flowers....Lauri

I voted for "other". I have a rain barrel at the end of my shed that collects rain runoff from the guttter. I use that exclusively for plants at the end of my back yard that might need water. Most of them are drought-tolerant, however. Otherwise, I use a lawn sprinkler in various parts of my yard (grass) which overlap flowerbeds and the flowers get water that way. In hard to reach places in the front yard, a sprinkling can is used or the hose. I just can't find a set of nozzles for the hose that don't leak!!!!! This spring we had so much rain, we practically got drowned out here. Now it is as dry "as a bone".

Karin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I bought a bunch of 100' heavy-duty garden hoses this year and ran them from a 4-way splitter off of my water outlet. Each one has two pulsating sprinkler heads on spikes attached inline, about 30' apart. The hoses have been trenched and buried, so I geuss they qualify as semi-permanent installations :-)

The water pressure where I live, unfortunately, will only allow me to run one set of two sprinklers at a time, and our watering restrictions are very restrictive - even numbered days only from 7:30p.m. to 9:30 p.m. So it takes me two watering days to get most of my gardens watered for 1 hour each. We're currently looking into some type of jet pump to increase pressure on the hoses, while hopefully not getting ahead of the supply in the lines, so we can operate the entire system at once.

I also have many potted plants around that I water with a watering can, and one garden with no sprinklers that I water with the hose. We haven't been getting enough rain in the last two or three years to even think about using rain barrels - brief three minute showers seem to be our allotment these days.

I try to use plants that will tolerate drought conditions, if we get them, which has been way too often the last few years. So the first year they're in the ground, they get watered, mostly from my rain barrels. After that, it's mostly Mother Nature who has to water them. Since we're on a well, I try not to take water from the well for the garden, especially for the food crops, since I could just buy fair quality substitutes if they failed from too little water.

I voted for the hose,of course and also, am using the sprinkler. I have many plants and a lawn and I have to water it daily,if it's not raining!

This message was edited May 28, 2010 5:46 PM

"Other" here because I use all the methods mentioned. We have an irrigation system which I use to put down 1" a week, year round. But I also use a drip system on my deck, soaker hoses during the summer, a sprinkler on new plantings and of course, I catch all the rain I can and, using a watering can, give anything that needs a boost some rain water.
I get a great deal of satisfaction hand watering so I get out there several times a week with the hose and spray my troubles away as I wash and water the garden.

all of the above, except for rain. it rains here a few times a year, but often the rain doesn't hit the ground. really weird to see rain spots on the roof but no water on the ground. something about the fact that we chose to live in a desert! :-)

happy 4th!