Irrigation is one of the best ways that you can keep your crops and your flowers watered. Below we will discuss two different types of irrigation systems available that a lot of people use.
Drip Irrigation Systems
These are called micro or low flow irrigation systems, and these refer to micro sprays, mini rotors, drip lines and emitters.
- Mini rotors and micro spray will easily clog and they need to be maintained frequently. Observe it monthly and make any type of necessary replacements or repairs to emitters.
- It’s recommended to use drip lines for ground covers that are continuously rooting like Roman chamomile.
- A drip line’s flexible tubing that has emitters (which are miniscule regulators for water flow in each of the line’s holes) spaced evenly on the tubing. They’re also called subsurface drip or inline drips. Some of the drip lines can be put on the ground’s top and then covered with some mulch. Subsurface drip lines which are underground lines are able to be used for irrigating ground cover. You can install them in the ground or above the ground for ground covers.
- For the layouts of individual emitters, water is just delivered to the places where it’s needed by plants. This can help with reducing the number of and section of the weeds in your garden.
- Water is applied extremely slow.
- Inline drip has to operate obviously at a pressure that is reduced to deliver just a little water amount at a rate that is specified. That means that you have to have filters and one of the pressure reducers.
- You can connect the drip system to your hose end and permanently connected to the main source of water and then operated using one of the automatic controllers or you can operate it manually.
ASV Value & Pressure Regulator
- Make sure that you are planning ample emitters for delivering the water amount you need as the landscape matures.
- For areas that have grade changes and long tubing runs, you should use emitters for pressure compensating.
Concern areas when you’re using drip
- Poly tubing that is on the ground’s surface when it’s in an area that children play in or where there is a lot of foot traffic can be easily disconnected, broken, vandalized or they can cause someone to trip.
- Dogs, gophers, raccoons and other creatures could chew the emitters and tubing.
- If you’re using a drip kit that is pre-packaged, make sure that you’re using high quality components and they’re the best type for your job. Keep the contact information of the manufacturer so you can find replacement parts if needed.
Overhead Sprinklers
The sprinkler heads that are matched-precipitation will guarantee that the half-circle heads are going to deliver the same amount of water for each square foot as the full-circle heads that are spraying the same amount of distance. This just means that all of the heads delivering uniform water amounts across the irrigated area’s square feet. Each grass blade will get the same amount of water.
Sprinklers – Fixed spray
- Emission devices such as sprinklers have to have precipitation rates that are matched.
- Coverage that is head-to-head is recommended, but the sprinkler spacing has to be designed so that you’re achieving the best possible uniformity when it comes to distribution using the recommendations from the manufacturer.
- Certain sprinklers (rotors that are gear driven) and well as sprinkler nozzles (which are stream rotors such as Hunter’s MP Rotator) will reduce the water amount that is delivered along with let the soil absorb your water.
- Areas that are irregularly shaped or narrow, such as turf, that are close to surfaces that are non-permeable and that are under eight feet wide need to be irrigated using irrigation systems that are low-volume or subsurface. Don’t use overhead sprinklers since they can cause you to waste a lot of water and aren’t appropriate for those types of situations.
- For preventing runoff and overspray, don’t do overhead irrigation within two feet of any surface that’s non-permeable.
- It might not be a good idea to plant turf on slopes, especially where the slope is too close to a hardscape that is impermeable and you’re using overhead sprinklers.
- Fixed rotors and spray heads will apply water at a rate of gpm (or gallons per minute)
- Sprinkler heads that have anti-drain valves or check valves are recommending for avoiding water waste.
- It’s possible to easily convert overhead sprinklers so that you have drip irrigation. There is two ways that you can convert high-flow, high pressure systems to low-flow, low-drip systems
- Installing the master filtration as well as pressure reduction before or after your valves for drip irrigation with standard equipment for drip irrigation.
- Using equipment that is specially manufactured at every riser. This will reduce pressure and separate the water’s flow into the individual lines. For your first option, it’s a good idea to hire or consult someone who is familiar with irrigation for designing and installing your new system. But your second option is often practical, easy and convenient. The good news is that equipment is produced by manufacturers which let you leave those primary controls that the spray system come with there while you’re removing each of your spray heads and replacing it using a multiple port head for drip transfer. Usually each of the transfer heads include pressure compensation/regulation and filtration along with transfer tubing and variable-flow emitters so that the water amount that you want is delivered at that distance that’s required from the heads.
These are the two types of irrigation systems that are available and that are often used. If you want to make sure that your plants are getting the water that they need, an irrigation system is the way to go.
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If you have more questions about how we can satisfy your gardening needs, feel free to check out our website, or give us a call at 941-875-3559. We take pride in our gardening expertise, and our goal is to make your lawn look the best it can be, so don’t hesitate to call for our services today!
