Hopefully your summertime garden is planted by now; we’ve had a wetter, colder spring this year which may have inhibited your garden’s growth, or maybe even your enthusiasm for planting one. But, Memorial Day marks the annual growing season on many a gardener’s calendar here in Montana, for all warm-soil plants.
And, for those of you who have experience planting, you know just how much effort goes into it. So, for a better harvest it may be time to consider a drip irrigation system for you garden—whether you have an entire plot of land, a few raised beds, or even just a back patio brimming with containers of plants. Drip irrigation is beneficial to the plant as well as to your time. And here’s why.
Drip irrigation systems put the water directly where it needs to go: the plant’s roots. For those of you who haven’t witnesses a drip irrigation system, most are built with a series of plastic tubes that run parallel to a row of plants, emitting water through tiny holes poked at interval along the tube. Drip irrigation systems are also easily programmed to be set off by a timer, and this makes daily watering simple.
Also, for those of you who like to vacation in the months when your garden needs you, the drip irrigation system is the helping hand you need to get away.
A drip irrigation system wastes little water in its operation, much less than a traditional hose and sprayer, or a filled to the brim water can. It’s easy to install the drip irrigation system, however, it isn’t as simple as just set it and then leave it.
A drip irrigation system will need some maintenance, like flushing out the tubes, cleaning dirt from the tiny holes that emit water.
If you have any questions as to how to irrigate your garden properly, or what soils will work best in your garden set-up (did you know, for instance that potting soil is needed in most container gardening applications?), contact Rocky Mountain Compost today.
