Irrigation
Systems
When it comes to watering
plants, you've got a few choices. You can do it by hand with
a watering pot, invest in some sort of a self-watering system and
let the plants do it themselves, or you can look into irrigation.
Long the liquid-spreading play-toy of large-scale agriculture, irrigation
systems are also available for the rest of us, and the pluses make
it an attractive watering method.
First, what are we talking
about here? Drip, or trickle irrigation, generally comes in two
flavors. The first is probably familiar: A length of hose with miniscule
holes poked into it at regular intervals. This is used a lot for
gardening, where the ability to water an entire row with the turn
of a knob makes it very appealing.
The second is a specific
irrigation system, where watering "emitters" can be spread
sporadically down the length of a hose, so individual plants can
be targeted. Since this is more specific, you can get water to plants
that need it, and (to a certain extent) the amount of water delivered
can be adjusted.
The strengths of both
systems are many: they are easy to use, deliver a slow, steady amount
of water to a specific location, and they can cut down dramatically
on weed growth.
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