When can a slow leak be a good thing?
When can a slow leak be a good thing?
August 30, 2013 by Taylor Studios
When can a slow leak be a good thing? When you’re in the middle of a drought. This is the second year our region has had an August dry spell, with no significant rain for almost four weeks. While the temps were below average at the beginning, we are finishing up with a heat wave that is sucking everything dry. The less-than-plump corn is getting crispy, the soil is cracking, and sprinklers are running everywhere to save the grass. In the regularly dry parts of the country, sprinklers are not even an option, but sitting on top of an aquifer makes us sloppy with cheap water. Which brings me to drip irrigation. I so love when a topic can start out local and expands worldwide!
This is not a technique for the casual gardener or landscaper. It takes commitment, equipment, and planning (which explains why I haven’t done it), but if you want to keep your plants happy no matter what the rainfall, it works. While I might deploy a soaker hose on occasion, this lacks the control and efficiency of drip irrigation. Drip irrigation uses a network of thin, connected hoses that lead to drip emitters, quarter-sized nozzles that lay on the ground. You can decide exactly where the emitters are placed and how much water is emitted, as well as when. The water flow is so low that drip emitters are rated at gallons of water per hour, as opposed to a sprinkler that is rated at gallons per minute.
Since the flow is so slow, the water is easily absorbed into the soil, reducing runoff and evaporation. No water is wasted on foliage (which also reduces the chances of fungal problems) or the soil surface surrounding the plant. The water heads to the roots, where the plant needs it most. That’s the principle of drip irrigation, but the ‘how’ is left up to you. There are companies that install drip irrigation systems, but for a smaller installation, this is a DIY job that anyone can manage. The supplies are available at many hardware stores and , all designed to connect easily to exterior water supplies. Design your own layout, set up the network, and mulch your beds. But don’t limit yourself to flower beds. Drip irrigation is a good fit for container gardening, and have come up with ingenious ways to lower the costs involved.
This technology also works well for vegetable gardening while discouraging weeds, since the soil between the plants isn’t irrigated. When you expand the scale, you move into farming with drip irrigation, which is growing in use in the drier parts of the US. Farming networks do have to use some sort of filtering however, since they will most likely pull from a well or river source, not from a clean municipal supply, and tiny hoses clog. But that brings us to the worldwide angle. In parts of Africa where water is at a premium, drip irrigation offers higher crop yields with less water than ever before. Startup costs can be high in areas with poor economies, which is why non-governmental organizations have led the way in getting .
Of course, drip irrigation is only one way of reducing your water usage. If you’ve had success with either drip irrigation or another low-water technique, share it here!
And before I wrap this up, I’d like to thank the commentators on my . Susan provided a source for battery recycling located in Michigan – in Howell, MI. Jeff pointed out that in Ontario, alkaline batteries are not allowed in the regular waste stream and need to be recycled. The company involved there is in Port Colborne. Thank to both of you for the info!