IF YOU ENJOY A GREEN LAWN AND lush garden, you may have discovered already that there are times when a watering can just won’t work. We all know that grass, flowers, and vegetables need water to thrive, but what can we do when needed water won’t fall from the sky? Most of us pull out the garden hose, and perhaps a cheap sprinkler, to meet our plants’ need for water. Sometimes this works fine, but sometimes it doesn’t.
If you have a large lawn or garden, you may have found that a garden hose is not practical as your only irrigation device. Not only can you spend a lot of time watering, you can also waste a lot of water.
During hot, dry spells, shallow wells tend to use up water reserves quickly. If you’re not careful, in addition to having parched lawns and gardens, you also may have no household water for drinking, cooking, or bathing, which is serious.
People with shallow wells are not the only ones who want an efficient way to water their greenery. Municipal water supplies provide nearly endless reserves of water to many homeowners, but the cost of this service can add up considerably when watering a lawn or garden.
If you use a watering can for your garden, you may have noticed that the can gets heavier with each passing summer. (I know I found this to be true.) Watering cans are fine for around the home and for tiny flower gardens, but once your watering needs grow, so must your method of irrigation. There are many ways to eliminate the need for a watering can, but some of these options are plagued with problems.
How many times have you laid out a garden hose only to find that it just doesn’t quite reach the area that needs water? Have you ever left your hose filled with pressure only to come back and find that it has swollen and split? Do you resent having to roll up the hose frequently to keep from killing the grass trying to grow under it? Isn’t it amazing what can happen when you run over a garden hose with a lawn mower? And how about those kinks in the hose that cut off the water just as you are ready to get started? These problems, and many more like them, can make working with a garden hose more trouble than it is worth.
A common complaint by the time an August sun has burned the grass to a crisp is that the yard is too big to water effectively. This is a legitimate complaint. Without some type of automatic watering system, large lawns can shrivel up and die. Trying to water a few acres of lawn with water hoses and sprinklers can be nearly a full-time job.
One of the most common complaints of homeowners with scorched grass is that they never are home long enough to maintain a regular watering schedule. This is a “routine” problem; one that an automatic sprinkling system can solve quickly. The biggest problem you will have in solving your not-enough-time dilemma will be choosing a system that suits your budget as well as your need.
Once you’ve decided to go beyond the watering can and garden hose, you’ll want to explore the options. The type of watering system that will work best for you depends on your needs, resources, and your personal task.
Overhead irrigation systems usually are not practical for lawns, but they work well for gardens. Since an overhead system remains set up throughout the irrigation season, it must be sturdy and dependable.
Installing an overhead irrigation system can range from simple to complex. The system may amount to little more than a few posts, some tomato stakes or lattice, and some piping. While this type of system may not make the cover of a magazine for its aesthetics, it is a cost-effective and practical way to solve your watering problems.
If appearance is important to you, however, an overhead irrigation system need not be ruled out, since there are many ways to make it attractive. For instance, building a framework around your garden can create the image of a small park. You can install an arched doorway, a trellis, some latticework, and other decorative trim to conceal your irrigation system. This not only works, it looks good.
Overhead systems are easy to install. There is minimum trenching to be done, and most of the work is exposed and accessible. Also, materials can be inexpensive. Polybutylene pipe, for instance, is an excellent irrigation material and costs a fraction of the price for copper tubing. We’ll get into more detail on design and costs of overhead systems later in Chapter 7.
Underground irrigation systems are ideal for lawns. Pop-up sprinkler heads and automatic timers make these systems one of the best available for keeping a yard moist and lush. Cost can be a drawback, however, because these systems are not cheap. You won’t have to mortgage your home to pay for one, but you may have to catch your breath for a moment before writing the check.
Due to the plowing and tilling that takes place in a garden, using an underground system is rarely practical. However, since there are rows of undisturbed ground in and around a flower garden, an underground system can be an excellent source of irrigation for this type of garden. Installing an underground system involves trenching though, so if you cringe at the thought of digging up your beautiful ground, you may want to investigate other types of systems.
Mobile irrigation equipment can be the least expensive option for watering lawns and gardens. In this context, we are not talking about the large, long-range sprinklers used with firehoses by commercial farmers. We are talking about standard garden hoses and consumer-grade sprinklers. For small plots of ground, this system can be very effective.
One problem with mobile irrigation equipment is the need to move and reconstruct it periodically, which takes time. For “time-conscious people,” a more permanent system is desirable.
Drip systems can be as simple as overhead piping with tiny holes that allow water to drip out at a steady rate. More sophisticated drip systems utilize special components to control the exact flow of water. The use of drip systems in flower and vegetable gardens can be very effective. The drip locations can be pinpointed near the root zone of individual plants. Since water drips out slowly and finds its target easily, less water is used to maintain constant irrigation, which is a big advantage over a sprinkler system.
While drip systems are not practical for watering lawns, they are an ideal choice for targeted watering of specific plants, shrubs, and trees.
When most people think of watering lawns and gardens, they think of screwing a water hose onto an outside faucet, which, of course, is usually the most convenient method. It also is one of the most obvious sources of water, but not the only or best means of irrigation. There are many sources for water. Let’s take a brief look at some of them.
If your home is served by city water, you may not need any other water source. As long as there is no moratorium on watering and you can afford the water bill, you are pretty much set. Tapping into the pipes that serve your home with potable (drinking) water will not be much of a chore, and you will have a nearly endless supply of water.
Dug wells often run dry in hot, summer months. Of course, some wells do better than others. If your house is served by a dug well, you should be able to do some light irrigation without cutting off the water supply to your home, but don’t plan on extensive watering unless your well has an unusually high recovery rate (the period of time it takes for a well to replenish its water supply). For example, a well with a recovery rate of 5 gallons per minute (gpm) will produce 5 gallons of water every minute until it has reached its balance point. As water is pumped out, the well will continue to replace the water at this recovery rate.
Drilled wells are expensive, but offer vast amounts of water, since they are drilled deep into the earth. A 300-foot well is not uncommon in Maine, and wells with depths of 100 and 200 feet are normal in many places. Since drilled wells are so deep, they often hit aquifers with fast flow rates. While a typical drilled well produces at least 5 gallons of water per minute, some have recovery rates in excess of 20 gpm, and that’s a lot of water. A drilled well is probably your best bet, if you have to irrigate an expansive area in a rural setting.
Driven-point wells are the least expensive to fashion. They are made by driving sections of pipe into the ground, one section at a time, until water is hit, at which point a pump is added and you have water. Any handy homeowner can make a driven-point well.
We’re going to talk more about different types of wells and other water sources in the chapters that follow, so don’t worry about getting the whole picture right now. You are learning about options for irrigation, and as we progress you will learn the nitty-gritty about these subjects.
Streams and ponds are an excellent source of irrigation, if you happen to have them close by. The water is free, there is no well to drill, and the amount of water is usually unlimited. Unfortunately, not many people have private ponds or streams within reach.
Cisterns have been in use for many years and can be found in the cellars of old houses. Space requirements might pose a problem, although there is no need for a lot of room. Depending on the intended use, the size of a storage tank might range from 100 to 1,000 gallons. Of course, the size of your irrigation project will determine the size of your cistern, but even if it won’t handle all of your needs, it will help.
Elevated water tanks are used to catch and hold rainwater. There aren’t many people who live without electricity anymore, but there are more than you might imagine. In Maine, for instance, there are many people without power or running water. If you are in a situation where a pump is not practical, elevated holding tanks could be your answer. We will go into extensive detail on these various methods of irrigating your garden and lawn in the following chapters.
There are government code requirements governing the installation of irrigation systems in most locations. The extent of these codes vary, but, in most cases, a permit is needed.
One of the most important code requirements is backflow protection, which was designed to prevent potable water systems from becoming contaminated. There are numerous situations where, without backflow protection, the water pipes for a building, including a municipal water system, could be rendered dangerous or deadly, not to mention useless. The exact mechanics of this are discussed in Chapter 9.
In addition to backflow protection, local code requirements probably will dictate the type of material to be used in your irrigation system. If the water source for your irrigation system is independent from the source for your drinking water, the requirements may not be as stringent. Law and regulation interpretations of the plumbing code and zoning ordinances vary from location to location. In any event, check with your local code-enforcement office prior to installing your irrigation system. This can save you a lot of grief down the road.
Covenants and restrictions are often placed on properties in a subdivision in order for developers to maintain the integrity of their development. While it is highly unlikely that there will be any deed restrictions on installing an underground irrigation system, there could be prohibitions against aboveground systems. This is a point well worth looking into if you live in a structured development.
Zoning requirements should not affect your decision to install an irrigation system, but they could. Ask officials in your town or city whether there are any zoning regulations that may restrict your irrigation plans.
If you plan to dig trenches for your new irrigation system, you must investigate the location of any underground utility lines. Digging up your telephone line will be frustrating, not to mention costly, and digging up a high-voltage electric line or gas line could be deadly. A few phone calls to your local utility companies will determine whether there are any underground obstacles. If there are, most utility companies will send a representative out to mark those locations.
Property boundaries also could become an issue while installing an irrigation system. If you dig trenches or drill a well on someone else’s property, you’re going to have a problem, which probably will be costly. If there is any question about the location of your property lines, have them spotted by a surveyor before you begin any actual work.
Environmental regulations most likely will not apply to your irrigation system, but then again, this could be another stumbling block to your plans. If you plan to irrigate near a pond, lake, river, or stream, check with your local agencies first to make sure you won’t violate any environmental rule. The penalties for these violations can be steep.