Systems, ideas, tips and hints

the essentials in brief

• There are various options for watering in the garden: watering cans, garden hoses, sprinklers and sprinklers.
• Sprinklers and sprinklers can be equipped with a timer so that the garden is automatically watered at the desired time.
• Drip irrigation is ideal for watering ornamental plants or vegetables and fruits.
• Mornings or late afternoons, when the sun is already low, are the best times to water your garden.

Garden irrigation options

No question about it: watering and watering is one of the most important tasks in the garden. Various irrigation technology is available to you that makes lugging heavy watering cans superfluous. Tailor-made supply and irrigation systems for your own garden can be put together as required, which are quite uncomplicated in terms of installation and operation.

Watering cans

Watering cans are ideal for watering potted plants in the home and garden

With all the technical possibilities, watering cans for manual watering should not be missing in any garden. They are unsuitable for large-area irrigation, but for reasons of individual, point-specific Watering is indispensable - for example, when certain plants in a bed have to be watered more often than other. Larger watering cans with ten resp. twelve liters capacity is generally more practical, but difficult to carry and handle due to the weight when full. The weight is also relevant when it comes to the question of what material the jugs should be made of: Galvanized metal is heavier than plastic.

When buying a watering can, however, pay particular attention to the watering head: Even, fine holes its surface is important, as this is the only way to ensure a gentle and soft - i.e., plant-friendly - watering is. Good watering cans have a watering head surface made from thin sheet brass. In addition to the mostly removable shower attachment, there are also so-called wide pouring attachments on the market, with which you can irrigate strips of beds up to 50 centimeters wide in one fell swoop. Use special shapes with an extra long neck and heavily sloping watering head for sowing areas and in the greenhouse.

Garden hoses

Garden hoses make it easier to water the garden or quite considerably on partial areas. However, these gardening aids have to withstand a lot, which is why they should be of the highest quality should buy - cheap hoses are often broken after a short time and have to be replaced will. The material must be UV and weatherproof in any case, as garden hoses quickly become porous when they are left in the sun for a long time and parts of the jacket burst open. Hoses made of PVC plastic or high-quality rubber should therefore be provided with a fine-meshed inner fabric, this also ensures a high level of kink resistance. You can recognize this by terms such as “cross fabric insert” or “tricot fabric” in the product description. In addition, brand manufacturers give guarantees on their garden hoses of between eight and sometimes even 20 years.

The usual hose diameter is either 1/2 inch (13 millimeters) or 3/4 inch (19 millimeters). Which one is used depends on the one hand on the required hose length, but also on the connection capacity. You have to consider the following when planning: The longer and thinner one Garden hose is, the greater the friction loss and the smaller the amount of water that arrives at the other end. Therefore, the following rules of thumb apply when choosing a hose:

• 3/4 inch hose for hose lengths of more than 30 meters
• at this length there is a five-fold pressure loss with 1/2-inch hoses
• d. H. the water would only trickle out at the other end
• on the other hand, a 1/2 inch hose is sufficient for short lengths

Shower attachments and pouring devices

The pressure and the amount of water can be adjusted with high-quality showers

There are suitable watering devices for garden hoses (e.g. B. Pouring rods) and shower attachments, which can be connected to the hose and thus directly to the water connection with the appropriate connectors. With convenient shower attachments, for example, you can easily regulate the amount and pressure of water. With many models, you have the choice between spray, shower, cone or aerator jet. Attachable watering rods, on the other hand, help you to specifically irrigate hard-to-reach crops. You can also use such a garden hose with a special attachment for cleaning work, for example to rinse the paved garden paths.

Sprinkler

Irrigation with so-called sprinklers is suitable for both smaller and larger areas such as lawns. They are connected to a suitable garden hose and distribute the water with nozzles or spray arms. Various types of sprinklers are available in specialist shops, which differ greatly both in their construction and in their intended use.

• Sprinkler: mostly small sprinklers for watering smaller areas and front gardens, circular spray pattern with fine water outlet for a sprinkling area from approx. six meters in diameter, sprinklers come with one Ground spike and are simply plugged into the ground
• Circular sprinkler: have a distributor that rotates due to the water pressure and that distributes the water over a large Circular area with a diameter of up to eight meters distributed, particularly suitable for watering smaller ones Lawns
• Dial regulator: individually adjustable for different surface shapes and sizes from ten to 100 square meters, both for round and semicircular, square and rectangular garden areas
• Impulse sprinkler: also individually adjustable to full, semicircular or quarter circle sprinklers with an area of ​​up to 25 meters in diameter, water movement is triggered by a swing mechanism
• Oscillating sprinkler: available in different sizes, consist of arched brackets of different widths (specifies the spray width) with numerous nozzles, determination of the spray direction and the spray angle by means of adjustment knobs, with larger devices the spray strength can often also be adjusted, are suitable for larger garden areas between 150 and 350 square meters

Tips for watering your garden with rainwater can be found in this post:

sprinkler

In contrast to the sprinklers located on the ground surface, sprinklers are stationary Pop-up sprinklerthat are let into the earth. Therefore, these are easier to install before laying out a lawn. However, if the sprinkler is to be installed on an existing lawn, it is best to proceed as follows:

1. Pierce the Sward in narrow strips.
2. Carefully lift out the lawn without damaging it.
3. Lay the piping and install the sprinklers.
4. Put the sods back in place.

Digression

Do not set the water pressure too high

Automatic garden irrigation

The water supply via garden and drip hoses, sprinklers and sprinklers can be controlled automatically using various aids. The simplest solution is simply to install a timer. If you want to save as much work as possible, you can invest in an irrigation computer with which you can automate the entire irrigation process as far as possible. Such a computer is connected to the ground via moisture sensors, for example, has rain detectors and therefore irrigates the garden almost automatically. In this case, you only have a monitoring function, because despite everything, a technical system can also fail unnoticed. In addition, such a device will never be able to check the actual water requirements of the plants. Plants as living beings are simply too individual for that.

There is a large selection of automatic watering systems for the garden

What water needs do plants have?

Garden plants have very different water requirements: while some prefer to stand in the dry rock garden, others swallow cans of the water. As a rule, the water requirements of garden plants can be identified quite well by their leaves: thin and soft leaves are an indication of a high moisture requirement, even large-leaved species often have large ones due to the higher evaporation Thirst. Plants with thick, small, hard or Hairy leaves, on the other hand, usually require less water. In addition, the amount of water actually required for watering the garden depends on these factors:

• Bud and fruit formation: During the bud and fruit development period, fruit trees and fruit vegetables in particular have a very high water requirement. At these times, the soil should be evenly moistened so that flowers and fruits can form and develop. A water shortage, on the other hand, often leads to crop failures or ensures small, cracked fruits. Cucumbers and zucchini, for example, become bitter when dry.
• race: Even a healthy, green lawn has a high demand for water and must therefore be watered regularly. Yellow lawn is often a sign of drought and lack of water. Lawns growing on clay soils should be watered about once a week in summer, while lawns on sandy soils should be watered every three to four days.
• Potted plants: In principle, plants that grow in planters require more water than plants that have been planted out. Mulching The top layer of substrate to keep the moisture in the pot longer.

Digression

Keep potted plants moist

Automatic irrigation with clay cones

When people think of automatic garden irrigation, many people immediately think of high-tech, which cannot do without complicated equipment and timers. Of course, such a system also works, but it costs a lot of money and requires regular maintenance. Such ambitious irrigation systems are often completely oversized for the home garden.

But “automatic” doesn't have to mean “high-tech”. For centuries, the so-called Olla has proven to be simple but useful Irrigation system(€ 32.95 at Amazon *) Tried and tested, for example, for raised beds and vegetable beds. These are just two clay pots that are glued together and dug into the bed. You pour the water through a hole in the pots, from which the moisture is slowly released through the porous material into the earth.

And this is how you make an Olla:

1. Take two unglazed clay pots.
2. Glue their top openings together.
3. Use a waterproof adhesive for this.
4. Seal one of the drainage holes with a stuck on pottery shard.
5. Now bury the Olla in the bed so that only the upper hole is visible.
6. Fill in through this water.

As soon as the olla is empty, you can refill it again and again and thus ensure continuous moistening of the bed.

Other irrigation options

Not every garden is so big that you need to water it with a system made up of sprinklers and sprinklers. Such systems give off considerable amounts of water and are therefore simply too big for smaller borders, perennial or rose beds. This section explains how you can water certain beds and smaller gardens sensibly.

Water beds and borders

Special small irrigation systems are suitable for this, which work with the help of above-ground and specifically deployed mini-sprinklers or nozzles. Their advantage is that the spray jet runs below the plant leaf border and thus neither leaves flowers are still moistened - this is an important point as they are generally poured directly onto the ground should. With many garden plants, irrigation has the undesirable effect that it promotes fungal diseases and, moreover, that a lot of water does not even get to where it is supposed to.

You mount the mini-sprinklers or spray nozzles directly on a pipe, which in turn is attached to the floor surface with pipe holders. In general, a distinction is made between quite different nozzles that water between 90 °, 180 ° or 360 ° spray angles. These mini devices produce between approx. three and ten liters of water per hour.

Drip irrigation

Drip irrigation is a water-saving, simple irrigation system

Drip irrigation is a very water-saving method with which you can regularly and specifically supply garden plants with the precious water. These systems can be used in row crops as well as on surfaces, with potted plants as well as on the balcony, in flower and perennial beds, in greenhouses and in hedge plantings. There are several ways of doing this.

Drip irrigation via hoses

With the help of special irrigation hoses, you can lay an irrigation system yourself, which you simply have to turn on if necessary. For this purpose, you can lay porous pearl hoses both underground and above ground, for example, with which narrow beds and hedges in particular can be watered very well. Drip hoses, on the other hand, are suitable for so-called drip irrigation, which is particularly useful for potted plants.

Advantages and disadvantages of the different irrigation hoses at a glance:

Permanently installed droplet system

For this system of drip irrigation you need a pipe with a 1/2 inch diameter, which you connect to a basic device for pressure reduction. Then you close - at a distance of approx. 30 centimeters - several drippers on. You can choose between the following variants:

• Spray cans / rotor sprinklers: well suited for watering small beds
• Surface spray can: very flexible, as the spray angle and throw range can be individually adjusted
• Inline drip head: are particularly suitable for watering hedges and longer plant strips with uniform planting

The drip irrigation can also be controlled via an electronic or mechanical timer and thus automated. The electronic models can also be programmed for a longer period of time so that Terrace and balcony plants are taken care of even when you are on vacation or when you are away for long periods of time are.

Pour properly and efficiently

One of the main mistakes when watering the garden is to be afraid of watering the plants and instead give them frequent small amounts of water. However, this is fatal, because this watering behavior educates the plant roots to remain flat under the surface and thus to be dependent on a permanent water supply. The frequent "little sips" do not penetrate deep enough into the soil so that its deeper layers remain dry.

It should be poured more vigorously and less often

Instead, use the watering can less often, but don't save on water! Your garden plants will only form deeper roots when the moisture seeps deep into the ground - and can thus better take care of themselves in dry times. Especially since the precious water can be better stored in the deep layers of the soil, while it evaporates quickly on the surface. Calculate an average of 20 to 25 liters of water per square meter of irrigation area per week, including the amount of rain. Depending on the season and the weather, this guide value can of course be corrected upwards or downwards.

background

Never water plants from above

When is the right time to water your garden?

When it comes to pouring, however, it is not just a question of “how”, but also “when”. Plants can also get sick if you water them at the wrong time. The early morning or early morning is ideal for watering the garden during the spring and summer months. the early morning. At this time it is not yet so warm that the water evaporates immediately and the garden plants can also absorb it during the day when they need it.

Watering at lunchtime, on the other hand, should only be done when the plants urgently need water. Otherwise, this point in time is counterproductive, as a large part of the precious water evaporates before it can even seep into the ground. So you need a lot more water, which can cost a lot of money under certain circumstances. When watering in the morning, on the other hand, the water penetrates the deeper soil layers and is absorbed by the plants from there.

Watering in the evening is also not advisable, as this promotes fungal diseases and also attracts hungry snails. Plants that are watered in the evening stay wet for a long time and only dry out slowly, which promotes harmful fungi.

frequently asked Questions

How does the garden irrigation work when I'm not there?

Watering the garden can become a problem during the summer vacation. While potted plants can simply be placed in a bathtub with water in a pinch or inverted, water-filled PET bottles in their substrate is stuck, all that remains for the vegetable and ornamental plant beds is actually a willing neighbor or friend who regularly waters and checks whether everything is in place Is okay. The only alternative would be a fully automatic irrigation system, which can, however, fail or not work as hoped. Under certain circumstances, this can cause a lot of trouble when you come back from vacation.

What is the best way to water the lawn?

It is best to water large lawns with one Lawn sprinkler respectively. Lawn sprinkler that distributes around 15 to 20 liters of water per square meter during the summer months. It is best to turn them on early in the morning, before the heat is extremely high.

Are there also irrigation systems for potted plants?

If you don't want to water your potted plants so often, you can use them in Hydroponics keep. Soilless culture is also useful when you go on vacation, because then the plants practically take care of themselves for a while.