Irrigating a Raised Bed | GET GROWING!
Channel: WTOL11
Date: 2020-10-14

Who watered your plants while you were on vacation? Did you beg the neighbor to check on them? Maybe you had a relative stop in. Many vacationing gardeners call home often to check on their plants. Well, go ahead and take a vacation, because there are inexpensive irrigation systems to keep plants watered while you are away. Before cutting into your waterlines, do some planning on paper. You may need extra nozzles near plants that require lots of moisture, or you may need
to work around tough-to-reach areas like under shrubbery. Nozzles can be staked to spray tall plants or clipped to stay low to the ground.
Kits are available at garden centers or on the Internet. Some micro-sprinkler systems will cover about 275 square feet. Plastic tubing snakes under plants and another smaller tube pierces it, sending a mist of water through a nozzle where it is needed. You can also wander through the plumbing section of a home and garden center to collect the half-inch flexible hose, fittings, spray hose, and timers. Specialty stores and online suppliers carry nozzles and injectors. Monitor how much moisture your plants are getting on top and under the ground. Turn on the system and leave a tuna can or cup in the sprinkler's mist.  You want about an inch of saturation. It will wick down into the soil to keep your roots moist. Look for dry spots and wilting leaves. Yellow leaves or puddling indicate that the area is getting too much water.
Start your system before dawn the morning. Winds are usually calm at that time, so the sprinkler's fine mist won't blow around. Your sprinkler might run for about two hours. The morning sun will help dry off the foliage, but leave the soil moist. A simple sprinkler system doesn't just give the plants the food and water they need, it also gives the gardener peace of mind.
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