Many people schedule irrigation by the calendar rather than by plant need. Calendar-based scheduling can be very inaccurate since plant water needs and the amount of soil water available to plants are affected by factors such as climate, plant size, soil type, and rooting depth. The goal of accurate irrigation scheduling is to replace soil water lost by evaporation and plant use as precisely as possible. To accomplish this goal, you need to accurately assess soil moisture content. Then you can determine the need for irrigation and how much water to deliver.
Irrigation scheduling can seem complicated.
It doesn't have to be. It's best to irrigate when half of this water is depleted. Your goal when irrigating is to return the soil to field capacity. First download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader , if you don't already have it. We offer discounts on orders of 100 or more copies of a single title.