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To ensure you have the best possible lawn this season, you need to make sure your grass, flowers, shrubbery, and trees receive adequate amounts of water. Unless you have time to stand in your yard with a garden hose for hours at a time, installing an automatic sprinkler system is the best option. There are several types of watering methods you can consider. Here’s a handy guide to choosing the right sprinkler for your yard:
Table of contents
Drip Irrigation Systems
Drip Irrigation systems provide plants with smaller amounts of water distributed over an extended period. It allows water to penetrate deeper into the soil to a plant’s roots and is an efficient system for shrubs and perennials. Directing water to specific plants can significantly reduce waste.
Soaker Hoses
Soaker hoses allow water to seep slowly into the soil. Tiny holes in the tube allow water to trickle out as needed. You can place these hoses on top of the ground, slightly bury them, or conceal them by mulch. To avoid water leaking into areas that don’t need it, you can attach regular hose sections in between the soaker hose sections.
Above-Ground Sprinkler Systems
Most people commonly use them to irrigate large areas such as lawns. A hose connects these systems, and the sprinkler can be stationary, oscillating, traveling, or rotating to water the area. A major downfall of above-ground sprinkler systems is the significant potential for forgetting that the water is on. Just one afternoon of forgotten sprinkling can result in a massive water bill and ruined areas where the water has flooded the yard. A second downfall is the snaking of the garden hoses in between the above-ground sprinklers. These are not only unsightly but when unused time on your lawn, they can kill the grass beneath them, leaving a brown snake pattern on your lawn.
In-Ground Sprinkler Systems
These consist of a network of pipes and channels buried underground, which deliver water to specific areas of your lawn and garden. A control valve connects each zone, allowing for watering at different times and durations, designating these areas as zones. The main control panel attaches all of the control valves. This kind of sprinkler system has sprinkler heads that pop up to water surrounding areas. In-ground sprinkler systems may be the right sprinkler system for you if you like the idea of being able to put your sprinkler system on a timer to avoid water waste. Another significant benefit to an in-ground sprinkler system is that the system does not impede ordinary lawn care, such as mowing and fertilizing. Finally, in-ground sprinkler systems are virtually invisible, except for the sprinkler heads when they are at work.