Which irrigation system to choose for your garden?

Before even setting up a garden or vegetable garden in your property, it is important to start by asking yourself the question of the irrigation system. How should you water the plants in your garden? To answer this question, we will start by seeing the different irrigation systems possible and end up seeing the best one for each situation.

What alternatives to irrigate your garden?

To irrigate your garden, vegetable garden or simply your lawn, there are many alternatives. There are of course natural irrigation systems, but also artificial, but the goal remains the same, that of supplying the plants with water. So, what alternatives are available to you?

Manual irrigation

When it comes to irrigation, the simplest and oldest solution is probably hand watering. It is a proven system that is quite effective. The only concern is that it is far from practical. By dint of going back and forth with a watering can in hand, we end up getting tired. However, hand watering is still practiced until today.

Over time, hand watering has evolved somewhat. Today, it is no longer necessary to use a watering can since a simple garden hose is more than enough to achieve the faded effect. It's less tiring, but human intervention is still needed. In terms of practicality, it is therefore not the best.

Automatic irrigation

Today, we prefer automatic irrigation. And in this sense, the choice of technique is still very wide.

If you think that automatic irrigation is a recent technology, you are mistaken complement. The first automation techniques date back a very long time, otherwise our ancestors would not have succeeded in doing large-scale agriculture.

Indeed, our ancestors already used a completely natural automatic irrigation system. The technique involved carrying water from a spring or dam to agricultural land. This system can be reproduced very well on a small scale to apply in a garden.

The second technique is to use the new technology. Today, there are more advanced automatic watering systems that no longer need human intervention at all. Depending on the configuration (hourly trigger or by humidity level), watering is triggered automatically and all plants in the garden or vegetable garden benefit from it.

There is also a more water-efficient automatic irrigation system that consists of letting the water flow in drip. In the drip irrigation system, irrigation piping can be on the surface through the garden plants or buried under the ground.

Which irrigation system for what need?

So these are the different alternatives to irrigate a garden or vegetable garden. As you can see, the choice is quite vast. But which irrigation system to choose in relation to your needs? Here's what you need to know.

For a gardening enthusiast who spends all his free time contemplating his culture, nothing beats watering by hand. Although it is not the most convenient of options, watering by hand (with a watering can) remains the easiest way to offer personalized care for each plant.

As for the use of the garden hose by hand, this solution is more economical than practical. While you no longer have to carry heavy watering cans, it's no less tiring.

If you want to offload this task, there is nothing better than switching to automatic watering. For this, you can build a small irrigation system to carry the precious liquid to your garden if you have a stream or river near your property. If this is not the case, do not hesitate to get help from the new technology.

Today there are many automatic watering systems on the market. It's up to you to choose the one that corresponds to the layout of your garden and your budget. These systems allow your plants to take full advantage of the nutrients they need without you having to intervene.

If, however, you have plants that require well-drained soil, it is best to turn to a drip watering system to avoid the lack and excess of moisture in the soil.

To conclude

Finally, it should be noted that it is preferable to favor natural water for the irrigation of a garden or vegetable garden. Tap water often contains sanitation products and, although it is perfectly drinkable, it is not necessarily suitable for plants. If you have a water source nearby, prefer this source to irrigate your vegetable garden. If you have a lake or river nearby, do not hesitate to draw the water you need for your plantation. If your property is far from a natural water source, do not hesitate to store rainwater to benefit your plants throughout the year.