Irrigation of vegetation is extremely important, especially during the summer, when droughts are prevalent. Delicate plants (regardless of type: flowers, lawn or shrubs) need to be supplied with adequate amounts of water on a regular basis. This involves individual attention to each plant and plenty of free time to water the garden. Using a garden hose, the traditional way of watering, is especially tiresome if your property is large. In such cases, an automatic irrigation system, which is gaining more and more followers, comes to the rescue.

Automatic irrigation system - basic information

An irrigation system is a specialised network of interconnected pipes. These supply water or pipes distributed underground. An example of such a carrier is Irrigation PE pressure pipe 32 mm x 2.0 mm). Network components connect sprinklers, drip lines, sensors and valves. Controllers (e.g. Rain Bird water controller plastic 3/4") take care of the automatic operation of the whole, without the need for human intervention.

Sprinklers are items that work well for large spaces. They deliver water continuously to the lawn. It is worth considering their installation before making the final arrangement of the garden.

Types of sprinklers - what's the difference?

We can divide sprinklers into several types based on how and where they are used.

• Fixed sprinklers are most common and work around lawns. They are installed in the ground and can emerge during watering (due to water pressure), known as emergent sprinklers. Non-emerging sprinklers are installed on a rigid pipe and covered by other plants. Some may be fitted with heads to regulate the strength and length of the spray.
• Movable sprinklers, also performing best when watering lawns. Thanks to their special rotating head (with hammer or turbine mechanisms), they are able to water large areas in one go.
• Micro-sprinklers, which are a smaller version of the typical sprinkler and very simple to install. Their advantage is that they generate a small jet of water. This makes them ideal for watering plants whose parts are not easy to water accurately, e.g. shrubs, flower beds.
• Drip irrigation (e.g. AGRODRIP irrigation kit for up to 160 plants), consisting of drippers connected to a special hose. It has the advantage of irrigating with small amounts of water in a constant rhythm, which is especially suitable for hedges.

Other important components of an automatic irrigation system are drip lines (e.g. Dripline DN 16 mm length=100 m). In their case, appropriate programming plays a particularly important role. It makes it possible to control the amount of water used and ensures that plants do not receive too much or too little water. Drip lines are the basis for proper plant growth in the garden.

Irrigation system - factors influencing its selection

The decision whether to opt for an automatic irrigation system or stay with traditional plant watering depends on a number of factors, such as:

• soil permeability - The speed of water binding depends on this,
• plot size - In the case of a small area, we can safely rely on manual irrigation;
• distribution and plant species in the garden,
• sun exposure - whether plants absorb excessive amounts of sunlight, which can harm their growth and therefore require more water at regular times,
• general plant access to water,
• the state of our wallet - An automatic irrigation system is a very cost-effective, but initially expensive investment.

After careful consideration, we are able to make a final decision. An irrigation system saves not only water but also time. We have written about this in a separate article.

Advantages of an automatic irrigation system

An irrigation system using sprinklers and drip lines enables water to be used rationally. It also helps to determine its exact destination (adequate amounts of water reach those parts of the lawn, flowers, which they need). It also has a positive effect on our leisure time, as we do not have to waste many hours (which is particularly tiring during the hot summer months) on systematic watering of the entire garden.

Regardless of our choice in relation to how we water our garden, we must remember that caring for a lawn, garden is a process that requires self-discipline, thoroughness and responsibility. An automatic irrigation system is able to ease our burden somewhat.