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Plants in the country during the summer heat need regular timely watering. It can be organized in different ways and using a variety of devices and systems. The most economical from a financial point of view will be watering green spaces manually with a watering can or garden hose. But it is difficult to attribute it to productive options without hassle. The most expensive in terms of cost, but optimal in application, will be the option of installing a fully automatic irrigation system.
The importance of watering
It is very important to water the garden and other areas with vegetation in the garden in a timely manner. When watering, water should enter its root zone in the optimal amount for each of the plant species, this is especially important during flowering and fruit formation.
Simultaneously with moistening, watering increases the efficiency of fertilizers applied to the soil for plant nutrition and improves the microclimate of microorganisms useful for the life of plants living in the soil.
Of no small importance is the choice of exactly the method of watering that the plant prefers. So zucchini, peas or potatoes feel great when sprinkled. But tomatoes and other delicate vegetable crops with such moisture become susceptible to various diseases. For them, bottom watering using a drip system will be optimal.
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Rules for proper irrigation
Good quality watering of the garden should ensure the impregnation of the near-surface soil layer with a thickness of about 50-60 cm. At the same time, not only the area directly at the root should be moistened, but the area at some distance around, the size of which depends on the type and variety of the plant.
Most in need of moisture are those areas in the country where light soils, sandy or sandy soil predominate, since they dry out rather quickly. For example, tomatoes, if watered after rain, will become more watery and lose their sugar content. Also, the frequent infection of plants with various fungal diseases will add to the hassle. The optimal watering can be determined by removing the soil from a depth of 5-10 cm and compressing it into a ball. With normal humidity, the lump is both easily formed and easily disintegrated with gentle pressure.
In no case should you irrigate a garden, lawn, flower beds or garden with cold water from a well, well or water supply. If its temperature is below 18-20 ° C, this will lead to cooling of the soil, disruption of the acid balance and cause irreparable harm to the root system of plants.
Watering green spaces is best in the evening, after the heat of the day subsides and with the advent of a cooler night, evaporation of moisture drops to a minimum. It is also possible to carry out irrigation in the early morning, before the onset of the heat of the day and the sun.
The quality of the water used for irrigation plays an important role. The concentration of minerals in it should not exceed 1.2 g / l.
Simple and practical systems
In order not to waste time and effort on rain irrigation with a hose with a nozzle, not to mention a watering can, you can organize an autonomous type of watering using portable sprinklers (sprinklers). These devices are made of plastic or metal and are connected to a water supply through a hose. They do not require your direct presence during operation. Sprinklers are available in different types and performance, which allows you to choose the best combination for a particular vegetation.
Stationary circular sprinklers irrigate the soil in a circle with a radius of 1.5 to 10 meters. The range of their irrigation is regulated by the pressure of the supplied water.
You can supply water to the sprinklers in the garden using garden hoses located on the surface.
The system with the use of hoses is quite mobile and, if necessary, it can be reformatted, moved to another location or dismantled without any hassle. But it is often quite inconvenient to conduct them directly from the water source. In this case, it is possible to lay the main water supply system from plastic pipes underground, and bring L-shaped adapters for taps to the surface in certain places or install special water sockets for connecting hoses leading to sprinklers.
When arranging such a system, you will need to dig trenches for laying pipes, and pre-calculate the water flow. However, low-pressure polypropylene pipes will not cause any trouble for decades. The only thing that is required from the owner is to attach sprinklers and open or close the water supply valve to the main.
Drip irrigation is optimal for installation in greenhouses and is especially loved by vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers. For its organization, special oozing hoses are used, moistening a certain strip of soil, or supplying a certain portion of water of a certain type of dropper directly to the roots of plants. In this case, you can water each plant individually.
Ready-made sets of droppers, supply hoses, splitters and adapters are on sale, which allow you to quickly and without hassle organize the irrigation of a certain number of plants. At the same time, such sets from many manufacturers allow expansion by installing additional devices. All connections in them are universal and allow you to design a system for your garden, greenhouse or flower bed like Lego. Such a system can be connected to a water supply source in the same way as the sprinklers discussed above.
How to make an automatic system
If, in addition to autonomy, full automaticity of the system is also required, which will allow you to properly water the vegetation on the site in the absence of owners for a long time, then you will need to install control devices of various complexity.
Drip irrigation systems operate at low pressure, so their automation is achieved without much hassle by installing a controller that automatically opens a tap or turns on a pump with a timer that allows you to set the time and duration of water supply to the main.
If a vegetable garden or lawn is irrigated with a rain watering system based on portable sprinklers, then its automation can also be achieved using a controller that controls the supply of water from the source to the main line.
However, with sufficient financial capacity and large areas requiring moisture, it is possible to install a system specially designed for automatic irrigation, which uses powerful sprinklers designed for this application.
Such a system is a serious technical device and its installation will require digging trenches for laying pipes, laying control cables and organizing maintenance manholes after installation.
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