August 11, 2011

It’s August and the heat’s on for most of us in southern California. There’s still September to come and Santa Ana winds ahead in the fall. Here are some of my favorite irrigation tools. The two pictured below are hand-me-downs from my father’s garden. I know why he liked them.

The soaker tool on the left disperses a large volume of water without digging a hole; handy for flooding a section of the vegetable garden or irrigating the basin of a fruit tree.  The fan sprayer is like gentle rain which the peppers and eggplants appreciate. It’s probably over thirty years old, but performs faithfully. I like the vintage styling.

Here’s the soaker deployed. Another handy item is the valve that screws to the end of the hose. You can see it here. When you need to change to a new tool, just turn the valve lever to block the flow.

I also like the Gardena Quick Connectors for hooking my garden hose to the soaker hoses. A water timer is a great way to save water when using a soaker hose or other irrigation system. You don’t have to “remember” to return to turn off the water. 

And speaking of soaker hoses, I like the flexibility to irrigate each raised bed and each crop optimally. Plant leaves stay dry and mulch on top of the soaker hoses retains soil moisture. In my garden, they work well with squash, peppers and eggplant. Some gardeners prefer drip irrigation systems and use them with good success.

Watering the vegetable garden differs from irrigating a native plant landscape or a shrub border. Water needs are high for edibles because fruit production is the goal. Thankfully, seasonal rains lessen the need for supplemental irrigation in the winter garden.

Read an excellent article on watering the rest of your landscape from the L.A. at Home blog, The Dry Garden. Follow the link below.