It was some winter in Midwest, but we can begin to think of sprinklers
again!

As an excited newbie, I'd like some help selecting the best sprinklers
for my tasks:

(1) I have two small gardens in the front: each about 20x20. This is
not lawn, but various plants. What would be a good tyoe of sprinker for
this situation? Water should come down gently, evenly all over, and
high enough to clear small plants and shrubs.

(2) In the back I have a 60x40 yard with a diagonal path in the middle,
splitting the yard in two triangles. This is all lawn. I'd like to
avoid the path as much as possible.

I would greatly appreciate advice on types as well as brands.

My local gardening store, which seems fancy by Home Depot or Sears
standards, carries gardena and Dramm(?). But I can mail-order if
something else would be more suitable.

Thank you very much.

In article , Newbie
wrote:

It was some winter in Midwest, but we can begin to think of sprinklers
again!

As an excited newbie, I'd like some help selecting the best sprinklers
for my tasks:

(1) I have two small gardens in the front: each about 20x20. This is
not lawn, but various plants. What would be a good tyoe of sprinker for
this situation? Water should come down gently, evenly all over, and
high enough to clear small plants and shrubs.

(2) In the back I have a 60x40 yard with a diagonal path in the middle,
splitting the yard in two triangles. This is all lawn. I'd like to
avoid the path as much as possible.

I would greatly appreciate advice on types as well as brands.

My local gardening store, which seems fancy by Home Depot or Sears
standards, carries gardena and Dramm(?). But I can mail-order if
something else would be more suitable.

Thank you very much.

Drip irrigation and mulch. Sprinklers are inefficient and wasteful.
Watering leaves and flowers can encourage mildew and reduce harvest of
fruits.
--

Billy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBB0s...eature=related

Billy wrote:

: Drip irrigation and mulch. Sprinklers are inefficient and wasteful.
: Watering leaves and flowers can encourage mildew and reduce harvest of
: fruits.

Just wanted to clarify that what I am calling "garden" is just two
20'x20' patches that happen to have small plants rather than grass, no
fruit trees etc.

Any recommendations in light of that?

Newbie wrote in
:

Billy wrote:

: Drip irrigation and mulch. Sprinklers are inefficient and
: wasteful. Watering leaves and flowers can encourage mildew
: and reduce harvest of fruits.

Just wanted to clarify that what I am calling "garden" is
just two 20'x20' patches that happen to have small plants
rather than grass, no fruit trees etc.

Any recommendations in light of that?

i second the drip irrigation & mulch. wetting the leaves of
almost any garden plant can cause fungus/mildew. it's far less
wasteful to aim the water where the plants actually need it
(roots) & then keep the moisture in with mulch.
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Newbie wrote in
:

Billy wrote:

: Drip irrigation and mulch. Sprinklers are inefficient and
: wasteful. Watering leaves and flowers can encourage mildew
: and reduce harvest of fruits.

Just wanted to clarify that what I am calling "garden" is
just two 20'x20' patches that happen to have small plants
rather than grass, no fruit trees etc.

Any recommendations in light of that?

i second the drip irrigation & mulch. wetting the leaves of
almost any garden plant can cause fungus/mildew. it's far less
wasteful to aim the water where the plants actually need it
(roots) & then keep the moisture in with mulch.
lee

I use drip hoses.

http://www.google.com/search?client=...p+hose&ie=UTF-
8&oe=UTF-8

Leave them exposed and if they leak .....

These on a timer.

Bill who has a nice spring rain now but down to about 35F in two night
then maybe garden stuff can go do it's stuff.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

Bill wrote:

: I use drip hoses.

I am not familiar with them (an apartment person all life). How do they
work? Do you lay them above ground or do they have to be buried
underneath? If I visualize "drip", how do they get water some distance
from them? Sorry about my ignorance but all help appreciated.

Newbie wrote in
:

Bill wrote:

: I use drip hoses.

I am not familiar with them (an apartment person all life).
How do they work? Do you lay them above ground or do they
have to be buried underneath? If I visualize "drip", how do
they get water some distance from them? Sorry about my
ignorance but all help appreciated.

it's a hose, either with tiny holes or made of a permeable
type material, that drips or oozes water at low pressure. it
usually lays on the surface, but can sometimes be placed under
the mulch. you lay it in a wavy pattern through the garden &
turn it on for a couple hours once/week.
good soil has excellent capillary action, so the water will
spread throughout the garden area, but it won't be getting
your path or house wet, nor the leaves of your plants. it
doesn't waste water by spraying it up in the air (where it's
no good for the plants anyway)
if you have heavy clay soil, soaker or drip hoses don't work
so well, but then you'll be having lots of *other* problems
with your gardens anyway... very few plants do well in clay.
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:19:29 -0500, Newbie wrote:

Bill wrote:

: I use drip hoses.

I am not familiar with them (an apartment person all life). How do they
work? Do you lay them above ground or do they have to be buried
underneath? If I visualize "drip", how do they get water some distance
from them? Sorry about my ignorance but all help appreciated.

I found the drip hoses to put out more water near the beginning of the
hose and less water at the end (uneven watering). Plus, they can be
tricky to place on a slope.

If you have new transplants, put a pinhole on the bottom of a filled
plastic gallon jug with a loose cap. The jugs are somewhat unsightly,
free and effective, but I only use them for a day.

In article , Persephone
wrote:

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:23:52 +0000 (UTC), enigma
wrote:

Newbie wrote in
:

Billy wrote:

: Drip irrigation and mulch. Sprinklers are inefficient and
: wasteful. Watering leaves and flowers can encourage mildew
: and reduce harvest of fruits.

Just wanted to clarify that what I am calling "garden" is
just two 20'x20' patches that happen to have small plants
rather than grass, no fruit trees etc.

Any recommendations in light of that?

i second the drip irrigation & mulch. wetting the leaves of
almost any garden plant can cause fungus/mildew. it's far less
wasteful to aim the water where the plants actually need it
(roots) & then keep the moisture in with mulch.
lee

Wetting leaves, depends on when you do it. In my area
(So. Calif coastal), which is basically a desert, it is desirable
to hose off the leaves from time to time, just to get rid of the
dust. However, the time should be carefully chosen.
Very early morning is the best; before the sun comes up.
I know there is dispute about whether water drops on leaves
act as lenses, focussing the sun destructively, but I'd rather
be conservative. The other good time is late afternoon,
so the water doesn't stay on the leaves overnight, potentially causing
fungus/mildew. Even those times have to be tweaked, depending
on the seasons (how high the sun is in the sky, and when it
rises/sets).

Persephone

And some say the best time to water is during the hottest time of the
day because that is when the plant needs the water most. We do have
lower humidity on the west coast so you probably could get away with
watering the leaves during the height of the summer heat. But water in
the flowers is just asking for a bad set and watering the leaves in the
fall will let you be the first one on the block with mildew (That
probably got started back during the heat of the summer and only stated
spreading when the weather cooled down). Otherwise, if you are East of
the Rockies, watering the tomatoes leaves is a reeeeally bad idea.
--

Billy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBB0s...eature=related

In article ,
enigma wrote:

Newbie wrote in
:

Bill wrote:

: I use drip hoses.

I am not familiar with them (an apartment person all life).
How do they work? Do you lay them above ground or do they
have to be buried underneath? If I visualize "drip", how do
they get water some distance from them? Sorry about my
ignorance but all help appreciated.

it's a hose, either with tiny holes or made of a permeable
type material, that drips or oozes water at low pressure. it
usually lays on the surface, but can sometimes be placed under
the mulch. you lay it in a wavy pattern through the garden &
turn it on for a couple hours once/week.
good soil has excellent capillary action, so the water will
spread throughout the garden area, but it won't be getting
your path or house wet, nor the leaves of your plants. it
doesn't waste water by spraying it up in the air (where it's
no good for the plants anyway)
if you have heavy clay soil, soaker or drip hoses don't work
so well, but then you'll be having lots of *other* problems
with your gardens anyway... very few plants do well in clay.
lee

If you have clay soil, you should amend it with sand (20% - 30%) and
compost (30% - 40% wouldn't be too much depending on how much clay there
is), 10% manure, plus rock phosphate, and some wood ashes. If you have
clay soil, that is;-)
--

Billy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBB0s...eature=related