Do spring’s incessant showers bewitch you into thinking that midsummer will be just as kind to your garden?
For most climates, drought in varying degrees of severity is a certainty for the months of July and August.
By using today’s innovations for applying water to plants, you can guarantee that your garden will never know the need for moisture.
In applying water to the garden, including the lawn, be sure to soak to a depth of several inches.
If a water shortage should occur and rationing goes into effect, conserve moisture by using mulches.
Good Mulch Materials
Depending on your preference and local availability, these are the following good mulch materials:
- Vermiculite
- Peat moss
- Cocoa bean shells
- Buckwheat hulls
- Shredded bark
Mix organic material such as compost or peat moss with the soil to help increase its water-holding capacity.
Keep your garden free of weeds because they rob desirable plants of moisture as well as nutrition.
There is a watering device for every phase of gardening. Personally, I own a half dozen different types, each designed for a specific watering job.
Whether you need one or two basic waterers or several special ones, I am certain you’ll find them among those discussed here.
Different Types Of Waterers
Basic Sprinkles
BASIC SPRINKLERS are available in various models to help water areas of ten- to 50-foot diameters.
Inexpensive types depend on water volume to determine the area watered. Deluxe units are adjustable to cover the size area you desire to water at one time.
There are even some that will water a square area and some that are adjustable from a fine mist to medium or coarse droplets. Prices range from less than a dollar for simple units up to $3 and $5 for better ones.
Oscillating Sprinkles
OSCILLATING SPRINKLERS have become increasingly popular in recent years. The better units are adjustable to the size area to be watered, from fine mist to large droplets.
They will water either side of a rectangular area, both sides, or any point in between. Prices range from $6 to $13.
Sprinkle-Soaker Hoses
SPRINKLER-SOAKER HOSES are available in plastic tubing or as canvas soakers ranging in length from 20’ to 50’ feet.
They water with a fine mist that soaks in without any run-off and can be wound around and through flower beds or garden spots.
When used according to product recommendations, these soakers do a superb job of putting moisture deeply into the soil. Sprinkler-soaker hoses range in price from $3 to $6.
Traveling Sprinkles
TRAVELING SPRINKLERS are available in several models. These will “walk” a pattern or line, sprinkling as they go.
One of these units has a grooved wheel and uses the hose as a track. A pair of driving pawls move the sprinkler along.
You attach the sprinkler to the end of the garden hose, lay it out in the pattern you want the sprinkler to follow, then adjust it for speed and spray, and away it goes!
Another “walker” has an anchor spike with flexible steel tape at one end. To operate, drive the spike into the ground, carry the sprinkler up to 125 feet away, and set it down.
The flexible tape rewinds slowly and retracts into the sprinkler, pulling it along straight toward the anchor spike. Prices for traveling sprinklers range between $25 and $45.
Underground Sprinkle Systems
UNDERGROUND SPRINKLER SYSTEMS are a boon to large lawns and help keep them as beautiful as you’d like.
The hose is buried beneath the turf and equipped with sprayer heads, some of which rise under water pressure and retract without it, leaving the surface level and safe for mowing and playing on the lawn.
Prices range from $40 for a basic do-it-yourself kit to several hundred dollars for a custom-installed unit.
Specialized Waterers
SPECIALIZED WATERERS are those that enthusiastic hobby gardeners enjoy using because of their excellent performance in specialized watering tasks.
Probably the best known of these is the root irrigators and feeders. They are designed to reach down around deep-rooted plants, shrubs, and trees.
The root irrigator is a long, rod-type waterer that sends moisture 12” to 48” inches into the ground.
The lower part of this rod has discharge holes, and water pressure through these digs the hole, penetrating easily to the depth of the plant roots.
Some root irrigators have a chamber into which you can insert soluble plant food cartridges to give plants a feeding along with the watering.
These irrigators promote the healthy growth of deep-rooted plants, even during prolonged drought. Prices range from $3 to $7.
Deep-Soak Planting
If you prefer to deep-soak your plants, especially roses, without wetting the foliage, you’ll be especially interested in the hose bubbler of aluminum.
Baffles inside this egg-shaped unit break up the pressure and provide a gentle flood of water without washing away the soil or spraying the foliage. It sells for under $2.
Another specialized waterer was designed originally to water tall plants over a large area. It is 64” inches high and moistens an area up to 60 feet across.
In use, this sprinkler has a second application utilized by most owners—to give children a cooling shower on hot summer afternoons.
Watering The Base Of Five Plants
One specialized waterer is a plant soaker that can water five plants at once. It attaches to the end of the garden hose and has five lines of plastic tubing leading from the hose connection.
These may be placed at the base of five plants and the water turned on. The lines spread in any direction and will water plants up to 24 feet apart.
If you like to use the hose and nozzle for spot sprinkling jobs, a stand will hold the hose in place while you do other garden chores.
This is illustrated on the opposite page, along with other devices to help you have a sparkling summer garden.
44659 by Frank A. Bartonek