When growing flowers, watering is a crucial step for plant health. If you’re growing in a landscape format, watering with a hose and a sprayer is probably your best bet. When growing in straight rows, there is a more efficient way to water your plants.
Drip Irrigation
We use a drip irrigation system from DripWorks which comes with everything you need to efficiently water your plants on a timed system that is operated via bluetooth and an app. This is connected directly to our faucet outside through a mainline. The drip tape is punched into the mainline to provide water. It has small holes along the line that allows water to drip out. Plants will get the water they need even if they aren’t aligned directly with a hole. DripWorks kits come with great instructions on the setup of the system.
How much to water?
A question I often receive is “how much should I water my plants?” The best test is to assess the health of your plants and touch the soil to determine if they need water. Do your plants look wilty? Are the leaves dry? We primarily use our drip irrigation for our summer crops and have found that setting our timer to water in the early morning hours and again in the evening works best.
The timer has been a lifesaver for us, but it doesn’t take all of the work out of the system. It’s important to check it at least once a week for any puncture wounds that may have occurred. We have had cats claw at the drip tape and add additional holes. The ends have also popped off of the drip tape, which quickly creates a flood. For the most part, this has been a time saver for us and allows us to focus on other tasks such as weeding and planting more flowers.