What are the do's and don'ts of a Drip Irrigation System

You’ve just moved in to a brand new home that came complete with a landscape package, front and back. A drip irrigation system was provided for the trees and shrubs, and an underground sprinkler system was provided for the back lawn. You noticed this box mounted on the wall next to your electrical panel, but you don’t know if it’s part of your cable system, or what? Everything looks good.

A few months have passed, and before you know it, it is summer time. You’ve installed all the ceiling fans and window coverings, done some painting, and one day you noticed your landscape isn’t looking so good. Your plants have grown, but all of a sudden they’re discoloring, starting to wilt and look a bit stressed. You don’t know what’s wrong. You received this card from your builder listing all of the sub contractors that worked on your house, and way at the bottom the landscape company is listed. You give them a call and set up an appointment for a representative to come out to your house for an evaluation.

The first thing you are asked is, “Have you adjusted your time clock?” And your response is, “No, was I supposed to?” The answer is “yes”! And the reason why reflects a basic standard that applies in most irrigation scenarios. As your landscape trees and shrubs grow, as your lawn begins to mature, all require more water but less often. As plants grow, they develop larger and deeper root systems. The size of young plants’ root systems is equivalent to the size of the container they came out of. As they’re planted, their roots begin to develop and grow into the native soil. Light, frequent waters were okay after initial planting. But as plants grow, in order to get the water to where it’s needed, more water needs to be applied, but less frequently. Their roots are deeper, so the soil around those roots takes longer to dry out.

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For more information and for answers to all YOUR Landscape, Garden and Home Improvement questions, please visit our website, Rosieonthehouse.com

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