All About Home and Garden

There are some places in this world, where there is enough water in the form of rain, that irrigation is not necessary. Unfortunately I have never lived there, and have always had to irrigate. However with an intensive gardening system, it is doubtful that there are many places that will receive enough rain for it.

Therefore when you choose a site, you need to think about where the water is, and how you are going to get it to your site. If you are fortunate enough to have a free-flowing well that is great. Free water is nice! Even if it doesn't have enough pressure to power a sprinkler it works well for drip irrigation. I have grown a large plot, with a free flowing-well, using electric valves, and running the water 24 hours a day.

Many municipalities have a separate water meter for irrigation. The sprinkler systems tie into this line, and the water is less expensive. If you do not have those options, then culinary water is the next option. If your property already has a sprinkler system with a timer, try to make a plan where you can tap into it, by adding a valve. Or if you are digging up some lawn, you can use the line that was already there for watering the lawn.

There was one spot in the Desert Mountains where a small stream that was dried up, it had a spot uphill, where the water surfaced in a small pool, and then disappeared. This pool had water in it all year long. My friend put a tank above his garden spot, and siphoned from the pool into the tank constantly. It took all day to fill the tank each day. Then he ran the drip irrigation all night, and emptied the tank.

The same principle can be used with a pond, river, stream or irrigation ditch, if you are fortunate enough to be near one. You can also collect water that runs off from buildings, or collect gray water from sinks, tubs etc. Water from those sources will need to be filtered so the drip lines will not clog.

While selecting an adequate site may be easy, it is necessary that you have a good understanding of how the system should work. Keep in mind that the ideal bed should be 4' wide and can be as long as you like. Each bed should be planted in rows and each row will have the same type of plant along the entire length of the row.

The bed design should have the taller and longer growing plants in the center row, and shorter plants will be planted in rows along the outsides near the walkways. The rows in between will be your choice of short season plants that will harvest out early to make room for the longer season plants. This is what gives you the ability to grow so much in so little space.

Based on this concept your beds should be positioned so the rows go from north to south. The plants will form an "A" shape and as they grow, the east side will be getting the morning sun while the west gets most of its sun in the afternoon. If your rows run east to west, the south will get sun all day, and the north will always be in the shade.

The bed length will determine how much of one vegetable you will get from each row. By planting in succession you can insure that not too much of one item harvests at one time. Keep your vegetables fresh and your garden efficient. As an example, if you have a 20' row of lettuce or onions, they might all need to be harvested at the same time.

Then again, if you are growing for food storage or to sell, then longer beds may be suitable. I have found that 8' to 10' long beds are the most desirable for the home garden, but the beds can be shorter if you are limited on space.

Keep in mind, a well-planned garden ensures good use of space allowing for more of your favorites to be harvested throughout the season. I have used 20' long beds in commercial applications, and as short as 4' long beds in home gardens.

The drip irrigation will have a main line running across the top or bottom of the beds providing the source water. The soaker hoses will connect with tees and elbows from the main line. Regardless of how long the beds are, it will still take the same amount of tees, elbows, and supply line. Only the soaker hoses will vary in length depending on how long you make the beds.

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