There are many different strategies for planting a successful and abundant garden, but in the end it all depends on maintaining consistent soil moisture. When the soil temperature rises in late spring, all plants want to use the warmth and remaining soil moisture to grow, grow, and grow. However, when the soil moisture disappears with the arrival of summer, the lush vegetative growth will stop because the plants will squat down to save water.

As gardeners, we know to water the garden in summer, but manual watering is usually inefficient. When we choose to water with a hose, we react to signs that the garden needs withered plants and dry soil. However, when plants show signs of drought, they may have entered a water-saving mode and stopped vegetative growth. For annual plants such as flowers and vegetables, this can be a big problem, and if they are allowed to dry out early in the season (think small broccoli heads), they will stunt. Even young perennials like fruit trees, if they are allowed to dry out completely, they will stunt and stop growing during this season.

This is where drip irrigation can save the day. By providing consistent moisture to the root zone, we can allow plants to take advantage of summer warmth and growth...and grow and grow! Think of huge broccoli heads, emerald green flowers, and fruit trees that grow several feet in a season. Drip irrigation is also more targeted and conservative in water use, which means that you waste much less water on roads and weeds compared to manual watering. I found that a vegetable garden with proper drip irrigation can double the harvest while using less water than manual watering.

Setting up a drip irrigation system can be daunting-there are many products to choose from, and hardware stores usually sell quirky supplies. First of all, don't buy a suction pipe! Soaking hoses are notorious for uneven watering. They quickly decompose and are troublesome to repair. There are high-quality products that are cheaper, have a longer service life, and are easy to repair. In short, depending on your application, three different drip irrigation products can be used:

• Half-inch launch tube. This polyethylene pipe has a built-in pressure compensation transmitter that provides consistent water delivery throughout the landscape (even hilly terrain). This pipe is very suitable for all perennial plant beds, orchards and general landscapes. Easy to repair and very durable. Since the launcher is built-in, there is nothing you can knock off with a tool or weeder.

• One-quarter inch drip irrigation pipe. This highly flexible polyethylene pipe has a built-in transmitter, but is only suitable for shorter lengths (up to 15 feet). This type of tube is most suitable for small raised beds and containers. Do not use this kind of pipe in general landscapes, because weeders will gobble it up like spaghetti. Use a simple pressure reducer (30 psi) when using this product

• Drip irrigation tape. This cheap and easy-to-use product is best suited for large vegetable gardens (rows longer than 10 feet). The secret to the success of drip tape is to buy the thickest (15 million) and never fold it for storage. Use a simple pressure reducer (10 psi) for this product

Once your garden is equipped with the right drip pipe, the second secret to successful irrigation is to automate it. Again, the goal is to keep the soil moist at all times, so this means setting the frequency of automatic irrigation to maintain soil moisture without overwatering and wasting water. Your index finger knuckle deep into the soil is the preferred tool for assessing moisture-it should feel as moist as a wrung out sponge. In free-draining soils, such as containers or raised beds, this may mean that there will be several short pulses of water throughout the day. In heavier soils such as clay, this may mean watering three to four times a week.

There are a range of options to make your irrigation system run automatically-from a simple battery timer to a wired system that you can program and control via your smartphone. Battery timers do not last as long as wired systems, but they are easy to use and self-install. If you are concerned about the possibility of a battery timer getting stuck, try using two battery timers aligned with each other-such that one acts as a backup "failsafe" for the other.

No matter how you design your irrigation system, your garden will be verdant! Keep it simple and sit back and enjoy all the time you save without having to drag the hose.

For more information or help about your drip irrigation system, please feel free to contact me at 360-726-2919 or jamesmost@gmail.com.

The easy-to-use drip irrigation website www.dripworks.com.

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