growers know
“
A STRAIGHT-WATER DRIP
system provides horticulturalists a
security blanket with watering.”
a more even distribution of nutrients above the entire
soil surface of large pots, while still utilizing some of
the convenience of automation.
WATER SOURCES, NUTRIENTS,
AND TEAS
The water source present at the garden site, as well
as the sorts of nutrients and teas being used for fertil-
ization, are also important factors in considering the
implementation of a hand-watering and drip irriga-
tion combo. First of all, water quality is determined
largely by its source—that generally being from either
a municipal water source or a well. For those lucky
well-water gardeners, a straight-water drip system
can often be run directly off of a standard home water
connection (depending on water pH as well as the
water table quality). However, if a garden is irrigated
purely with city water, this treated water usually
needs to be filtered or it has to sit in a holding pond to
eliminate chlorine additives—it is then pumped out of
the reservoir by an electric pump.
Nutrients and teas are the final factor to weigh when
deciding to diversify one’s watering approach with
both systems. By hand-watering when fertilizing, a
thorough spreading-out of this mixture on the soil
surface will help ensure an even disbursement of salts
within a growing medium. By manually feeding plants
an even amount of fertilizers, farmers avoid the noto-
rious hot spots in soils that are caused by the concen-
trated nutrient drip of a pure automated irrigation
system. Along this line of thought, using a drip system
strictly (except for emergencies) for straight water will
keep it from clogging—an issue that plagues irriga-
tion farmers who use thick organic nutrients and teas.
Finally, by implementing a constant straight-water
drip on an outdoor garden, it’s possible to keep the
soil consistently moist. This practice will ensure
that the beneficial microbes in organic nutrients
and teas don’t die off as they do when soil mediums
completely dry out.
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grow cycle