Irrigation?

We use soaker hoses for row crops and bubblers for individual plants. All of them connected to pvc pipe with ball valves, so we can turn each one on as needed. works really well to help keep weeds down.
 
I use soaker hoses in the veg garden and individual drip heads for the flowers in the rock garden and flower pots.
We are installing drip irrigation for the trees and shrubs.

Where we are it is really windy and dry - high mountain desert - so we need to keep the water at ground level so it doesn't evaporate so quickly. Sometimes it seems like the water from the sprinkler doesn't even hit the ground :)

It also saves on water to be able to water under the leaves of the plant, right at the roots where it is needed - it also helps keep the plants dry to avoid the problems associated with wet leaves.
 
This year I put in drip systems for the upper yard, so far so good

The veggie garden we are using soaker hoses with a layer of hay for compost on top. Also so far so good. We are in CA so water is expensive and we have to watch where it is used.
 
Well it looks like i won't need to water the garden for a while.It has rained 2-3 in. in the past 3 1/2 hours here.My garden is up hill so it drains pretty good but is still is really wet.
 
I usually use soaker hoses for my row crops but this year changed to what my boyfriend calls a weeper hose. It has a hole every one foot on the hose and each hose connects to a main hose with valves that can be turned on individually. So far it has been working well and only waters my crops.
 
I use milk jugs for watering my potato bags. I punch three holes in the bottom of each and then fill 1/3 with as big of rocks as I can get through the top. The rocks keep the jug from blowing away
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I made the bags out of some leftover landscape fabric and they are 18" in diameter and about 16" tall. I roll the bag down so it is about 8" inches tall before I plant in it. To plant, I put 4" of soil in the bag, then 3 or 4 starts in the bag - halfway to the edge, top with 2 inches of soil, and then place the milk jug in the center of the bag. It sits between all the starts.
I have the potato bags surrounded by wire mesh and that is covered with greenhouse plastic to protect from cold night temps, drying winds and gophers.
To water, I just take off the top and fill the jug. The holes are small, the diameter of a bamboo skewer, so the water seeps out slowly and saturates the soil without running out. The lid seems to help keep the water from running out too fast and also keeps the insects out of the jug.
As the plants grow larger, I just take out the milkjug, unroll the bag a couple of inches, add more soil and put the jug back in.
On really hot windy days, I may need to fill the jugs twice - once in the morning and again in the evening.
 

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