Which Watering System Should You Choose for Your Garden?

Why is it important to water your garden?  

 Watering your garden is a necessary step in ensuring the health and growth of your plants. However, to achieve positive results you shouldn’t water them in just any manner. Every plant has its own specific requirements; therefore, it is important to ensure that each of your plants receive a personalised watering treatment. For example, a succulent should only be watered one to three times a month. Watering your garden is essential in maintaining a healthy lawn, flower bed or vegetable patch all year round. Correct watering of your garden will also prevent your plants from drying out and your flowers from wilting. However, it’s still worth considering the weather conditions.  To help anticipate the weather, you can use the Netatmo Smart Weather Station. Its Outdoor Module is ideal for keeping yourself up to date with the local weather. 

What is the best watering system for your garden? 

There are a variety of watering systems available. For example: watering cans, sprayers, hoses, sprinklers… And with each system offering its own variety of models, finding the right product for your soil can become a complicated task. So, how do you make the best choice for your garden?  

Watering can: this is a must-have for all gardening enthusiasts. It is most commonly used with a watering head, which is a nozzle that is placed on the spout of the watering can in order to control the flow of water and create fine jets. Watering cans are ideal for small plots of land because they allow precise watering of targeted areas. Their holding capacity can generally range from 1 litre to over 12 litres in the bigger models, depending on what one you buy.  However, refilling them can be a nuisance and they are also heavy and difficult to handle when watering.  

Hose: This is a very practical tool when watering your lawn, vegetable patch or flowers. However, it is important to remember that for a hose to work it first needs to be connected to the garden tap. There are various types of hoses, each with their own advantages, which are all generally effective. But of course, it all depends on your type of garden.    

An extendible garden hose is ideal for watering all ends of your garden as it can be extended as far as 50 metres. The width of the hose also influences the watering process as it determines the pressure and rate of water flow coming out. 

A micro-porous watering hose is a hose with small holes in it that allows water to pass through and target the plants directly at their roots. It is generally used for crop irrigation. Thanks to its system of holes, the micro-porous hose sprays evenly and at a very low pressure.  

Garden sprinklers: Sprinklers are very practical for watering your lawn, especially when there is a large area to cover. They are also an ideal solution if you are seeking an automatic watering system. There are various models of sprinklers to choose from. 

For example: circular sprinklers, rotary sprinklers, oscillating sprinklers, cannon sprinklers, etc. 

What is an automatic watering system?  

Your choice of watering system will depend on the following factors: your garden surface, the type of soil (sandy soil, clay soil, limestone soil, etc.) and your personal preferences. Opting for automatic watering equipment is a practical choice as this self-contained system ensures that your lawn and plants are continually watered, even when you are away. This is made possible due to an automatic timer that is installed at the water supply point. With this system you can control: 

• Watering duration  
• Watering frequency  
• Water flow and pressure  

There are two different types of automatic watering systems.  

Automatic surface irrigation is a garden watering system that is perfectly suited to small areas. This type of system is visible (as opposed to an underground automatic watering system) and easy to install. The most common type of equipment used is sprinklers.   

The underground automatic watering system is not directly visible in the garden as it is hidden in the ground. An underground sprinkler system can have many advantages:  

• Optimal watering of plant roots 
• Protection from bad weather or other potentially damaging external elements  
• More aesthetically pleasing than visible pipes 

 How to save water when watering your garden?

If you install a water-saving system and upkeep good habits, it is certainly possible to save water when watering your plants or vegetable patch.   

How does a rainwater harvesting system work?

When watering your lawn, flowers, or vegetable patch, using drinking water from the tap is obviously a good solution. But why waste drinking water when rainwater can do just as well a job? A rainwater harvesting system allows you to store rainwater in a tank, making it both an economic and ecological solution.  

Why choose a watering pump?

If you own a rainwater harvesting system, it is essential that you have a watering pump as well. For garden use, the recommended type of water pump is a surface pump. In particular, a jet pump. The jet pump is placed above the water source needing to be pumped (tank, reservoir, well, etc.) and sucks up the water so that the rate of flow is intense enough for it to come out the other end of the garden hose.   

How to measure rainfall in your garden?

With the Netatmo Smart Rain Gauge, it is possible to: 

• Check the amount of daily rainfall  
• Measure the amount of rainfall in real time  
• Receive alerts as soon as it starts to rain  
• Monitor rainfall data 

 Drip irrigation

The drip irrigation system uses water efficiently by allowing micro-irrigation of the soil.  However, its installation requires the additional purchase of specialised equipment such as fittings and drippers.  Fittings prevent leaks in the irrigation system by creating the necessary angles and deflections to direct the water to the desired area. Drippers are capable of targeting a specific plant, thus allowing for a more precise watering. But be careful! The rate of water flow can vary between different drippers.  The need for a high- or low- pressure dripper will be determined by the type of plant.   

When should you water your garden?

It all depends on the season and the type of plants needing to be watered. For example, in summer it is best to water your garden when the heat is less intense, i.e., in the evening. However, when the weather is very cold, it is recommended that you water your garden in the morning. This is because it gets a lot colder in the evening and at night-time, making it much easier for frost to form…Watering your garden is a delicate task. Whether you choose to use a hose or an automatic sprinkler, make sure you have a firm understanding of your garden before you buy. Research your plants’ needs and monitor the weather.