Why Use an Irrigation System for All Seasons?

Nowadays, many gardens have an irrigation system. After all, there’s nothing more important to the upkeep of your greenery than keeping it alive and, well, green.

However, many people think that watering is only a key factor in the warmer months, like summer, or the drier months, like winter. This is not necessarily the case, and one needs to take the wet and dry seasons into account more than the seasons themselves. We, at Windy Willows, would like to teach you why and how an irrigation system can be used for all the seasons of the year.

 

Adjusting Your Irrigation System for the Seasons

Irrigation should be done year-round. What should change is how you go about irrigating your garden. Since the different seasons tend to bring about varying weather conditions, you will have to ensure that you are giving your garden a sufficient amount of water in accordance with this. For example, how you keep your garden watered during the dry season would be vastly different to how you’d go about it in the wet and rainy seasons.

• During the dry season: In South Africa, the dry season tends to run from May to September. It is a period in which we experience colder months, as well as humidity and heat toward August and September. This would mean that your garden would be in need of more water. However, this does not mean that you should over-water either. It can be a fine line between watering your garden efficiently and overwatering it, which is why you should rather set a schedule. At Windy Willows, we offer the perfect solution in the form of automated irrigation. Aside from scheduling, grouping or hydro zoning your plants is also an important factor. Certain plants need more or less water than others, and it can save you a large amount of water if those plants with similar watering needs are placed in the same proximity.

 

• During the wet season: The wet season begins in October and ends in March. It tends to rain more often during this season, for example, the whopping 110mm rainfall that Pretoria received recently in only 40 minutes. Of course, our gardens will not need to be watered as frequently. So, to save water, it is suggested that you turn off your irrigation system when it rains. Although, you will still need to keep a close eye on the state of your garden and give it some water as needed. Keep in mind that certain types of soil will still need more water than others, like topsoil which struggles to retain water in general. If this presents a problem, we suggest purchasing mulch to place over your topsoil, which tends to hold water well. Also, it is important to remember that the wet season can bring with it intense humidity, an environment in which pests and weeds thrive, so it’s best to keep an eye on that.

Start setting up your irrigation system to function optimally during all seasons. Contact us to assist you today.