Choices for irrigation systems for vegetable gardens

By David Sprague

OSU Extension master gardener volunteer

Vegetables need an adequate and consistent supply of water to produce quality yields.

Different vegetables and weather conditions determine how much water is required, but in general, vegetables need 1/4 inch of water per day or 1 inch of water every four days.

The time of day is also important.

The best time to water is in the morning.

The three most commonly used watering methods are: hand-watering, sprinklers and drip irrigation.

They are all effective, but what is best?

Hand-watering with a hose or a container is quick and simple.

Everyone has the equipment to do it and it can be done at any time.

However, it is the most time-consuming method of the three.

And because it takes time, most people don’t water deeply enough or often enough to benefit the vegetables.

Using a sprinkler saves you time from hand-watering.

Just set the sprinkler out, connect the hose and turn it on.

One of the major disadvantages is that sprinklers cause plant leaves to become wet and soil to be splashed on them, both can cause disease development.

Sprinklers are less effective because they broadcast water over a wide area.

Most of the water never gets to the vegetables.

A drip irrigation system supplies water directly to the root zone via tubing, a soaker hose, or PVC piping.

Drip systems do not splash water onto plants and are the most efficient methods of watering.

A tube system uses flexible plastic tubing with emitters.

The emitters supply the water directly to each plant or two plants.

Soaker hoses allow water to seep out slowly over the length of the hose and must be left on for a period of time to water deeply enough.

PVC piping is similar to the tubing method but uses small holes drilled in the PVC lines by the plants instead of emitters.

In all three types, liquid fertilizer can be added to the drip irrigation systems.

Drip irrigation systems can clog up if the water source is not clean and they can be sensitive to water pressure.

Due to these issues, some gardeners use water filters and pressure regulators.

Once installed, drip systems require little effort to maintain.

If you use a timer, it requires almost no labor.

A timer can be set to water in the mornings, giving your veggies the water they will need in the heat of the day.

To plan your irrigation system, visit go.osu.edu/irrigateveggies.