Smart Garden Watering System, Part 1

Having a smart garden watering system is VERY important to me! Time saved by efficient systems can make all the difference. So let’s jump right in and talk about everything water.  

Btw this is part one of a two part series on watering your garden. Read Part 2 here. 

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Water = Life or Death

Water is a life and death issue to your plants. You might want to brush over this simple step and just throw some water out on your plants. You may get by with such methods, but it’s not ideal. 

Living in Arizona I've killed my fair number of plants by simply not watering them. When it’s 115 degrees out, you don’t have to go long without water to kill most things. 

However, the knee jerk reaction to that may end up with you overwatering, and it ends the same way—dead plants. 

I’ve done that too. 

I’ve done both wayyyyyyyy too many times. 

Eventually I realized it’s a balance. I needed to learn how to read my plants and know what they wanted, when they wanted it. 

I once heard a quote that went something like, “a garden’s best friend is the gardener’s shadow.” So true!

The more time you spend watching and caring for your plants the faster you can learn what they want. 

The Key to a Smart Garden Watering System

When it comes to finding a smart garden watering system we want a system that will help us achieve the plants needs and give us the level of ease we desire. 

You can do all your garden watering with a hose, but my guess is if you’re reading this article you want something better and more efficient than that. 

However, there are still pros to using a standard hose. 

Let’s talk about the different methods of watering your garden first. Then, I’m going to tell you what I use. (Hint: It’s actually a few different methods)

Garden Hose 

This can be the most effective. It just depends on what you are doing. If I’m watering the wells around my fruit trees or my sunken garden beds this is 100% perfect for the job. I turn on the hose and hopefully set a timer and turn it off in time (BEFORE I flood the whole yard 🤦🏻‍♀️). 

Garden Hose & Wand

You can use this to start seedling as well. You can use your thumb, but I really LOVE this gardening wand I bought off of Amazon. It’s so nice, the water flow is soft and 100% perfect for watering my seedlings. I highly recommend. 

(I got tired of the cheap ones with the many different setting from the local store. They always get clogged up with our hard water and only last a short time. The parts on this are better and I’m hoping it will last much longer. Plus they sell replacement parts for it.)

Garden Hose & Sprinkler 

I love these sprinklers on Amazon. The screw onto a hose and in about 30-seconds you’re up and running. The flow of this particular sprinkler head seems to be better than the ones that spin in a circle. Those ones seem to throw the water around everywhere, whereas this sends out nice even water. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I like this better for sure.

I use this set up to water our front lawn (aka backup pasture…just don’t tell my family I call it that;). I also use this to start seeds in larger areas. I started wheat with it and I plan to start a huge garden bed of squash/food for the animals with it as well. It’s even water distribution over a large area. 

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Drip Tape & Soaker Hoses

These can definitely have their place in the garden. I have a couple of soaker hoses on standby in my garden right now. They are super flexible and easy to lay down right where you want the water. 

Both of these are a huge plus if you are doing traditional row gardening. Just stretch out the tape or soaker hose in line with where you are planing your seeds. 

The benefit of drip tape is that the water outlets are spaced every few inches so maybe you’ll water less weeds…but I like soaker hoses a lot. They are more flexible cause you don’t have to worry about the drip spacing. However I’ve used both in the past and they’re both great. 

Oyas

These are great. Especially for container gardening. Small gardens can use them as well. The downside to them is they can be expensive. You can also glue two clay pots together and plug up the hole in the bottom to make your own. 

The cool thing with the oya clay pot (it has to be uncoated) is it isn’t waterproof. Water can seep into and out of the pit depending on the soils needs. If the plant is thirsty it will suck water out of the soil, but the pot will replenish that when it’s starting to get dry. Also if the soil is too wet, an empty pot will allow the water to leave the soil letting the soil breathe. 

If you are gardening in the desert oyas can be very popular for their water conservation qualities. Also check out this post here if you want more info on water conservation methods for the desert. 

Drip System

You can set up a drip system as well. They are a lot of work at first. If you have problems with gophers, they may eat the plastic tubes. They also wear out over time and need maintenance. Personally, I found it too much work and too inflexible. I like to keep things flexible. Maybe for some things it would be good, but not for us right now. 

Next week I plan to publish Part 2 and you'll be able to read that by clicking here. See you then! :)

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