Drip Water Irrigation Systems for Gardening

Watering a garden can be one of the most time consuming tasks a gardener faces.

Because manually watering a garden is an inefficient use of time, many gardeners choose to employ a tool, such as a sprinkler or hose, to water their garden.

While these tools can save the gardener time, they are inefficient at properly distributing water and, depending on your location or the season, can ruin your garden by either over or under watering your plants.

A more advanced solution may be to invest in a drip irrigation system for your garden.



A drip irrigation system distributes water continuously in a trickle rather than a stream like a hose or sprinkler would.

This allows the water to properly seep into the ground over time, while at the same time ensuring that the garden’s plants have a consistent source of water.

When choosing a drip irrigation system, gardeners have a choice between buying an above ground irrigation system or an underground one.



Above ground drip irrigation systems are inexpensive and easy to install.

If you will be moving your plants around frequently, an above ground irrigation system is preferable to an underground system since the above ground system is easier to move.

On the other hand, gardeners concerned with the aesthetics of their garden may prefer using an underground irrigation method.

As the name implies, an underground irrigation system is not visible because all the piping is laid underground.

The underground system also has the advantage of feeding water directly to the roots ensuring maximum moisture for the plants.

That being said, underground systems can involve a complex installation and may cost substantially more than the above ground system so it is less suitable for a casual gardener.

No matter which irrigation system a gardener chooses to utilize, buying a drip irrigation system is a smart investment.

Although initially more expensive than a hose or water can, an irrigation system helps plants thrive through distributing an appropriate amount of water and it requires very little upkeep, which will save any gardener time in the long run.


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Organic Gardening for Dummies - Book Review

Title: Organic Gardening for Dummies, Second Edition


Author: Ann Whitman, Suzanne DeJohn, Editors of National Gardening Association


2009 Wiley Publishing, Inc.

This a straight-to-the-point, organic gardening primer book. As with most of the Dummies books, this book starts out by providing the reader with a Cheat Sheet giving reasons to be an organic gardener and a checklist to use for assessing your gardening site.

From there, it helps readers understand the basics of organic gardening. The book can be helpful whether it is read from beginning to end or skipping around the chapters.

Organic Gardening

The first chapter starts by defining organic gardening and then jumps right in to building the soil, planting wisely, garden diversity, pest management, and feeding the soil.

Organic gardening according to the authors, “Is all about preventing and treating problems in the least obtrusive, most nontoxic ways. Dedicated organic gardeners adopt methods that use cultural and natural biological processes.”

Just a few of the many reasons for planting an organic garden given by the authors include:

• Human health management

• Reduce water pollution by reducing the amount of pesticides used

• Cost savings

• Improve soil health and fertility.

Planning an Organic Garden

There are a multitude of considerations to make when planning an organic garden according to the authors, such as:

• Life cycles of plants such as annuals, biennial, and perennial

• Evergreens and conifers

• Types of leaves, flowers, and root systems

• Plant shapes including climbing, upright, and mounding

• Hardiness and temperature zones

• Basic design principles such as color, season of bloom, and scale.

Planting and Maintaining

A chapter is provided on Soils 101 teaching readers what makes good soil and how to build good soil. Organic fertilizers get an entire chapter also appropriately called Fertilizer 101.

Several chapters are dedicated to pest control, pesticide safety, plant diseases, and outwitting the critters that will invade organic gardens such as gophers, mice, and birds.

All items are discussed in terms of recognizing a problem, then determining a diagnosis, and then finding an organic solution.

Thankfully, there is a how-to plant organic plants midway through the book. Other how-tos include, how-to grow from seed, tips on buying plants from garden centers, how-to prepare soil, and how-to plant.

Types of Organic Plants

The authors provide readers with information on several types of plants including vegetables, herbs, fruit bearing plants, flowers, bushes, shrubs, and trees, and organic lawns.

The book ends with a chapter on the “Ten Best Organic Gardening Practices” and a chapter on the “Ten Ways to be Eco-Friendly.”

Organic Gardening Can be for Dummies

Most of the Dummy books break seemingly complicated processes down into easy-to-follow, easy-to-get started, and easy-to-read instructional guides.

With rising food costs and with commercial growers cutting corners and using pesticides and fertilizers that can harm the consumer and the environment, organic gardening is a viable alternative.

For those who are uncertain on the basics of organic gardening and need a few tips on getting started, Organic Gardening for Dummies can fill that need. It is an easy-to-understand, quick read, and makes a really great get started guide.

Caring for Your Warm-Season Grass Lawn

Caring for Your Warm-Season Grass Lawn.

If you live in the southern sections of the United States, you probably have a warm-season lawn.

Some examples of warm-season grass are Bermuda, buffalo, carpet, centipede, Bahia, St. Augustine, and Zoysia.

Warm-season grasses grow best when the temperature exceeds 80ºF.

During the winter when the temperature drops, these grasses will go dormant and turn brown.

Many southern gardeners will “overseed” their lawns during the winter by seeding their existing lawns with a ryegrass each fall to ensure their lawn stays green throughout the winter.

Warm-season grasses are trickier to maintain than cool-season grasses.

Therefore, it is important to choose the best type of grass for your soil type.

Otherwise, your lawn will quickly be overrun with weeds or unwanted grass varieties.

On the up side, warm-season grasses are more durable and require less watering than their cool-season siblings.

Typically, watering will only need to be done during the winter if the season is extremely dry.

To reduce the necessary maintenance level for your lawn, it is important that you start out with good soil and maintain the ideal growing conditions for your grass type.

Generally, this starts with having your soil tested.

Testing the soil will ensure that you are fertilizing correctly and help you understand which grass is best for your area.

Warm-season grasses should be planted in the late spring and should not be planted in the late summer or early fall.

Planting them too late in the season does not give them enough time to develop before going dormant.

Fertilizing should begin in May and continue about once a month until September.

If you fertilize too early, the grass will still be dormant and the only benefits will be for the weeds.

If you fertilize after September 1, you could delay the natural dormancy of the grass.

Fertilizing in May should be done with a product that contains thirty to fifty percent of the nitrogen in a slow-release form.

In February, plan on using a good pre-emergence herbicide to help control weeds.

This will ensure that the herbicide has a chance to kill the weeds before they have a chance to germinate and establish.

In March, you will need to remove any excessive thatch that has developed and can be a problem for warm-season grasses.

Mowing for most warm-season grasses should begin when it is about 1-1/2 inches high.

Buffalo grass should not be cut until it is longer, at least 3 inches high.

They will also need constant trimming and edging, as many warm-season grasses have the tendency to creep.


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Creating a Butterfly Garden

Creating a Butterfly Garden.

Want to add to the color and variety in your yard ?

You might want to entice some “flying flowers” to visit you by creating a butterfly garden.

A butterfly garden contains both host and nectar plants, as well as a few other things that butterflies require, such as a water source.

The butterfly garden may occupy a corner of your yard, or could be extended throughout — it’s up to you. It can be a lovely and unique focal point for your outdoor environment.

Another plus to butterfly gardening is knowing that you’re making a safe haven for these beautiful insects, which have had their habitat severely impacted by human development and pesticides.

If we all had butterfly gardens, it might help stop the current decline in their populations.


Here are some tips on how to grow a butterfly garden:

• Provide plants that butterflies like. They need nectar plants to feed on, and host plants on which to lay their eggs. You’ll have to do a little research on host plants, depending on what area you’re in and which kinds of butterflies live there.

Some caterpillars will eat several different types of plants; others are picky and will only eat one. An example of this is the monarch butterfly larva, which will only dine on milkweed.

Many host plants are also good nectar sources, such as passionflower, sunflower, hollyhock, and snapdragon. Some other colorful nectar plants to consider are lantana, salvia, lavender, buddleia (butterfly bush), coneflower, black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, daylily, and daisies.

• Make the garden organic. Pesticides kill insects you don’t want, but will also harm the desirable ones, like butterflies. So going all natural in the yard is essential.

• Supply shelter and warmth. Butterflies seek less windy areas and a warm spot where they can rest. Some taller shrubs can make a windbreak, and by setting some flat rocks in your butterfly corner, you’ll give them a place to light and sun themselves.

• Give them a drink. Butterflies need a source of water as well as nectar. That’s why you often see them gathered at puddles. A shallow place that holds a little water, like a pie tin, will be enough to slake their thirst.

And what will you get for providing these simple requirements? A pretty hideaway where you can sit and watch the butterflies flutter by.