If you're still setting your kitchen timer or watch to remind you that it's time to go move the sprinkler, waking up to a flooded yard as a result of forgetting to turn off the outdoor spigot, or find yourself dreading even opening your municipal water bills, it's definitely time for you to look into having a smart watering system installed in your outdoor living space. Following are three ways that modern watering options can save you money, save your plants, and save you time.
You'll Save Money
There was a time when water was cheap and plentiful, but municipal water costs have skyrocketed in recent years. Even if your household budget allows for maintenance of a large, lush outdoor living space or your water needs are met via a private well on your property, you probably nonetheless want to do your part to conserve water. Smart sprinkler systems save water in a number of ways, including by using rain gauges that automatically shut off your irrigation system in the event that it begins to rain and soil moisture sensors that keep your system from starting up at a preprogrammed time in the event that the soil already holds sufficient moisture for the needs of your landscape. You can also use soaker hoses in order to ensure that water only goes to the parts of the yard that need it.
You'll Save Your Plants
Playing guessing games with the watering needs of the various vegetation in your landscape frequently results in unhealthy plants. Homeowners seem to worry more about not providing plants with enough water, but giving them too much is also a major mistake -- perhaps even more so because it's easy to tell when plants are drying out and need more water, while the symptoms of overwatering are frequently more subtle. Lawn grass, for instance, may at first appear lush and velvety green but still be suffering from overwatering. As time goes on, the grass may develop fungal diseases or a condition known as thatch that occurs when overworked roots and stolons form a dense thicket on the surface of the soil. Overly damp grass also may attract insects and provide optimal conditions for weed growth. Too much water can also cause shallow root growth in many trees, shrubs, and herbaceous pants, causing problems ranging from general structural instability as a result of not having a deep, solid root system to an increasing dependence on surface water that wouldn't occur with deeper, well-established roots.
Smart sprinklers can be programmed to deliver the proper amount of water to the various parts of your yard. Better yet, they can be used with a drip irrigation system that delivers the exact amount of water each plant needs straight to its individual root system. This allows you greater flexibility in landscape design because you'll be able to grow plants with differing cultural needs in closer proximity to one another than you would if they were dependent on an old school overhead sprinkler.
You'll Save Time
Anyone who has ever fussed with an old fashioned sprinkler system is probably familiar with what time consuming hassles they can be. Imagine setting your sprinkler to water your lawn, going out to lunch or on a shopping trip, and finding yourself rushing home because it's started to rain. You won't have to do that with sprinkler systems that are programmed to shut down in the event of high atmospheric moisture levels. If your region isn't prone to sudden summer rainstorms, you can still set your sprinkler to turn itself off at a designated time so that you don't have to schedule your weekend around watering. Because modern irrigation systems are more easily customized than their counterparts of the past, you won't be wasting time dragging hoses and sprinklers around to reach various parts of your yard. All you'll have to do is program the sprinkler to perform depending on your personal landscaping needs.
Please feel free to contact landscaping companies at your convenience for additional info on how today's smart sprinklers can make your life better.
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