Re: Watering in Summer/Drip Irrigation

Maybe "tirade" against drip irrigation was a bit too strong of a word to use, but it definitely doesn't square with my own personal experience.  There is no doubt that some clients will not have the proper aptitude for dealing with a drip irrigation system, and will be better served with a more typical overhead spray system.  I have also seen gardens that took the overhead spray system to new heights, literally, as in the old Harland Hand Garden in El Cerrito, where all irrigation was provided by Rainbird Impact heads mounted on 10 foot height poles.  This was the simplest way to provide general coverage for a highly complex planted garden, where typical spray heads would have been too easily blocked by plant growth over time.  I personally didn't really like looking at the irrigation poles so obviously exposed, and also feel that this wasted more water than a good drip system.  I will admit that exposed drip tubing mounted into trees to mist a
 collection of bromeliads, rhipsalis and orchids can lead to ongoing battles with squirrels which like to gnaw off the hard plastic misters, but even with this type of animal interaction, I eventually found that mounting emitters at the bottom side of branches eliminated most of the problem, making it a little less easy for them to easily chew on the emitters.  Even in gardens with free ranging rabbits and chickens, I haven't found that surface installed drip irrigation was problematic,(maybe I was just lucky, but the animals were certainly hard on some of the plants, and keeping mulch in place is impossible with chickens in the yard, and who knew that rabbits like to chew off the bark of lemon trees?).

I thought I might include a link to some photos of  my own garden designs with drip systems for irrigation, as evidence of gardens that have had trouble free drip systems functioning for at least 5 years, and in some cases up to 15 years.  The gardens shown are a mix of types, from primarily drought tolerant/low water designs, to more lush city gardens with lots of containers and hard scape contrasting with a mix of drought and water loving plants in combination.  The usual maintenance problems are mostly around those systems that used a battery operated automatic valve attached to a hose bibb, and usually just required replacing the battery, or at most, replacing the fixture because it got too wet/the battery closure wasn't properly resealed.  The other most common problem usually involves the knocking over of upright micro-spray emitters, and I now prefer to use pop-up modes of these in more exposed situations to avoid this.  It is also important to
 leave a repair kit with the homeowner, and show them how to fix nicked lines, reconnect emitters, and adjust variable spray emitters as necessary.  I usually suggest that the owner turn the system on manually once a month just to check that every thing is operating well, which is also a good thing to check with any type of irrigation system.  As I don't bury the emitters at the plants, and often use a circle of 1/4 inch line with in-line emitters around individual plants, it is easy to see that everything is working or not, and plants don't mysteriously just up and die.  

I only use these battery operated type of controllers at the point of connection when the budgets are tighter, or when the plants to be watered are located on upper story decks which would make wiring back to the ground level controller, or stringing drip tubing from ground level valves up to the decks too expensive/cumbersome to do.  The DIGG battery operated valves which can be hooked up to a hose bibb have been very reliable in my experience, and are simple to program.  The systems were not purchases at Home Depot/Orchard Supply Hardware type stores, but always using more reliable professional grade materials from local outlets such as Irrigation Equipment here in Berkeley or The Urban Farmer.  I think one thing that does need to be said, is that any irrigation can be difficult to maintain if there are no "as-built plans" showing the system layout, or a "go-to" maintenance person who knows the lay out of the system to consult when there are problems. 
 As I mostly install my own irrigation after I do the plantings, I can more easily exactly provide the amount of irrigation needed based on what is installed, rather than generalizing the irrigation prior to planting.  This may seem like a "backwards" approach to the order of typical installation of landscaping, but it has served me well over the years.  I don't like to sub out the irrigation installation on planting designs I have designed/installed, because I can't rely on others to know the water needs of the various mix of plants I typically use as well as I do.   On the other hand, if I know that the client prefers to do their own irrigation install, or will be having someone else do the installation from my plan, I tend to greatly simplify the plantings to reduce complexity and better guarantee that the design will hold up regardless of the type of irrigation installed.

Linked photos of gardens all using drip irrigation:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniesannuals/sets/72157614346658861/
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