Even when my garden was big enough to produce a ton {literally} of produce, I always watered it by hand. Sure, living in the rainy Pacific Northwest helps a bit, but in the summer months, the garden still requires daily maintenance. I could have persuaded the HH to help me install some sort of irrigation system. He probably would have jumped right on board too, because when I head out of town on my travels, he’s the one left holding the daily watering can. I didn’t, though, because I really believe hand watering is a pretty big contributor to my high yields–even without using fertilizers and other fancy schmancy stuff.
Here’s the thing: most plants have different watering needs, and it changes daily, depending on the weather. So, a large irrigation system, that I need only turn on with the turn of the faucet seems convenient, but I think it would lead to over-watering some plants and under-watering others. Watering is not a one-size-fits-all sort of deal.
Second, it allow me to make sure the water goes where I want it. Several plants don’t love having their leaves wet. Of course, I have no control over this when it rains, but I can manage the quantity with my own watering. Keeping water off the foliage and on the root system means less water wasted AND less disease. For crops, like tomatoes, that are sensitive to the spores from the dirt splashing up and hitting their leaves, hand watering allows me to limit that too. On that same train of thought, hand watering means I actually look at each of my plants everyday. I think it means I catch potential issues, like pests, waaaay earlier than I would otherwise.
If all of the above weren’t reason enough, lugging a big ol’ watering can around the yard is like a frugal gal’s version of free weights at the gym. Seriously, like presents the opportunity to exercise, but we try to simplify our way around it. I like lugging that thing all over the yard–it builds up my guns :). Plus, gardening is my hobby. The more time I get to spend with my plants, the more Zen-like I get to feel.
While I’ll totally admit, on days where life happens, watering the garden can feel like one more thing to add to the to-do list, but mostly, I relish that part of my day. It’s the other stuff that I usually want to forget about {and occasionally do}. I figure the time lost on busy days is totally made up on the other days I would be moving sprinklers, fixing broken sprinkler heads, maintaining the irrigation system, etc. instead. Unless my hose bib breaks or I get a hole in my watering can, my system is totally maintenance free.
Sometimes it just feels more satisfying to do things the hard way, don’t you think?
~Mavis
MaryW says
I’ve tried that, it never gets the right amount, so I have a drip system.
Libby says
All my plants would die a quick death if not for our automatic system. I often don’t check it for days at a time and sometimes even a week (I blame the kids). It is fun to plant seeds and forget about them and then pop around the garden to see new surprises coming up!