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Sprinkler systems keep lawn alive without killing your wallet

Think of water as a fuel for your lawn and garden. It's a precious commodity we often take for granted. We turn on the spigot and, presto, it's there - good to the last drop.

Those drops, however, should count. We need to conserve water to protect future supplies and to keep our household budgets from drying up.

So before you go out there and start randomly spraying plants - plus the driveway and sidewalk - evaluate the irrigation equipment you use. Even if you choose to not invest in an underground sprinkler system, you can select hoses, nozzles and sprinklers that do the job efficiently and thoroughly.

Some people love to spend the morning or evening watering, hose in hand as they daydream among their hostas and impatiens.

Hands-off watering, however, can be the most efficient, especially if you use soaker hoses that water the soil and not the foliage. Foliage wet from waterings, coupled with high humidity, is susceptible to fungal diseases.

How do you know when you are watering too much or too little? If it doesn't rain, you should give your plants, including turfgrass, an inch of water per week. Give them one single deep watering, not frequent shallow waterings that evaporate instead of soaking in. Plants that like it hot and dry - see the Diggin' In column on Page 32- may not need that much.

You also find that new plants and turf need more water than seasons later, when their roots have had time to establish themselves.

For occasional or small-area waterings, trickle, drip and soaker irrigation methods are good alternatives to hoses with overhead sprinklers. You usually have to leave these on for some time so a timer or automatic shutoff device is beneficial.

High-water zones, such as turfgrass, probably warrant a system with controls and timers. For example, computerized control panels on underground systems allow you to set the system so it can come on anytime and you can repeat rotations through the watering zones so water can soak in instead of running off.

Three years ago, Bill Hawkins had a 62-head, 10-zone underground sprinkling system installed for his 1/2-acre yard in Virginia Beach. He talked with three companies before deciding on an installer.

Price was a factor, says the master gardener, but he didn't want that to blind him.

His $6,000 system operates off a 67-foot-deep well that provides water, complete with discoloring iron, but his sprinklers are positioned so little iron stain gets on his driveway and walkways, he says.

Why does he recommend an underground system? To have a decent lawn in this area, you've got to get water on it, says Hawkins, who grows Kentucky 31 tall fescue. He presets his system to come on at 2 a.m. and it's generally done its job five hours later. He encounters occasional problems, such as sticking heads, but overall the system has been trouble free. For $60 a year, an irrigation company closes and opens the system.

It's the only way to go, Hawkins says.

Charles Lee of York County, however, took the do-it-yourself route, installing his own six-zone, 30-head system for $1,000.

His tips for putting in your own underground sprinklers:

* Have a good plan and map drawn out on paper. Utilize the services for free plans available from companies such as Rain Bird and Toro, he says.

* Do your trenching before you put in fences and shrubs because the trencher is awkward to use.

``Good planning is the key and it's kind of fun to do it,'' says Lee.

WHAT'S NEW

SPOT RAIN. Sprinklers by Nelson come in three spray patterns - circular, square and narrow strip. This circular one covers up to a 30-foot diameter. It has no moving parts to break and has a rustproof aluminum face. About $6.59, Mayo Garden Center, Newport News; other local garden centers also carry similar sprinklers.

GETTING SOAKED. Rain Bird offers the new Rain Tape starter kits for 200- and 500-square-foot gardens. About $15.95 and $26.50.

EARTH QUENCHER. This low-pressure drip irrigation/soaker hose by Swan lets water seep through thousands of tiny pores. This soaking method saves water because there is less evaporation; it's also good for plants that don't like wet foliage, such as roses. About $12.99 for 25-foot hose, Mayo Garden Center, Newport News. Also, look for Moisture Master soaker hoses made from recycled rubber at Robbie's Do-It-Best Hardware in Portsmouth, Grafton True Value in York County and Southern States Chesapeake. For online information about other Swan hoses, contact www.swanhose.com/gardenhoseproducts.html; for Moisture Master, contact www.aquapore.com

RAIN DATE. You can go off for the day and set this Nelson Rain Date automatic shut-off timer to water from 1/2 hour to 3 hours. Made in the USA, it costs about $16.99 at local garden centers.

NIFTY NOZZLES. Remember when you could get a nozzle with two spray options - a soft spray or hard stream? They are still around but consider the versatility of a nozzle with six to nine sprays available - ``shower'' to softly soak planters, ``mist'' to freshen a fern, ``flat'' to reach a tight corner and ``jet'' for a hard stream. Prices vary according to brands, available at many local hardware stores and garden centers.

HANDY HOSE. Hoses hanging outdoors usually look unsightly. Ames reels in tidiness with a hose tote case that can be hung or left to sit so you can pick it up and take it where needed. About $30, hose included, Lowe's Home Improvement and other local garden centers that sell Ames products.

WATER SITES

* For good online information about sprinkler systems, contact North Carolina Cooperative Extension at www.ces.ncsu.edu/ and Virginia Tech extension at www.ext.vt.edu/

* Also, check out the Quick-Snap underground irrigation system which includes no underground pipes at www.quick-snap.com or call Ken Matthews Landscape Nursery, 898-7799.

WATER BOOKS

* ``Reliable Rain'' by Taunton Press discusses soil types and the tinkertoy work of piping water to plants. It tells you what questions to ask yourself about buying PVC pipe, the plastic pipe used for underground watering systems, and gives many photos that show how to design and glue together you own system. Diagrams show you pipe joints and tell you how to create multi-line bubbler assemblies. $19.95, available locally, call (800) 243-7252, or Web site www.taunton.com

* Ortho's ``All About Sprinklers and Drip Systems'' tells how to divide your lawn into circuits and how to choose the best sprinklers for your needs. $11.95, available locally, call (800) 822-6349; or Web site www.ortho.com

DO-IT-YOURSELF

Check major hardware chains for do-it-yourself parts and free customized plans for underground sprinkling systems by Rain Bird and Toro. To contact Rain Bird, call (800) RAINBIRD or visit www.rainbird.com for online tips and plans. To contact Toro, call (800) 664-4740 or www.toro.com

Other irrigation sites: www.hunter.com and www.aquapore.com/installation_guide

For any underground system, consider installing a computerized control panel that allows you to easily set times and rotations. Also consider installing a meter that measures how much water you have used for the lawn and garden so it's not billed as waste water processed by Hampton Roads Sanitation District; contact HRSD for more information on this money-saving meter and the necessary forms to read it, 460-2261.

Aug. 1998

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