Proper Irrigation Techniques for Your Backyard Garden

Thursday, May 14, 2020
A garden being irrigated using the soaker hose method.

Soil is tilled, crops are planted and now perhaps the most important part – watering! It is no secret that Elmore County is in the middle of a semi-arid desert region of southwest Idaho, meaning our annual amount of precipitation is approximately only 11 to 12 inches a year. Definitely not enough water for crops, plants or gardens, besides sagebrush and other native plants that thrive in our climate, but usually aren’t desirable for the backyard garden. Watering maybe the most important step, because plants use water for photosynthesis and to form sugar molecules (fructose, sucrose and glucose) as well as to release oxygen into the atmosphere.

There are several types of irrigations and watering regimes you may want to use for your own backyard garden. The choices are numerous and include several variations of: sprinkler, drip, in-furrow, soaker hose or flood. Each technique has its own benefits as well as its own drawbacks. For the full story, pick up a copy of the Mountain Home News or click on this link to subscribe to the newspaper's online edition.

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