Which is better for a front of house flower bed, automatic sprinkler or drip system?

Question

My house is in San Francisco and is frequented by street people. I have two areas in front of my house which are currently dirt only. One is about 14' x 5.5' and the other is about 14' x 3.5'.

Answer 1

On a bed that small, just use the drip. It will be easier to set up, and more efficient.

Answer 2

Drip is better for sparse plantings, shrubs etc. It is usually much more efficient for those.

For more intense plantings spray heads are better as they are more flexible. If you are going to be planting annuals you do not want to be moving the drip heads every time you plant, plus you would need so many heads it would be a really pain to work around. Similarly if you think you will be moving plants around drip can be annoying, or if you are going to dig a lot as it is easy to cut through the lines.

The inefficiencies caused by overhead spraying are for several reasons which can all be avoided if a system is correctly designed and used:

Often spray heads put out more water than the soil can take up - there are two parts to this - the first is the spray heads, there are some really good spray heads now that do not put down more water than the soil can absorb. They have a pretty low rate of putting out water. The second part is the user. If you set the sprinkers to run way more than is necessary then you will be wasting water.

Planting density - this one is kind of obvious, if you only have a few plants in an area & are watering the whole area the chances are you will be wasting water.

One of the best (though very expensive I think) things on the market at the moment is an irrigation controller that measures the moisture level in the soil & therefore does not overwater. It corrects for natural preciptiation too. It is very very cool!

Anyway, I hope this is not too confusing.

Answer 3

A drip system is much more efficient, the water goes directly to the plant, rather than all over the place. A sprinkler system loses a lot to the air. Also, many flowers dislike being soaked down on a regular basis. Soaking the buds can make the flowers look cruddy when they open, and if the bed is very full of foliage, the leaves underneath don't really dry out, which invites pests like aphids.

Answer 4

I would go with drip. Soaks the dirt better which gives your plants more water instead of loosing half the water to evaporation or run off. Also its better to water the plants by watering the ground, not the leaves. Therefore drip would be the better choice. Some plants dont like water on their leaves. Also, your drip sprinklers can also be set up to auto. popup sprayers are only good for groundcover such as grass.

Answer 5

That's a no brainer. It's the automatic sprinkler. There's nothing like a sprinkler system to dampen the spirits of those street people who are looking for a good place to hang out.
I hope this helps :>)))

Answer 6

Flowers I'd go with spray heads, they come in a wide variety of patterns, Shrubs I'd go with drip system. Many shrubs don't like to get their leaves wet in the hot sun. Also if you city has drought restrictions, drip is better. It uses the water more sufficiently.

Answer 7

Yes a drip system, it csts less and uses less water.

Answer 8

it would depend on what kind of flowers u r going to put in the beds and what time of day or night u plan on watering. calling ur county agriculturalist(white pages-county listing) could answer all ur ?s properly

Answer 9

I would water it myself that way it wont get to much water