When outdoor watering comes to mind, we think of a hose with a sprinkler attachment on the end, or better yet, a fancy built-in sprinkler system. We think of being able to flood our lawn and garden with an ample spray of cool liquid refreshment. Unfortunately, as we have learned, spray watering can be pretty wasteful. A large landscape area can consume more water in a week than a family of four needs in an entire month. And, this type of watering is not always effective for many kinds of plant growth. Lawns, trees, shrubs and flowers all have different needs. So, sprinklers are OK for lawns, but garden areas need special attention to insure that the proper amount of water is being delivered to plantings and to reduce water waste.

There are many ways to conserve water and improve garden growth all at the same time. Our favorite is known as "drip-watering." Actually, drip watering systems have been around for quite some time and they are pretty sophisticated – and reasonably inexpensive. These days you can find an entire area in your local home center or hardware store dedicated entirely to drip watering.

Better manufacturers offer accurate water-pressure regulators, high quality filters, automatic in-line fertilizing devices, a broad selection of water emitters and connectors, solid and perforated tubing and a variety of watering heads and flow reducers.

With the right parts you can control water usage to within amazingly accurate tolerances and fertilize at the same time without even being there. And a great advantage of drip systems is that they don't have to be placed deep underground so installation is easy.

It isn't necessary, but if you can afford to include it in your budget, the place to start is with an electric timer. Most yards can be controlled with a 6-station unit and one can be purchased on sale for under $60. Timers operate on 110 volts, but use a very small amount of electricity. Secondary wires from the timer are low voltage and run from the timer to electrically controlled sprinkler valves. In-line timers are also available for single line systems.

With a conventional sprinkler system, large pipes have to be buried deep in the ground starting at the control valves and ending at the areas to be watered. Some pipes may have to be buried deep with a drip system, but usually not as much.

A water pressure regulator is a must when considering a drip system. The regulator should be installed in the water line between the water supply and the control valves. Good drip systems rely on constant, well regulated water pressure. Proper pressure ensures that the emitters (water distribution devices) will supply the desired amount of water through each water supply tube.

After the control valve, the next item in line is the emitter. The emitter regulates water flow and acts as a distribution center for the drip tubing. Emitters are available in a wide variety of gallons-per-hour flow rates ranging anywhere from one to twenty gallons per hour. A one-gallon-per-hour emitter will supply one quart of water in fifteen minutes – very little waste.

Emitters are also available in several different distribution configurations. Some have only one outlet and will supply a single watering tube only. Others have two, four and even twelve outlets. But, remember, regardless of how many outlets an emitter has -- one or 12 -- each of the outlets is rated at the same exact gallon-per-hour flow rate.

This raises two questions: What do you do if you only need three drip lines and you want to purchase just one emitter? And, what do you do if you want each of the three tubes to supply a different amount of water?

If you need three lines, buy a four-port emitter – one of the ports can be plugged. Yes, there are plugs just for this purpose. Port plugs are removable so that tubes can be added or subtracted as the landscape is altered.

If you have one emitter, but need varying volumes of water, select an emitter that supplies the maximum amount of water that will be needed at any one tube and then add flow reducers to the ends of the tubes where less water will be needed. The folks who developed drip irrigation systems didn’t forget anything. A drip-irrigation system is a conservation measure that will improve the quality of your landscape and reduce your water bill.

Remember, when working with an irrigation system; make sure to install a backflow prevention device. This will ensure that water used for irrigation doesn't back up into your drinking system. Poisons and microscopic bacteria from the garden can be deadly.