Table of Contents

About Backyard Farming
Profile: Wasatch Community Gardens

How Does Your Garden Grow? Garden Upkeep
Rainwater Harvesting System
Irrigation Strategies
Garden Cart
Compost Box
Vermiculture Bin
Raised Beds 101
Easy Plank Raised Beds
Stacked Lumber Raised Beds

Vertical Integration Gardening Vertically
Profile: Kyle LaMalfa
Potato Planter
Tiered Lettuce Rack
Wall of Tomatoes
Bean Leaner
Squash Ramp
Grapevine Ladder
Pea Trellis

Open Season Growing Season Extenders
Profile: Lynsey Gammon
Greenhouse
Cold Frame
Wire Mesh Cloche
PVC Cloche

Creature Comforts Dwellings for Your Backyard Friends
Profile: Kevin and Celia
Top Bar Bee Hive
Rabbit Hutch

Index

Excerpt from page 28

Irrigation Strategies
Find the Best System for Your Garden
Depending on where you live and what you're trying to grow, you might just get lucky and find a vegetable that doesn't require much in the way of water. It sure would be nice if we could just let nature take its course and effortlessly enjoy a nice harvest! However, most of us will need to put some time and energy into watering our crops if we're going to have results to be excited about. In our region - my family lives in Salt Lake City - we get almost no rain during the summer, so irrigation is a pretty hot topic around here.

overhead watering
The simplest form of irrigation is overhead watering, which usually means spraying plants with a hose. This works, but it has a couple of important downsides. For one thing, it wastes a lot of water due to evaporation, overspray, and an inability to really target the places where water is most needed. Additionally, it can encourage disease by allowing too much water to settle on and around the plants. More effective methods use much less water and are better for the overall health of your plants. The two main types of irrigation that you'll likely want to consider for your backyard farming efforts involve soaker hoses and drip lines. The systems are similar in that they'll both save you a ton of time and money, and you'll soon establish an easy routine for watering once you've gotten some experience and seen how the system works.