Humanity strives for perfection in everything it does. "Perfection" referring to efficiency, the best way of doing something- the idea that, things can be done without waste or over-emphatic use of resources. Take garden watering, for example, which has traditionally been one of the least efficient gardening practices of all. With drip irrigation systems, even the daily and weekly water has entered the sci-fi realms of the 21st century.
Drip irrigation brings the whole idea of garden watering firmly up to date. It's the kind of thing people used to marvel at when they visited national expos and "cities of the future" – those science park type places where University eggheads unveiled their visions of the perfect society of the next century. We all live in that next century, and very little of their visions ever came true – no flying fuel-less cars, no hover tubes, and no workless societies. However: a lot of labour- and waste-saving devices have sprouted, of which drip irrigation systems are one – and with their simplicity, their "why didn't anyone think of that before?" factor, they really do fulfil those visions of yesteryear. The idea that life can be lived more efficiently, better, happier: in some cases, it came true.
In this case, it came true when some very clever people realised that garden watering – which was supposed to mimic rainfall – was doing its job too well. That is, old-style garden watering mimicked rainfall so well that it even replicated the huge amount of waste water that rainfall implies. When it rains, only a tiny percentage of the falling water ever gets into the roots of plants. Drip irrigation systems ensure that it's only that tiny amount that falls at all – in other words, all the useless rain, that ends up as standing water, or collected in the brim of one's hat, is snipped out of the equation. What's left is a 100% efficient water delivery, where every single drop reaches the roots it needs to.
How? Drip irrigation systems work by taking single drops of water directly to exact locations in a garden: planted beds, planters and hanging baskets. Tiny tubes capped with drop nozzles parcel out water one drip at a time: allowing a gardener to deliver the maximally effective quantity of liquid to the plant, for the exact correct amount of time, without wasting a drop.
The amount of water saved by using drip irrigation systems is phenomenal. All that previously wasted "rainwater" – the water dispensed in traditional garden watering methods that matched all the useless rain that falls in a shower – is turned from loss to saving. That can be as much as 85% of the original amount. And that, in a world increasingly starved of resources, really is a way to better living. With the news headlines telling us every day how much damage we're doing to the planet, it's nice to know that an activity as simple as watering the garden can go a long way towards redressing the balance.
Drip irrigation brings the whole idea of garden watering firmly up to date. It's the kind of thing people used to marvel at when they visited national expos and "cities of the future" – those science park type places where University eggheads unveiled their visions of the perfect society of the next century. We all live in that next century, and very little of their visions ever came true – no flying fuel-less cars, no hover tubes, and no workless societies. However: a lot of labour- and waste-saving devices have sprouted, of which drip irrigation systems are one – and with their simplicity, their "why didn't anyone think of that before?" factor, they really do fulfil those visions of yesteryear. The idea that life can be lived more efficiently, better, happier: in some cases, it came true.
In this case, it came true when some very clever people realised that garden watering – which was supposed to mimic rainfall – was doing its job too well. That is, old-style garden watering mimicked rainfall so well that it even replicated the huge amount of waste water that rainfall implies. When it rains, only a tiny percentage of the falling water ever gets into the roots of plants. Drip irrigation systems ensure that it's only that tiny amount that falls at all – in other words, all the useless rain, that ends up as standing water, or collected in the brim of one's hat, is snipped out of the equation. What's left is a 100% efficient water delivery, where every single drop reaches the roots it needs to.
How? Drip irrigation systems work by taking single drops of water directly to exact locations in a garden: planted beds, planters and hanging baskets. Tiny tubes capped with drop nozzles parcel out water one drip at a time: allowing a gardener to deliver the maximally effective quantity of liquid to the plant, for the exact correct amount of time, without wasting a drop.
The amount of water saved by using drip irrigation systems is phenomenal. All that previously wasted "rainwater" – the water dispensed in traditional garden watering methods that matched all the useless rain that falls in a shower – is turned from loss to saving. That can be as much as 85% of the original amount. And that, in a world increasingly starved of resources, really is a way to better living. With the news headlines telling us every day how much damage we're doing to the planet, it's nice to know that an activity as simple as watering the garden can go a long way towards redressing the balance.
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