Smart Irrigation

Private gardens and public lawns are the green lung of all of us. Proper and controlled irrigation, planting vegetation with low water consumption and the use of plants that can be irrigated with marginal water, enable the continuation growth and cultivation of plants in addition to real water savings.

Ten useful tips for saving water in your garden:

Controlled and proper irrigation can save large amounts of water. For your convenience, we have created a tool that allows the calculation of the amount of water required to irrigate your private garden. To optimize irrigation and save water, it is required to take several important steps and consult with expert professionals.

Here are 10 useful tips for saving water in the garden:

1. Irrigation using sprinklers and sprayers is allowed, according to the water rules, between April and November and from 17:00 to 10:00 of the next day. South of the minimum precipitation line, it is allowed all year around. You should irrigate your garden during the cool hours, when there is no wind gusts (usually until 6:00 am). This way you will minimize the evaporation of water and will avoid leaf diseases.

2. Plant plants that require little amount of water.

3. Assign the quantities of water for irrigation according to the weather and the needs of the plant.

4. Install in the garden irrigation timers or irrigation computers, which carry blue sign. This is in order to save water and for the vegetation health. Perform monitoring and maintenance work on the irrigation systems.

5. Cover the garden with big amounts of cladding material to prevent dehydration of the ground and to reduce the development of weeds in the garden.

6. Divide the garden into groups according to the type of plants and the conditions necessary for their development. Adjust the irrigation to the type of group.

7. Increase the irrigation gaps for the plants and lawns. This increase will deepen the roots of the plants and will make the plant stronger. It will increase the water absorption capability of the plants.

8. Mow the lawn frequently. This will provide substantial savings in water consumption.

9. Cut unnecessary branches of trees and bushes that consume unnecessarily water.

10. Put and hide large amounts of compost. Compost improves significantly the soil water holding.

Saving water - garden and landscape design

Tests of gardening experts revealed that some of the gardens in Israel are irrigated not in a controlled and effective way. It is possible to make it more efficient by upgrading the irrigation system and by replacement of the plants to a vegetation that saves water. Correct irrigation is a combination of knowledge of the water requirements of plants, control of the irrigation, adjusting the irrigation to the yearly seasons, effective water distribution, good maintenance of the irrigation systems, etc. When designing gardens and landscape in the correct way, and in order to make them water-efficient gardens, it is important to address a number of basic rules:

• Soil type and depth

• Topography

• Climate

• Suitable vegetation

• Creating a microclimate - reducing radiation and evaporation

• Ground covering

• Effective irrigation

• Proper maintenance of the irrigation systems, the plants and garden.

Successful integration of all these elements by the designer, and taking into account the limitations, will create an economical garden, environmentally optimized, cozy and comfortable.

Irrigation calculator (Hebrew)

The Gihon promotes tree planting and irrigation using water saving methods. Educational activities for water saving are also conducted with children.

The Hagihon Director, Mr. Zohar Yinon in tree planting activity with children:

HaGihon promotes community activities to encourage efficient and cost-effective irrigation. Also to keep Jerusalem green and flourishing and to save water.

Collaborated with community gardens coordinators in the Jerusalem Municipality and through them to 70 community gardens throughout the city.

Hagihon helps with knowledge and tools to spread the message that it is possible to get a flowering garden with water saving.

Here are pictures illustrating the methods of saving water: