Hi, I'm new to this board. Since this question is fairly newbie I thought I'd ask it here.

I saw these neat sprinklers that look like garden decorations, they stand up on copper pipes about two feet above the ground and have glass flowers or small gazing balls on the top. Just below the decoration is where the water comes out.

They can be chained togather with small sections of hose and I was thinking of putting them in my flower and herb gardens this year. Although I've heard that you should water below the leaves not on top (or is that only for veggies????)

Anyway - would this be better for the garden then just the hose or is it a pretty idea but not good for my plants?

Any thoughts?

Hi Leigh,
I think a lot of folks are going to tell you that the best method of watering, esp. in our predicted drought conditions, is via soaker hose.
I'm sure the baby would love the sprinkler though.

Deb

i actually have 2 of these. in the shapes of butterfly's for my butterfly garden and were gifts from my sister. i think watering from beneath is the best way. but if watering from above (out of direct sun) is good enough for mom nature then it's good enough for me. i just do it in the very early morning, so the plants have time to dry off before the sun hits them. when it rains there isn't any intense, direct light on the plants because of the clouds. try to emulate mom nature & i think you'll be fine.
one note, the water holes in mine were drilled way too small. they emited a high power mist instead of an apprciable amount of water. i had to redrill the holes to enlarge them to make it water well. i'm looking forward to them increasing the humidiy level (& colling things off) during summer when it's so hot & dry.

water your garden by the way you feel the most comfortable doing and if you decide down the road to change to another method then do it. for your garden and the lay of the land, you might have to water parts of the garden in different ways. some of my garden area i water by watering can and other parts i use a soaker hose, since each method works better for those parts of my garden. gardening is an ongoing experiment, so play in your garden and try different ways to water and garden. peace be with you and may your garden be enjoyable.

They are neat but.....its better to keep the water off the plants. Some do not like to be kept wet, and sometimes the water you have has excess salt, clorine, ect which is not good for plant leaves....this includes herbs...if you do water with these, water in the morning "early" this gives the water time to evaporate before the hot sun magnifies the water drops on the leaf....What I am trying to say is every drop of water acts like a magnifying glass...this in turn burns the plant and weakens it ....then poof its a goner....If you water at night thats even worse...your plant cannot convert the water without the sun ....so it sits in water untill morning .....or the water sits on the leaf....and its another poof its a goner.....welcome to the post there are alot of good info here to obtain....but in my case it seeps out .........lol

absolutly correct. a frost doesn't hurt the plants by the cold. it magnifies the sunlight as it hits the plant & fries the leaves. i never water at night, because i read somewhere that it encourages fungus growth & stuff like that.

Thanks for the advice everyone, right now I'd be watering them by hose (not soaker) so they will get splashed anyway.

I am planning on setting up a soaker system this year for my veggie garden though. Do root veggies do ok with soakers or do they get mushy?

i would think they'd do ifne. carrots grow naturally in swampy places, so they should love it. potatoes grow in dryer but loose soil? i'm not sure about others.
a soaker system is much better, i'm sure. but i gotta work w/ what i got, & i ogt the hose & these 2 butterfly's.

As other have said most veggies and herbs like bottom watering over top watering. Lettuce is a noted exception. It loves getting its head wet

Also realise that about 75% of the water put out by a sprinkler never reaches the ground and if you are in a drought area this should be avoided at all costs

Pretty idea but not good for plants OR the water supply.

Roots do fine with soaker hoses or drip irrigation. Mushiness is a result of fungus or other disease or maggot infestation. Since we put drip hoses on our beets and carrots we have gotten far suprior crops both in yeild and quality