Hand watering, though very gratifying in the sense that one is
directly nurturing the plants, is most likely the least
efficient and reliable way to water plants. People love to water
in full sun during the day, which leads to high evaporation
rates. Also, in splashing what appears to be a large volume on
top of the soil, folks often think they have really watered the
plant, when in fact, soil can only absorb limited amounts of
water at a time. In fact, if you come back to a hand watered
area after the water has been absorbed, generally you will find
there is water in the top inch or two of soil only. Irrigation
is much more efficient than hand watering for a number of
reasons. First, irrigation systems sprinkle or drip water over
the soil emulating rain, and allowing the soil to absorb water a
little bit at a time. Irrigation systems can be programmed to
run at dawn or dusk, when there is far less evaporation. As a
general rule, lawn irrigation spray heads for example, are
eighty percent more efficient than