No Irritation Irrigation can analyze your landscape's needs, design a water saving scheme, and install it for you. You can have a lush garden and still save water.

By setting proper head spacing, installing proper components, and adjusting the irrigation controller properly, a spray system can use about as little water as drip irrigation. The controller can be set to turn off before runoff is produced, and turn back on later when the soil is ready to receive more water.

These principles are illustrated by two landscaping projects performed by No Irrigation Irrigation.

Rainforest Landscape Revamp Saves Water

In this rainforest landscape in Woodside, CA, the owners had too many irrigation heads in too many places, resulting in overwatering to the point that the water was not going down into the soil but running off instead. The soil was sour (hard, compacted, and mossy), resulting in it being difficult for air and water to get in and reach the roots of the plants.

To revamp this this landscape Neal removed about half of these irrigation heads, and used the controller to put down the right amount of water. He broke up the soil and added mulch to improve the soil.

Moisture-loving plants such as redwood trees, ferns, and azaleas thrive in a foggy environment	Tall irrigation heads allow these ferns to absorb water from their leaves	Water drips slowly into the ground from the high irrigation heads, reducing runoff

Now there is no more runoff when the sprinklers come on, and the plant health has improved from the healthy soil, which contains microbes that aerate the soil and transfer nutrients to the plant roots.

Switch from Drip to Sprinklers Saves Water on Hillside

The landscape pictured was irrigated by a drip system, which was wasting water because it was leaking in several places and improperly installed. The plants were suffering because of water being delivered too close to the base of the plant in some places, and inadequate water in other places. Neal diagnosed the leak but on analysis it was decided that a more cost-effective solution was to install an entirely new irrigation system.

Neal installed MP rotators, properly spaced to distribute water evenly and at a rate that the hillside can absorb, and adjusted the controller settings to apply just the right amount of water. He showed the homeowner how to periodically add mulch to the soil.

	Hillside landscaping requires proper irrigation to prevent runoff	MP Rotator watering this same hillside landscape

As a result, water is no longer wasted, yet the plants receive the right amount of water, and the irrigation system requires much less maintenance.

MP Rotators were the best solution for this homeowner because:

• MP Rotators deliver water at a slow rate, getting 80-90% of the water onto the ground. Thus, MP rotators are an excellent solution for irrigating a slope.
• By the way, a spray system properly installed can deliver about 80% of the water to the ground.
• MP Rotators have sturdy, low-maintenance components, while drip systems, being flexible, are more prone to damage by animals and shovels.
• MP Rotators require only minor adjustments as the plants grow: for example, by raising the heads as young plants get taller.
• Drip systems require moving the emitters away from plants as they grow. Leaving the emitters at their original locations can lead to crown rot, stunted growth, and even oak root fungus.
• Sprinklers promote plant health by watering the entire area, making the entire ground surface available to plants' roots.

For more on MP Rotators see the components page.