http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SCEIG 17 May 2012 Transporting Water
My yard is large and it is necessary to transport water from my four 45 gallon drums rainwater to the plant area. The rainwater is run into a 45 gallon drum and had dipped by pail into the wheelbarrow. I have four collection barrels two on each side of the house.A milk crate is placed in the wheelbarrow, and this inhibits wave action and spillage, when wheeling to the plant area. The wheelbarrow hold about 90 litres of water. This method is much easier than carrying two 20 litre buckets each trip. The pail used for dispensing is perfect for dumping the water on the roots of bush plants, and the water can be placed in a watering can for more delicate situations. Using this method I find watering a pleasure, quick and not onerous.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SSCLP 22 March 2012 Rainwater barrels connected to downspout.
The four drums connected to the house downspout. There is a total of 200 US gallons of water. The connections are removed in the Fall and the barrels emptied to prevent freezing.
It is easy to use a sump pump but: A portable hose amongst the garden plants is a total disaster.The hose tangles with the plants as one moves along, and the water is slow in dispensing. With the pail one can make a trench say around a tomato plant and dump some water almost instantly. With a pail and the source water nearby in reasonable quantities watering is almost effortless, and the water is placed exactly where required in the root area. A hose is probably acceptable if used properly in a very small garden, but not after a certain size. By properly this is what is meant.
http://durgan.org/URL/?ARLGN 28 May 2009 Watering Plant Roots.
This method gets water to the root area of the plants. The hydraulic effect of the water makes pushing the wand into the ground effortless. The device is made by cutting off the end of a typical water garden wand as sold in most hardware stores
As a note, overhead watering of plants using a sprinkler is the most harmful system of all, since it wets vegetation, and often causes disease, and the water is evaporated when dispensing, and falls all over the place not at the root target area. It is fine on grass, which should never be watered, except on a golf course.But old conventions die hard, and people do things without reflection from tradition and habit.