When it comes to watering plants, you've got a few choices. You can do it by hand with a watering pot, invest in some sort of a self-watering system and let the plants do it themselves, or you can look into irrigation. Long the liquid-spreading play-toy of large-scale agriculture, irrigation systems are also available for the rest of us, and the pluses make it an attractive watering method.

First, what are we talking about here? Drip, or trickle irrigation, generally comes in two flavors. The first is probably familiar: A length of hose with miniscule holes poked into it at regular intervals. This is used a lot for gardening, where the ability to water an entire row with the turn of a knob makes it very appealing.

The second is a specific irrigation system, where watering "emitters" can be spread sporadically down the length of a hose, so individual plants can be targeted. Since this is more specific, you can get water to plants that need it, and (to a certain extent) the amount of water delivered can be adjusted.

The strengths of both systems are many: they are easy to use, deliver a slow, steady amount of water to a specific location, and they can cut down dramatically on weed growth.