Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Equipment > Irrigation > Using Vacuum Breakers to Prevent Backflow With Garden Hoses [Image: vacuum breaker] Using a simple, inexpensive vacuum breaker on your hose bibbs can help prevent contaminating your water supply. Quick Connectors for Garden Hose [Image: hose quick connectors] Some of the hose quick connectors now available can make the job of using garden hoses much easier. Drip Irrigation for Fruits and Ornamentals [Image: discrete emitters] Drip irrigation is an excellent way to water trees and shrubs. It allows you to precisely meter water directly into the root zone without wetting foliage or watering the weeds between plants. Introduction to Drip Irrigation [Image: discrete emitters] Drip (or trickle) irrigation systems meter a slow drip or spray of water at discrete intervals. The principle of drip irrigation is to slowly put down enough water in the plant root zone to supply the plants adequately without runoff and without wetting the soil between crop rows.