Lifehacker has a great article entitled Never forget to water your garden again with an automated drip system
“The end result is that I don’t have to worry too much day-to-day about my vegetables like I did last year. A basic system goes together in just an hour or two, and it’s easy to expand upon. Since I built my first system a few weeks ago for the vegetable beds, I’ve expanded it to cover the entire front and backyard, in a three-zone system that waters ornamental plants on a separate schedule from the edible plants. My next project is to test out the larger sprinkler heads for lawn coverage. A friend recently set up a similar system, and let me know he was also impressed with the ease of setup, low cost, and flexible system.
If you have a Lowe’s or Home Depot nearby, check out their drip irrigation section for free guides. The system I used came with a friendly introduction to planning and installing drip systems. They also explain what each type of drip head can do.”
Personally, I'm a big fan of soaker hoses. I find it easier to control the volume of water and I feel they waste less water overall.
Posted by: AFanter | December 22, 2005 at 10:19 PM
I've just started using soaker hoses in the front of my house by one of the gardens -- it's awesome!
Posted by: Emily from How to Blog | January 27, 2006 at 05:45 PM
Automation is great as long as you do not take the "set it and forget it" approach. Just because it is "Thursday" is no reason to water your plants. Studies have proven that homes with automatic sprinkler systems waste more outdoor water than manually watered yards. Why? Nobody is going to pull a hose around if the grass looks good.
Posted by: Craig | April 14, 2008 at 05:44 PM
Craid has a great point about using a manual shut off for the drip system. The manual arbitration is the greenest way!
Posted by: Perry Degener | August 11, 2008 at 10:49 AM
It is a useful information about drip irrigation. I am a farmer and we have very large fields, before drip
irrigation system was found it was a nightmare to irrigate all those fields because where i live is a place
that does not rain so much. Now we use drip irrigation, saving so many water and it is a lot easier to irrigate
the field with that. I am trying to read everything about drip irrigation and i recommend every farmer to use that
technique, so i am grateful for everyone who gives information about it. I also found a very good guide about drip
irrigation and it may be useful too for those who want to learn more information about that;
http://agricultureguide.org/
Posted by: Account Deleted | May 12, 2010 at 11:21 AM
I read that post a few days back, when I was looking for blogs about home and garden improvement. If you're one of those busy gardeners (like me), you should integrate this in your garden - especially if you're trying to grow vegetables that needs constant irrigation.
Posted by: Annabelle Vandorn | April 25, 2011 at 11:28 PM
I invested in one of these this spring.... best peice of garddning kit I've ever bought!
Posted by: surrey building services | September 22, 2011 at 07:41 AM
Having the traditional way of watering the plants and vegetable will always be the most unique thing in gardening. It is your time to talk to the plants. Plants need more of your time also.
Posted by: Gina Mitchell | February 01, 2013 at 08:59 AM