The Best Garden Watering System

From hand-watering to overhead sprinklers, to drip irrigation with timers, we’ve tried a number of watering solutions. Now, we’re settling in on preferring the drip irrigation kit.

Last year, we transitioned from overhead sprinklers and a lot of hand watering, to using soaker hoses. After that we bought two drip irrigation kits online that worked great. Then connected to a reliable electronic timer, so much time was saved and the plants thrived.

This is the kit and timer we got from Amazon, as mentioned in this soaker hose article we published about this type of system and the results it achieved.

Spring Cleaning of Garden Watering Systems

As spring gardening proceeds, you may find there’s not much need for watering. Yet, now is the time to check out your irrigation system if you have one or if you don’t, then start planning how to water your plants in the months to come. 

Invariably, our drip system needs repairs and some emitter adjustments after a winter of being idle. We took care to drain all the lines, and covered them with mulch to foil deterioration from the sun. But still, we test each line, each connection, and listen carefully for that odd sound of water leaking where it shouldn’t. 

Hoses also get the same inspection. Those we have kept coiled and stored for the winter. From time to time, they also need mending. One thing for sure, you get what you pay for with cheap hoses. We favor the commercial duty hoses that run about $30/50 ft. 

All of our male hose couplings, and hose bibs get thread seal tape and, usually, connections are tightened with channel lock pliers. 

Once we’re sure there’ll be no more freezing snaps, the hose timers get taken out of storage, batteries checked, and then connected to the garden watering system. 

The Soggy Soaker Saga

One nagging observation through the season gave us cause to consider another system besides the soaker hoses: We were still putting out more water than the individual plants needed.

We’re on well water, so the extra water wasn’t an added cost, but if you’re on city water and paying monthly water bill, that can add up. Beyond that, it created a soggy mess in the garden, where the ground around the beds was always marshy and mucky.

This soaker hose system was hard to regulate so it wasted water.

The lettuce and radishes that grew in rows were OK, but the tomatoes, broccoli, beans, and squash didn’t need all the space between them to be so saturated. That said, the soaker hose system was much better than overhead sprinkler watering.

The amount of soaker hose output is surprisingly hard to regulate much less pinpoint.

The Soaker Surprise

We’d already invested time and money into buying and installing the soaker hose system. So, we figured we’d just accept this as long as the soakers kept performing. But then…

Several soaker hoses sprang leaks.

Walking between the garden rows, we’d feel a wet spot on our legs. It was a tiny jet of water, sometimes as thin as a spider’s thread.

Such a little spurt of water seemed inconsequential, though we did try to diffuse it by covering the leaks with straw mulch. But more leaks sprang up and more water was being wasted. Nevertheless, we persisted through the year into the fall.

Our Mistake that Made it Worse

At season’s end, we left the hoses in place. Big mistake! The soaker hose material had already begun to break down primarily from exposure to sun, causing the leaks. By leaving them further exposed to the deteriorating effects of the elements over winter, that nailed the soaker hose coffin. Whoops!

By early next season, many of the hoses were diminished in size and hardened like a dried out sponge. Testing a few, even those buried in mulch, showed that their porosity was greatly reduced.

We clearly should have been taken up, coiled, and stored the soakers hoses in a protected area, much like a garden hose. So, perhaps, this is a cautionary tale we share with folks as to how NOT to extend the life of a soaker hose.

Extend the life of your soaker hose:
✓ Cover hose lightly with straw or mulch to protect from sunlight damage
✓ Clean, coil and store over winter (same for any hose)

➡️  BTW We have lately preferred using a lightweight garden hose made by Zero G for our hand watering. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Time to Replace the Soaker Hose

We clearly needed to replace the soaker hoses. Should we go with more soakers or maybe improve the system altogether and go with a drip irrigation kit?

We had no experience at all with drippers and yet knew gardeners who successfully watered their crops in this way. After consulting with them, we dug into both the literature and the product lines.

Digging into Drip Irrigation Kits

The layout of drip lines isn’t much different from the soaker hose patterns.

With garden rows (mostly straw bales in our case for this season), you lay out header tubing crossing at the top of each row and then string out perpendicular tubing down each row.

Our favorite tool, The Garden Planner, came in very handy for designing the drip line layout with a very specific layer devoted to irrigation. It also generated a parts list that specified what and how many pieces of irrigation components we needed to procure.

Drip Irrigation Kit

We debated on going with the highest rated drip irrigation kit on Amazon at the time, or finding a vendor where we might mimic all the items listed in a kit. We checked out Amazon, several recommended DIY irrigation sources, and then visited some local home improvement stores to see products first hand.

All of the drip irrigation systems—aka H20 Emitters—looked pretty similar. The main difference between the various systems is the array of options and quality of product. DripWorks, for instance, offers a kind of flat irrigation line referred to as “tape”. 

We cannot speak to the quality of the other companies as we have not worked with their products and systems, so we’re sharing DripWorks because that’s what we know about because that’s what we’re using. 

DripWorks had cheaper pricing, likely because they sell a lot in bulk.

Drip irrigation pipes slowly release water through small regulated openings called emitters.

Free Online Consultation

DripWorks provided a free online consultation, which was super helpful, and the reason we decided to go with them.^[1]https://www.dripworks.com/ They looked at our garden plan and advised what we might use.

We followed up with another phone call and received further advice as to what components would work best. We’re on well water so we especially needed help sorting out the H20 emitter flow, calculated in a gallon per hour (GPH) drip rate, relative to the gallons per minute (GPM) output capacity of our well.

Our System

We decided to use the standard type tubes (rather than tape), a 3/4″ pipe for our headers, and 1/2″ pipe for the rows.

• Standard round tubes
• ¾” pipe for headers
• ½” pipe for rows

Tubing can be purchased with emitters already embedded at set intervals, or you can order plain tubing that allows you to insert your own emitters at the desired interval.

You can also install 1/4″ tubes that run from the tube to a specific spot, like a container.

The emitter tubing can be selected according to how much spacing there is between the emitters. We chose a fairly tight spacing of 9″ and a drip rate of 1 gallon per hour (as recommended by the Drip Works consultant).

Apart from size, tubing can come ready made with emitters. Alternately, you can get solid tubes and wherever a water point is needed, install an emitter or a 1/4″ tube that leads to an emitter.

The emitter tubing can be selected on the basis of how far apart the emitters are.

We chose a fairly tight pattern of 9″ and a drip rate of 1 gallon per hour (our phone consultant’s recommendation).

When considering a drip irrigation kit or system, contact the company customer service line and see how helpful they are in answering your questions before deciding which company to go with. 

Customize Your Emitter System

We decided to go with a customized system (via DripWorks), and of course, anything custom is usually more expensive.

If you just want to get your feet wet with a drip system, you can get a quality drip irrigation kit from Amazon that will go a long way toward familiarizing you with these systems. Just read all the reviews (as we did) and pick the best of the lot.

No matter where or what you order, you will always need something else to complete the project.

So, you might order extra pieces in advance, or work with what you have. Then with a parts list in hand, trip on down to the closest big home improvement store or go back online.

The cool thing is that the drip system sizes are standardized and it’s pretty easy to add in sections with non-kit components.

GARDEN SNIPPET
You can purchase a drip irrigation kit, systems and individual pieces, including “goof plugs” should you puncture the pipe where you don’t want a hole.   

But did the Drip System Work?

Alright, so how is the system working? We’re entering our second growing season with the drip irrigation systems and could not be more pleased with how well it’s working.

None of us are plumbers, but the installation went much better than anticipated and any goof ups or leaks were handled easily and with grace.

We have a rather simple system set up in the Upper Garden with just a header section and one line per row of bales. The timers are as useful as ever.

The container plantings are now connected to the system via 1/4″ tubes. Far less water is being wasted and it’s super easy to adjust the flow and the timer should we see any pooling on the ground.

GARDEN SNIPPET:
Drip irrigation systems do not waste water and it’s super easy to adjust the flow and timer as needed.

Here are some final pointers derived from what we’ve learned so far.

Summary of Drip Irrigation Tips

All in all, it’s really not that complicated. Just keep these tips in mind and it will save you time, money and frustration.

• Soaker hoses should be protected from exposure to the elements:
  • Lightly mulch over soaker hose in season to help protect from sun deterioration 
  • Take them up during the off season and store them
• Buy in bulk if practical. Tubing already comes in bulk, so especially other items that seem to run out quickly like:
  • hose clamps
  • connectors
  • emitters
• Test your system frequently for leaks around the connectors. Look and listen! Check your timer as well.
• If you are considering implementation of a drip system, get advice from actual users, check out the literature, videos, and manufacturing info. 
• We believe both a timer and a hose filter are essential. The latter should actually save hassle with clogged emitters.
• NOTE: There are many parts and pieces you’ll need for add-ons and maintenance of drip irrigation. A fishing tackle box has really helped us keep things organized and can be carried right to the spot that needs work.

Given the expensive soaker hose saga, we’ve learned a valuable lesson: Start small and test before going all out on something new!

GARDEN SNIPPET:
Whatever irrigation system you go with, best to start small by testing it in one garden bed before you invest time and money on setting up something that may not be the best solution for your entire garden.

As always, we value your experience and would be delighted to hear what watering systems and techniques have worked well for you. Till next time, happy gardening and happy watering!

Drip Irrigation System Update, 2019

Here’s an updated video of our 2019 drip irrigation system. NOTE: I misspoke when saying the cost for drip systems would run @ 2.00 – 2.50 per square foot. Not so! Cost of .43 to .50 per square foot is more like it. You may find even better deals and hacks.

 Let’s keep on growing!