Automatic Garden Watering Systems

For those who might consider how they might reduce the work and worry of keeping their garden watered, I will show here, in words and photos, how our garden is automatically watered. I have installed three kinds of watering systems, and I will discuss the differences. One uses 'soaker' hoses, another drip hoses, and another is a modified drip system running from a rain barrel. The soaker system starts at an outside faucet, with a pressure reducer, timer, and Y connectors:

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The pressure reducer saves wear and tear on the system, and minimizes the flow if there is a breakage or leak. The timer controls how often the water is turned on, when the timing cycle starts, and how long the water will be on each time that it is turned on. There is a manual mode to over-ride the set timing cycle, but if you turn the water on in manual mode and forget to turn the water off, it will tun off automatically after two hours. The timer used a 9 volt battery, which will last one season. Two Y splitters provide two more outlets from the timer. The levers on these Y splitters are valves that can be used to shut off individual outlets when desired. Short sections of standard garden hose lead from each outlet to a soaker hose. In this case, one zig-zags south through the garden on the east side of the house, one winds westward on the north side of the house, and one goes northward under the lawn to the L-shaped fence garden. The underground part is regular garden hose, The line on the north side of the house needs to cross the sidewark at the bottom of the front steps. So the soaker hose on one side connects to regular hose to cross the sidewark, and then back to soaker hose. The hose crossing the sidewalk is painted to blend in with the sidewalk color, and tucked close to the steps so that it is not a tripping hazard. Installing hose underground is easier than you might think. You only need to split the ground open with a straight shovel -- no ditch-digging. Work the shovel down as deep as you can and rock it back and forth to open widen the crack. Make this crack as long as needed to reach your destination. Push the hose down into the crack as far as you can, using a scrap of one-inch lumber or an old broom handle or such. Stomp on each side of the crack to close it up. In a few days the lawn will heal and the path of the hose will be invisible. The next photo shows the texhnique with 1/4-inch drip hose, but it works with garden hose, too.

From Automatic Bird Bath

The soaker hoses are made from recycled tires, and are porous, allowing water to slowly ooze out along the length of the hose. The soaker hoses, available in 25-ft and 50-ft lengths, can be strung in a sequence with a cap on the end of the last one. The next photo shows where the underground hose (orange, at right) ends. It has gone under part of one garden, some lawn, and a peony, and surfaces here, at a cluster of four Y splitters, connecting to five soaker hoses. One curls around the peony, and the other four run in parallel the length of the fence garden: one outside the fence, one under the fence, and two in the wider strip inside the fence.

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The drip system serves two different kinds of gardening: container gardening, and an herb garden in a raised bed. I'll compare them later. The drip system starts with a Y connector, a pressure reducer, and a timer inside the storage/shop area:

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The Y connector provides an extra untimed outlet for filling a watering can for occasional spot watering or other uses. The pressure rducer is especially needed for the drip system, because its parts are not designed for high pressure. (The green hose on the left is used for filling the rain barrel in a dry spell.) The hose from the bottom of the timer goes down and through the wall to the outside. First, it waters the herb garden - sandy soil in a raised bed for good drainage. Then it turns the corner of the house and climbs up the the rear deck to water flowers on the railing. Along the way, lines extend under the decorative stone to reach potted plants.

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The main line is a stiff black hose about the same size as regular garden hose, running behind the trellis behind the herb garden. (The trellis hides an air conditioning compressor and some garbage cans.) Here is a view behind the trellis:

From Automatic Garden Watering Systems

The main line hugs the wall on the left, and quarter-inch hoses are connected to the main line. A hole is punched in the main line, and a flow-control button is plugged into the hole. You can get buttons for different flow rates such as 0.5, 1, or 2 gallons per hour. For example, at 1 gal/hr, dripping for 4 minutes will deliver about 1 cup of water at a designated spot.

Using a T connector, I joined two buttons to one hose to burrow under the stones and then go through the lattice to the herb bed. After going through the lattice, another T connector divides the flow to reach two drip locations. This pattern is repeated several times along the length of the lattice and herb bed.