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Automatic Watering System advice sought

Bill_and_BenBill_and_Ben Posts: 161
in Plants
Having bought some extra land and re-landscaping our garden in 2014 we are now finding that it is taking about 30 minutes to water and we are looking to install an automatic watering system. We're in Cambridge (East Anglia) and it's quite dry. 

We'd like a system where it would come on and off automatically via a timer (or an app on our phone). The tap is to the far right next to the greenhouse in the bottom left of this photo. The garden is 12m deep from our house and 19m across at the back. It seems like a large area to cover with a watering system. Does anyone have advice of which brand is good and if it would be up to working for this area? 

I think the triangular bed in front of the stepping stones may be tricky but as long as we get the main beds around the perimeter. 

On the top right corner of the photo (not quite all on) is a circular area with a raised bed behind the terracotta walls. We have lavender, an olive tree, bay tree, agapanthus and other things that we don't watering as much here. Would it be a case of just putting in less drip feeds to this area or can individual drip feeds dispense less water than others on some systems?


My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK


Posts

  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    All the big hose & water system suppliers have timers you can put on a tap often battery powered . You can programme them to go on & off as you require. For a large area the most efficient & least wasteful is to use leaky hose laid on the beds. So you connect normal hose to a point near to where you want the water then switch to the leaky hose. You can of course get drippers spay jets etc as well there are lots of DIY kits.  Look for Hoselock, Gardena etc.
    AB Still learning

  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    My in-laws tried set a system up on a garden similar sized to yours but with more planting, they gave up on the dripper system and moved to the simple leaky hosepipe. They found it very unreliable on a big scale due to the length of piping and many connections the leaky hose works really well and is dead simple, just roll out and of it goes. The dripper system is now installed in the pots but in smaller areas with much less pipe work involved and has been good for this. Both have timers with a twin outlet tap letting them both work tofether
  • Bill_and_BenBill_and_Ben Posts: 161
    Wilderbeast said:
    My in-laws tried set a system up on a garden similar sized to yours but with more planting, they gave up on the dripper system and moved to the simple leaky hosepipe. They found it very unreliable on a big scale due to the length of piping and many connections the leaky hose works really well and is dead simple, just roll out and of it goes. The dripper system is now installed in the pots but in smaller areas with much less pipe work involved and has been good for this. Both have timers with a twin outlet tap letting them both work tofether
    Thank you - this is very helpful to know. That photo was taken in 2017, 3 years after the garden was redone from scratch so there is now a lot more planting. Your point is very valid. I have a 12 dripper system in my greenhouse which is solar powers (made by Irrigata). I'm nervous about leaving it if I go away as the drip feeders are quite temperamental.

    I do have about 12-15 on my deck - far left not on the photo - so I could just use a dripper system for them. My problem with is that either the pipe to them has to go the full perimeter of the garden or it goes directly which puts it across the path up the side of to the house. I think I might do the latter and only connect that when I go on holiday as it's not so much to hand water when home.

    Am I correct in understanding that your in-laws have two separate systems? One for the leaky hose and one for the drippers? What brand do they use? I am debating between Hoselock, Gardena and less well known brands.
    My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK


  • Bill_and_BenBill_and_Ben Posts: 161
    Allotment Boy said:
    All the big hose & water system suppliers have timers you can put on a tap often battery powered . You can programme them to go on & off as you require. For a large area the most efficient & least wasteful is to use leaky hose laid on the beds. So you connect normal hose to a point near to where you want the water then switch to the leaky hose. You can of course get drippers spay jets etc as well there are lots of DIY kits.  Look for Hoselock, Gardena etc.
    Thank you for this. I think leaky hose is the way to go as you and Wilderbeast have said. This is very helpful.
    My location: Histon, near Cambridge, UK


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