We spent a good half day putting in the irrigation system for the garden and orchard. Since we are not in the house, so cannot really use the automatic feature of the system until all the finish plumbing is completed, we will have to manually turn water on to each zone in the meantime. However, it will be nice to have the biggest part of it done early and it does give us a more efficient way of watering trees and garden raised beds until then.
We planned the lines so that each zone covers a particular part of either the orchard or garden and ran a line and capped it for future expansion in the back patio area.
While Oz put the lines together, I was the ditch-digger, cleaning out all the trenches with a trenching shovel. Our first test of the lines showed that we had no leaks in the system, but that dirt and small pebbles were caught in the valves, keeping them from operating properly. After taking them apart and running water to clear the lines, everything works well now.
This project cost about $300, including the controller box. Easily it would have cost $1500 if we paid a subcontractor to do it… another example of the value of sweat equity.
PVC lines
Closeup of valve placement
Nice straight lines, just like the house.Another good job done well. Have you figured out the time savings over a season compared to hand watering? Now you will have time to sit back and watch the birds come for a drink, while you sip one yourself.
We haven’t put pencil to paper to see how automated watering will save us time, but it is impossible to keep things alive out here in the dry southwest without regular watering (can’t depend on rain), so making it automated allows us more freedom to keep things going without spending our lives tied to a watering schedule. Also, the drip system we plan for the garden area should help keep down weeds and be a more efficient use of water. Years ago, when my parents first added a sprinkling system for their yard in the city, they were happily surprised by the drop in their water bill and more even, green grass.