As i sit here, cup of coffee in hand, listening to my automatic watering system giving the plants a good drink this morning, im reminded that i said i would do a proper evaluation of what the irrigation cost.
Now i know that when we first looked at having our garden automated, my eyes were watering well before our garden was. The cost of some of these set ups was ridiculous, they had special hoses and fittings that all interlocked to create a monstrosity of a watering system.
So after a little creative thinking we came up with a solution that was manageable on a budget, this is how it works:
- A timer sets the water on and off when we choose.
- We use standard garden hose to pump the water around the fence line of the yard.
- Joining the garden hoses with straight barbed 13mm fittings
- From that main line garden hose we cut and insert 13mm 't piece' units.
- Attached to open barb on the 't piece' a length of hose running to the bed/pot.
- At the bed/pot another 't piece' which loops on itself.
- The spray jets are inserted in the loops.
- All garden hose joins secured by zip ties.
- All garden hose lines to the beds/pots, secured to beds/pots by zip ties.
The basic concept is in the image below and you can find more detail in the link to my previous article Cheap Garden Irrigation Set Up
And now for the moment we have all been waiting for... the costing side of things. I have used the Bunnings Warhouse website as the reference for pricing as it is where we get most of our supplies, however im sure there are cheaper places if you shop around and order online.
- 1 timer
- 4 garden hoses
- 1 pack of spray jets
- 2 pack of t pieces (20 in each)
- 1 pack of straight joiners (20 in each)
- 1 pack of tip ties
The total come's to : $108.05AUD
That is if you are starting from scratch, and we didnt use all the items and have plenty of room for expanding the garden network as we get more plants and beds in place. We only used two of the hoses we bought and incorporated recycled old hoses for the majority of the set up.
The set up has been evolving over time, but it has served us well for well over 5 years, the garden hoses become brittle over time, however, if you dont mess with them much they are fine, i usually find then split if you try bend them into loops after being straight for so long, this also applies if they ave been set in a loop for a long time and try straighten them
So there you have it, the total cost of setting up a hands free automated irrigation system on a budget. An easy carefree way to have a good about of fruit and veg growing in the back yard. now all you have to do is sit back with a coffee and listen to the sweet sounds of the garden watering itself :)