Good advice. Just make sure to check the emitters frequently, because if they clog up, they are not as obvious as a spray sprinkler.

Be aware and cautious in using battery operated timers.
We used them for a while, but one after another, they kept failing.

Sometimes, they failed in the OFF cycle.
Then, roses were endangered if we were not at home to observe.
Sometimes, they failed in the ON position.
That meant the neighbors came over and turned off all the water. Another recipe for disaster.

We finally replaced the whole thing with a hard-wired system.
These systems are getting less and less expensive all the time, and they're made for the home gardener.

Finally, drip irrigation is better than nothing.
Out here, though, where summer drought is NORMAL, we know you should supplement drip with a good hand-watering.

First, as mentioned above, drip emitters clog up frequently, so you need to examine them frequently.
Secondly, roses really prefer to get a good big "drink," and then drain -- which is not how drip works.

Jeri

I suppose you can always use ollas. The terra cotta pots buried and filled with water. I had a drip last fall for a month for some potted up bands, but i must have had a drip in the drip because my water bill went from under $20 to $80 for that one month. I pay my water bill a year at a time and the water lady mailed me a note with the useage.

Len, out here in CA, it is a given that we will see our water rates increase markedly in the next few years.
We are removing poor performers from our garden.
The ones that are replaced will be replaced with Chinas and the like, which are drought-tolerant.

Jeri

Jeri,
Sorry to hear you've had such negative experiences with drip. I use the Orbit timers and have never had one fail (and I've put in several dozen). Yes, emitters do clog, leaks do happen, and hard-wired valve systems are optimal. But if one has a large garden, has a limited budget and/or time, and even wants an occassional vacation, the simple drip recommended provides basic maintenance. And, yes, roses and other plants do prefer drink-&-drain, and much of what is planted in the Southeast, which is now experiencing drought, prefers humidty and rain. You can get emitters that provide a "drink," ie all the way around, and you can get spray heads and misters for plants that want their leaves wet. Dripworks actually offers a rose kit with the more appropriate heads. Maybe I should have just recommended that...

I have a question or two...i've been considering drip irrigation for a while now, but i have very low water pressure..it takes me about 10 minutes to almost fill a 5 gallon bucket..how would low water pressure affect drip irrigation? also..keeping my lack of pressure in mind..how long can i run the main line before the drip emitters on the far end won't get any water? thanks, Donna

Donna,
You would use a low-flow pressure regulator, probably with a 20 psi. If you make your main line a closed circle, either by going all the way around or making closed circles at each end, you can do almost any length. I have one client where the water has to go 200' before it even gets to the 50' bed. I have two lines, one on each of my fawcets. The larger one goes 3/4 of the way around the house. On one end, it circles in a triangle-shaped bed and on the other it circles around a stump I'm covering in climbers. I have 50 1-gal emitters, 6 spray heads and four 6' lengths of 1/4" emitter line with emitters every 6" (for clumps of perennials). The second line was originally for my vegie bed and strawberry patch with a few roses that had to bera too much water because vegies need more frequent watering. But now I've fillled up the vegie bed with roses, so the strawberry patch will be shorted. By the way, I always put a Y on the fawcett--one side for the irrigation, the other for a hose. Always leave the irrigation side open (the timer has a valve in it).