My son is working on a Scouting project to create 3 plating beds at our local library to use to teach kids/adults about gardening.

We would like to keep the irrigation process as green as possible, but also automated. We will be using a 50-gallon rain barrel tapped into the gutter downspout. Home depot has a solar pump dip irrigation kit. Our beds will not be too big i surmise, one 10x3 and the other 2 5x5. We will be planting herbs in the long bed and various vegetables in the other two beds.

FlowerHouse Solar Powered Automatic Drip Watering System - http://www.homedepot.com/p/FlowerHouse-Solar-Powered-Automatic-Drip-Watering-System-SOL-K12/203052611#product_description

We live in NJ, so the summers will be hot, but we will not deal with heat all the time like in some southern states. the garden will be in en enclosed courtyard with trees so the direct sunlight will be less instense than if we were working in an open space.

There is electrical in the courtyard so if the solar pumps are not recommended we could go another direction. We are working on a limited budget so the solution can not be more than a couple of hunderd dollars for the pump and the tubing.

Any good advice would be appreciated.