I cannot recommend The Urban Farmer strongly enough..... Before I finished my raised wooden beds (vegetable garden) I visited the store to get ideas. I ended up walking out with a lot of info, and all the pieces I needed to set up a good watering system.

I have nothing against Home Depot....but by the time I shop there, I've already done my research and *know* what I'm looking for. Home Depot could not have taught me half the stuff as the Urban Farmer. It really does pay off......

I don't know where you live, but here is the link:

http://www.urbanfarmerstore.com/drip/drip.html

good luck and have fun!
----lucia

I am on the monterey peninsula so we are limited in shopping

Before you start..check with your water district site for rebates on certain types of sprinklers etc. Some of the newer ones are more efficient. www.bewaterwise.com has some information
We are fortunate that our sprinkler system was in place when we bought the house. My main problem is my husband running over the pop up heads with the lawn mower and me digging and breaking the sprinkler lines. Another problem is having the lawn on the same station as some of my perennial beds, that I want to water differantly, but since I changed my garden bed and lawn configuration, it doesn't work with the original watering system plan, so I am having to make adjustments.
Remember if you do Natives, they don't like drip.
It sounds as though you are somewhat handy, so although time consuming, you should be able to handle it. They usually have free booklets to help with a plan where you buy the parts. I think the most important thing would be to have a polan and diagram to begin with.

Watch your local paper for the upcoming "Water Wise Gardening Fair" sponsored by the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners. You should be able to pick up information and get to meet representatives of irrigation equipment suppliers in your area, and get an idea of whats available. Al

I looked in the Monterey Yellow Pages, and see that there is a Ewing Irrigation Supply outlet in Monterey, and they would have a better selection of Drip Irrigation supplies than Home Depot does. Just be aware that the component drip tubing and connectors that correspond to 1/2" size tubing are not the same between Irrigation Supply companies and Home Depot/Orchard Supply Hardware drip tubing. The 1/4" tubing is interchangeable, but the larger sizes are not. Another problem I often have with shopping for drip irrigation at places like Home Depot, is that they are not fully stocked, and often missing exactly what you might need. Ewing will also have information pamphlets on designing and installing drip irrigation, but is not match for companies like The Urban Farmer, which will actually design a system at no cost if you buy all your materials from them. There may also be similar Irrigation Supply companies in your area that offer the similar service.

Last comments, I would recommend you not install the 1/4" laser tubing which acts as a soaker hose, as the 1/4" tubing with in-line emitters at either 6 or 12" spacing is much more reliable, and makes less noise when operating. Also, you should be aware that drip emitters should be moved as plants grow larger, or have emitters added further away from plants to encourage wider/deeper rooting. Too often, no further work is done to systems after initial installation, and you may provoke root rot on some plants because all the water is concentrated right at the base of the plant, rather than further out as they grow larger.