Hello everyone. I am getting excited to meet some of you this weekend.

I have an irriagation question/help needed. Sorry for the long post, just wanted to give good info.

I am helping plan a garden that will have several raised beds for veggies, and then citrus trees, banana plants different berries, herbs, who knows what else. Then regular flowers for attracters and for looks, etc.

Some items will be container grown. The area is about 3000 square feet.

OK, I want to install some sort of automated watering system like I use at my house on my smaller garden.


At home, on my spickets I have 2 automated timers on them, one for the veggies which use a soaker hose and one for the containered things that use drip irrigation set up with diffeent GPM nozzles as needed.

I was wondering how you might do it if it were your garden, keeping costs in mind. This garden will be here long term.

My initial thoughts are if I do not have to do much digging (for example to install somewhat of an actual irrigation system) and can use the water spicket, that would be great. I was thinking 4 different watering zones.

1 for the veggie beds (maybe 2 dependant on the water pressure or what is grown),

1 for the flowers, herbs, etc.,

1 for containered items with appropriate sized nozzles,

1 for the planted things like citrus, bananas, etc.

A problem with this is cost as the timers $$ add up. Do they make 4 zoned timers that go on a spicket? I have seen 2 zoned before but they are almst $90.00 each. I do not have electricity out there at this point.

I was thinking of doing drip irrigation for everything, except soaker hoses maybe for the area that the flowers, herbs are going to be as there will be lots and lots of plants there almost over a 80 foot long area.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am sure there are other better ways to do this. thanks.