Irrigation systems

I have some raised gardens going in to my property. They shall be a reasonable size and probably around 6 - 8 of them. I want to put in an efficient system that I can program to water at night to conserve water usage. It makes sense to put them in whilst building the gardens but I have no idea what is the best way of doing so, nor what sort of fittings are a good quality. Any recommendations? I would rather do it right and do it once. We have paving to go around the area too, so best to get it all sorted properly.

just buy 13mm plastic piping by the metre and other fittings at bunnings or mitre ten .Buy the best automatic system you can afford the ones that are hooked up to power are better

I beg to differ. OK, firstly - are you on mains water supply, your own bore or roof water? This makes a huge difference because it will totally depend upon your pressure as to what you can use. Now what sort of size beds are we talking here and is it for veges etc? or for flowers? Again - it is important. I applaud your desire to do it once and do it right - it is far too costly a project to get it wrong.

I use an on the ground Neta system as anything under the ground is too easily damaged, being unseen, and have had no issues. Easy to install, repair or replace if needed. It can be located so it is hard to see so not in your face.

Vege gardens and on mains supply. Thanks piquant - we are on same page there. Sizes of gardens will vary a bit as I have a slightly unusual space, but roughly the rectangular ones will be about 2.5 - 3 m by 1.2 m, and triangles (yes) about half that. Have a herb garden to go in around a BBQ area too.

OK, well that's good that you won't have any pressure issues. I would use a 20mm irrigation pipe to encircle and cross the whole area (Under the paved areas so they are easily accessed if there is an issue) and use risers where you want them with the appropriate full round or half round heads. Having said that - I'm not totally satisfied that a) sprays, overhead or at elevated levels are the best for veges and b) it is not the most efficient means of applying water where required. So, I'm going to suggest that maclad has the best idea. I'd still put in the underground structure but instead, run a dripper or soaker hose type of system to maximise efficiency. And she's quite right - on the surface systems alleviate the inevitable fork through the line trick! I'm sorry, I'm not totally up to date with what is now available but a good irrigation supply outlet (probably not M10 or bunnings- sorry!) will give you the gen. Neta systems are very good and reliable. If you are doing your watering by one go (which it sounds like you could do) you will only need a programmable timer. If you have to do it in more than one, you will have to set up your undergrounds in two (continuous) circles and install a solenoid which will switch over the flows. Either that or have two tap supplies which can each have a programmed timer. I have used both - my potager sounds not dissimilar to yours (15m square with 4 L shaped boxes round the outside with wide entranceways and pathways all round, 4 triangular boxes containing fruit trees in the angles of the outer boxes and then a square herb garden in the middle. Just make sure your pathways are wide enough to get things like wheelbarrows down - and turn!)
It's an exciting project and I hope we get to see the results!

Thanks piquant - that is very helpful! The area is at the 'breaking eggs to make an omelette' stage and it is a hell of a mess! We are building a shade house as well as repaving some of the area. I have pruned back some of the gardens in order to combine food growing and play (BBQ and table), but will still need to address water properly. I am also setting up a bench with a sink for potting outside. I have a back condition that makes it imperative that I future proof myself so I am not doing a lot of digging. I have a 1400 sq m section, so there is a bit to do.

I know exactly what you mean - I, too have a back problem - buggered it when I was 19 - so have had a lifetime of thinking outside the square in order to be able to achieve goals. t's amazing what you can do though, if you think things through. I've just had one of my wwoofers make me a tabletop potting up set up - under the trees for shade. It has made an amazing difference to how much I can get done in a day and how straight I can stand up at the end of it! Glad to have been of help but do use the expertise of a specialist irrigation outfit - they sometimes magically give solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. All the best.

A word of warning if you intend to run black tubing above ground - you can easily boil the water left in the tubing during sunlight, especially in the summer. Even if the water presure in the line is released, enough water remains that can scold plants when the next water cycle is turned on. The only way I have found to avoid this is to make sure that watering is late at night or early morning.

Thanks, good thinking mrploppy. The rest of my garden has a system that comes on in the wee small hours. It is great as it means I only need to briefly water as it does not evaporate. I am quite conscious of water usage, so it just makes sense to draw water at a low use time. apart from not scalding the plants. Also, I figure it would lessen the chance of freezing tubes too.

mrploppy wrote:
A word of warning if you intend to run black tubing above ground -

That is not what was suggested. An inground supply pipe with either a dripper or a soaker system. But as stated, intention is to irrigate in nighttime hours.