Halo, I would talk to the irrigation suppliers of the course nearest you. Talk to the golf course superintendent and he will give you a world of information and maybe buy some of your plants. He uses a much bigger system than you would use including a complete computer system that controls his valves and pumps. You might think of hiring a irrigation systems designer. They usually work for an Landscape Architect and would have all the info you would need including local supply contacts. They also could manage your system installation and testing(quality control). To me the first question is how much water will you need when the plants are mature and add 20%. Good luck. Aloha

You will need to make sure the pump is pretty strong and can produce good pressure. Hunter and Rain Bird both make a pump relay switch that will keep the pump on, it is controlled by the controller. Here is a link that might be useful: static press loss chart

Hi, I am brand new to this board and fairly new to gardening. I grew up in New York City all my life and now I have a weekend home with 1.5 acres. We have just excavated our property and in the fall we are planning to plant grass seed (perenial rye). We are also planting some privacy shrubs and I have plans for a vegetable garden. I already have a few perenial gardens. I have calls out re. installing an automatic sprinkler system. I am worried that this is going to be too expensive. I have two working outdoor faucets and one that I can probably have fixed. What do you think of installing multiple hoses and using timers? What about the Accurain system? Do you think this is a good option for weekenders? Thank you in advance for your advice. Jennifer

A single 55 Gal watering system can be done between $100 - $200! (excluding pump)! Where as we collect water into a 1200 gallon underground tank and use a shallow well jet pump for distribution to our five water stations. Initial installation costs were over $4,000 in material and I did the work! And I'm considering adding an additional 800-1200 gallon tank! Your issues are going to be 1. What do your local building codes allow. 2. How large a tank can you use. 3. A large $$$ for you is going to be the size of the pump needed to pump water to the roof! Hope this helps........