Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 27, 2010 1:44 am I'm redoing my front garden and have a detailed plan (from a landscape designer who has left the state!) of the plants I require. (heaps) I'll be emailing my list to a number of suppliers but if anyone has gone through a similar process and found a reasonably priced supplier they would recommend I'd be most grateful. I also want to install an underground dripper system. Any hints as to where I get a good product at a reasonable price? Re: Well priced plant suppliers Adelaide 2Jan 27, 2010 10:55 am The suppliers, I can't help with. Subsurface irrigation I can help with. This is an area which is highly specialised. For this reason please be very careful about the types you choose and the way they are installed. Your local irrigation shop is the very first port of call. They will have real skills and be very highly trained to answer any questions you have. The request for reasonable price and subsurface is a wobbly one. What you may not know is why the prices are different and the results achieved will be very different also. The two biggest types are reasonably priced but I say that with an excellent understanding of what they do and how they do it. To someone else they may say, "I went to this place and say to use this other product and do it this way, which is far cheaper". There is a strong compromise on effectiveness and there is also one on the efficiency of water application. This is the absolute most important point. Water now is increasing in cost to you and you will need to think about the cost in the future. Install a cheap system and you will pay far more in water costs and plant health costs. So what to use? I use and recommend the Netafim system. For the best advice on how that needs to be installed, search a few of my posts and also check out the Netafim Australia's web site and they are always happy to answer emails Your local irrigation shop will be great too. I use it for the reason it performs the best and I don't get the hassles of other types. Many say it's no good because they clog, or the flush valve runs constantly. These are because of poor installation with the wrong advice or is being confused with other brands. It would be irresponsible to suggest the use of recycled rubber products, these are not waterwise options nor are they safe to use on mains or drinkable water without the use of a check or backflo valve. These types of irrigation can harm the integrity of a domestic water supply. I see this done on a regular basis. The use of individual drippers run off a pipe is an art and watering is not anywhere as effective as subsurface. This is not used as much anymore in favour of the better subsurface systems which apply water more effectively, efficiently and with much better plant growth and reduced long term costs. These systems when installed correctly and with the right type, will offer maintenance free operation for years. The way to reduce the costs is clever irrigation planning. I do this with the future use in mind. Think of two things regardless of how much pipe you use. Where are the valves and where will you want to be when when you use the controller? The rest is not here or there. I like to group the valves in one place at or close to the head of the system. It can cost a little more but it will save you a headache when something needs fixing and that can be expensive if you want it to be plan now you don't want to be digging randomly where the valve might be? Know where they all are In one place and easy to get to cheaper repairs. The controller, well I like to have it in the garage. You will most likely use this when it is raining to switch it off, or when it is bloody hot and you want it on. In the garage means you don't have to go outside as such to use it. This also makes it more likely you don't set and forget the system. Select a quality controller that has a water budget or % of the programme function. This will save you a stack on plants, lawn, and water costs. You will be able to regularly adjust the time of the watering with one function If it's hot, bump it up to 150% of the programme. If it is cold , turn it to say 40% of the programme. This is where water savings will happen The cheaper controllers will reduce the cost of installation but they are complex to use, unreliable and you'll replace 3 or 4 (and even more) of them for every one quality controller which will often last in excess of 20 years and be easy to use Which controller? Hunter XC Irritrol Rain Dial Use the Irritrol wireless rain sensor as well. There's a how to on it Re: Well priced plant and irrigation suppliers in Adelaide 4Jan 27, 2010 11:49 am Irene, best I mention, for subsurface installations under turf, this is a serious exercise that will be expensive. It needs to be done different to garden beds. They are worth while with grey or black water systems but not on systems run with domestic water supply. For those, pop up sprinklers using what are known as "MP rotators" are the most cost efficient means of watering a lawn without compromising water efficiency too much. They retail around the $20 mark each but you can design a lawn system with less sprinklers using them. They operate best on lower pressure so a "high flo pressure reducer" is needed for both subsurface and MPs. They will retail at around $30. Re: Well priced plant and irrigation suppliers in Adelaide 5Oct 14, 2010 4:26 pm Hi Fu So you recommend subsurface drip irrigation for garden beds, and veggie patches, but not for lawn, is that correct? For veggie patch and garden beds, do you simply add mulch over the top of the irrigation lines? That is, it's not buried under a lot of dirt. What is the added complication for subsurface irrigation with lawn? What is your view on the Toro KISSS system? That is what seems to be recommended here in Adelaide. Re: Well priced plant and irrigation suppliers in Adelaide 6Oct 14, 2010 6:10 pm bclare Hi Fu So you recommend subsurface drip irrigation for garden beds, and veggie patches, but not for lawn, is that correct? For veggie patch and garden beds, do you simply add mulch over the top of the irrigation lines? That is, it's not buried under a lot of dirt. What is the added complication for subsurface irrigation with lawn? What is your view on the Toro KISSS system? That is what seems to be recommended here in Adelaide. bclare, I have just finished installing the Kisss system to my lawn area, It seems to be working really well. We turfed 170sqm and the system we got cost just over 2k. Including all hoses fittings and a 4 section controller. We ended up not using as much of the irrigation tubing and took one roll back to the shop (the $380 refund was a nice surprise). I went into Thinkwater with our land design and where we wanted turf, we got them to design the system we needed. Give me a yell if you want a bit more info and i'll see if i can help. Katherine Re: Well priced plant and irrigation suppliers in Adelaide 7Oct 18, 2010 8:10 pm bclare Hi Fu So you recommend subsurface drip irrigation for garden beds, and veggie patches, but not for lawn, is that correct? For veggie patch and garden beds, do you simply add mulch over the top of the irrigation lines? That is, it's not buried under a lot of dirt. What is the added complication for subsurface irrigation with lawn? What is your view on the Toro KISSS system? That is what seems to be recommended here in Adelaide. When using it on lawn areas the complication is the costs associated often make it prohibitive. No other reason. I find it highly effective for lawns don't get me wrong. Wonderful systems. However the domestic water supply is more likely to have it's integrity compromised where this stuff is laid under lawns. An RPZ valve is required to be installed by a plumber and this must be calibrated each year. The conventional back flow or check valve won't be sufficient to protect domestic water supply from contamination. Lawns also require the use of an additional filter that is impregnated with a herbicide that is slowly emitted each use to prevent root intrusion into the line. That is not something you want to have contaminating your domestic supply. Another reason why an RPZ valve is required with subsurface use in lawns. Say someone even in your street, down stream of your mains, has subsurface under lawn and it was installed incorrectly. They decide they have "lawn beetle problems" and apply possibly carcinogenic pesticides to the lawn. That dilutes and finds it's way into their house hold water they are drinking from or showering in. That then finds it's way into your house hold water supply without you knowing Not good. The use of fungicides is just the same as many of these are as harmful to our health as pesticides are. Conventional chemical fertilisers require water to wash them through to the roots, the same can also be said of bio fertilisers like the ones I mention as a better alternative. Subsurface has no means to do that. So many people find some problems there like burnt lawn. (bio fertilisers won't do that but will be less effective) What happens if the fertilisers make their way into the domestic supply as well? Granted that this is also possible in other parts of the garden but the lawn is where the greatest risk is for this to occur. For feeding to occur, these systems are excellent for delivering nutrients via the irrigation itself. This is done via fertigation which adds further expense but increases lawn health considerably. These are equally suited to deliver bio fertilisers like molasses. So for lawns to work well, the client has to be prepared to spend the money and be willing to maintain the system. They will need to be retrained so as to learn a newer way of maintaining the turf. I prefer to use slightly less efficient set ups using MP rotators or gear drive sprinklers. These are still water efficient and allow for the lawns to be maintained in ways familiar with most domestic turf owners and reduced risk of contaminating the water supply. As I said, I do love subsurface under lawns and it's great when a client is prepared to do it right. As for my opinion on the system you mention, I would rather not be put in the position to comment please. Hi all I am looking to run a water line under my concrete footpath which is directly next to my home, was seeing if this is possible without cutting the entire section… 0 20193 Hi Brainstrust, I had a go at creating my own irrigation plan, keen to get some feedback. 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