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It’s no secret that a garden requires a lot of water. If you have several plants, leaves, and trees in your garden, you will need to water it quite a bit.
Luckily, there are many ways to keep a garden watered without having to do it manually. One of the best ways is to use a drip irrigation system. It’s very efficient and saves you time and a lot of water.
There are several irrigation systems on the market to choose from. We have reviewed some of the best drip irrigation systems available in the market.
If you’re in a rush, you can choose from our quick pick below with confidence. Later in the article, we have included a buyer’s guide to help you choose the right system for you.
Let’s get started.
Quick Picks
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Premium
Jepeux Drip Irrigation Kit
High-quality drip irrigation kit that comes with a 50-foot irrigation tube. Includes 2 types of tap connectors for easy installation.
Best Overall
Raindrip Automatic Watering Kit
Great for both residential and commercial landscaping gardens. Kit includes everything to get started. You can water up to 20 plants with this kit.
Best Value
MIXC Mist Irrigation Kits with Accessories
High-quality irrigation kit with precise drip watering for green, healthy plant growth. Save water and money without worrying about watering plants.
7 Best Drip Irrigation System in the Market
Product
Name
Detail
Price
- 50 foot tubing
- UV resistant material
- Includes elastic clamp
- 50 foot tubing
- Emitter can adjusted individually
- Universal faucet connector
- 50 foot tubing
- Covers 20-25 sq meter area
- 1/4″ garden irrigation system
- Water up to 20 plants
- UV inhibited materials
- Save up to 70% water
- 138 foot tubing
- 360 degree nozzle
- Easy installation
- 50 foot tubing
- 1/4″ tubing hose
- Includes quick adapter
- 50 foot tubing
- 3-in-1 faucet adapter
- Saves up to 70% water
Our Top Pick
The Raindrip Automatic Watering Kit is the easiest way to water your potted plants and hanging baskets. The kit includes everything you need to get started.
The timer and supply tubing is threaded just like a hose, making it easy to hook up and start using your system. It’s so easy that if you can attach a garden hose, you can install this system.
What are a drip irrigation system and its benefit?
A drip irrigation system is a type of underground irrigation system that delivers water directly to the plant’s roots, eliminating the need for a traditional above-ground watering system.
As a result, it’s very efficient as it generally uses 50 percent less water than other irrigation methods. You can install it in places that are impossible to reach with traditional techniques.
People living in drought or water usage restriction areas often face significant problems in watering their lawn. The drip irrigation system is a great way to save water because it delivers water directly to the soil.
Here are the advantages of using a drip irrigation system:
- Cost-effective way to save water and help the plant get required slow drip water
- Prevents fungal growth in soil by reducing excess moisture in the soil
- Saves you time and effort as you don’t have to water plants manually
- Keeps plants healthy by keeping ground moist and prevents the growth of bacteria around the soil
- Provides uniform distribution of water around the plant
- Helps plant grow strong roots to keep it healthy
- Ability to inject liquid fertilizer directly into the irrigation stream with minimal fertilization loss
- It reduces weed growth due to selective watering
What to consider when buying a drip irrigation system
Tubing Length
A steel-made blade is Choose flexible tubing that can range 50-100 feet. It offers less resistance to water flow. For runs over 100 feet use rigid tubing as it’s more resistant to kinking.
Emitter
Choose an automatic emitter for plants that need to be regularly watered. Choose constant flow emitter for plants that need the same amount of water.
Water flow rate
A cushioned grip handle protects your hand while digging. It saves your For a large irrigation area, choose a high water flow rate kit. The water flow rate is rated as a gallon per minute (GPM)
Have a question about buying a drip irrigation system? Contact us
Best Drip Irrigation System Review
1. Jepeux Drip Irrigation Kit
High Quality Irrigation Kit
Jepeux Drip Irrigation Kit makes it easy to keep your lawn and garden healthy and green all season long. This drip irrigation system kit includes all the accessories and tools you need to get your yard ready for spring.
For busy homeowners, it’s vital to get all chores done in a single day. This irrigation kit is an excellent water conservation tool for your plants.
The 50-foot garden irrigation kit comes with an array of attachments, including elastic clamps for firm connectors, ten misting nozzles, and 20 adjustable drippers.
The kit is easy to install with a threaded tap connection that connects with a 1/4-inch water pipe. This prevents water leakage even at high water pressure.
The 15 meters long and 9/12 mm thick diameter water pipe is sturdy and long enough to maintain the water pressure without any issue.
The tubing is made of high-quality UV-resistant material that gets easily attached to an elastic clamp that you can use for firm connectors.
The parts of the kit are flexible and will last for a long time. You can also use a rainwater barrel as a source as long as it’s elevated to maintain the pressure.
The tubing is soft, making it easy to bend around the corners or go through flower beds. The smaller tubing easily connects with the fittings giving you high installation flexibility.
It’s available in various sizes, making it perfect for everything from small gardens to large greenhouses.
See More Information about: Jepeux Drip Irrigation Kit with Stainless Steel Clamp
Pros
Cons
2. PATHONOR Drip Irrigation Kit
Smart Garden Drip Irrigation Kit
The smart garden is here. With the PATHONOR drip irrigation kit, you can transform your garden into an intelligent garden that knows exactly when to water and how much.
It can help you reduce up to 75% water saving and simplify your irrigation system. It’s made of high-quality material, which guarantees long-term use. The professional quality UV-resistant materials for pipes won’t be affected by sunlight or weather.
In addition to easy drip irrigation installation, this kit also has two water spray modes, misty and columnar. This allows you to customize your watering according to your needs.
You can set the mist mode irrigation when watering delicate flower beds and choose columnar when watering tall and sturdier plants.
The kit comes with a threaded and universal faucet connector, which will likely fit your plumbing setup without needing any adapter.
And the installation is quick and easy. Just soak the tube in hot water for 15 seconds before use. Firmly insert the fittings and drippers in it, and you’re all set to start watering.
Every nozzle and dripper can be adjusted separately according to your needs to provide precise watering for each plant.
This means you can water right over your plants’ roots, which is vital for plants that need a lot of water, like fruit trees.
This drip irrigation kit is the perfect way to make sure your plants get the required water they need even when you’re not at home.
See More Information about: PATHONOR Drip Irrigation Kit
Pros
Cons
3. Flantor Garden Irrigation System
Drip Irrigation for Flower and Vegetable Gardens
The Flantor Garden watering drip kit is the perfect product for those who hate maintaining a garden but love to grow flowers and vegetables.
With a simple installation process that requires no digging or plumbing skills, this irrigation system will have you water all your plant at a time with a simple turn-off tap.
You can set it up to water your plants every day automatically using a timer (not included) when you’re not at your home. A standard 1/4-inch blank distribution tubing drip irrigation kit is suitable to cover a 20–25 square meter area.
If you’re not ready to water all your plants simultaneously, you can adjust each nozzle individually to the plant that needs water. The kit includes 20 drippers, multiple nozzles, and other accessories for easy installation.
The 50-foot poly tubing is great for most medium to large-sized gardens with any soil type. The installation is quick and easy and will cut down on the time you spend worrying about what your plants are doing while you’re away.
See More Information about: Flantor Garden Irrigation System
Pros
Cons
4. Raindrip Automatic Watering Kit
Best Irrigation Kit for Homeowners
Raindrip Drip Irrigation kit is the ultimate irrigation water solution for anyone with several potted plants, hanging baskets, or planter beds.
It has 20 drippers with a 1/2 GPM flow rate that can water up to 20 containers or baskets at one time. These drippers can also be individually adjusted to fit your needs.
This simple-to-install system waters your plants automatically for you, so you never have to worry about forgetting to water your plants again. It’s entirely customizable for your plant’s needs. This kit includes a battery-operated timer to automate your systems.
The hose thread quickly snaps to most standard-size faucets to get ready to deliver precision watering to your plants. After setting up the timer, it’s a hands-off operation as the timer turns on the water as per the preset schedule.
The hose is made of high-quality low-density polyethylene. It has a UV-resistant coating on it to increase its life. You can leave it all year round in the garden or bury it under the surface in any weather conditions.
The kit includes everything you need to set up your system in just 20 minutes and consists of a timer so you can water up to 10 days on a single charge. This automatic watering kit is the perfect solution for your gardening needs.
See More Information about: Raindrip Automatic Watering Kit
Pros
Cons
Poor customer support
5. Hayifty Drip Irrigation Kit
Best Large Scale Irrigation Kit
No one likes to fuss about watering the plants. If you’re looking for a way to save time, reduce water consumption, and not have to worry about your plants, whether you’re at home or not, then the Hayifty DIY Drip irrigation system is for you.
It’s a professional-quality drip hose made with UV-resistant material and unmatched resistance to chemicals. It comes with 138 feet long hose that you can use for any medium to large size gardens.
The kit includes everything you need to install a drip irrigation kit. A detailed user manual with pictures provides simplified installation. Compared with traditional sprayers and drippers, it can save up to 70% of water.
It contains small flexible plastic micro tubing that you can conveniently position along with your plants’ roots and deliver water directly to them. To make the installation easier, soak the tubing in hot water before pushing on the fittings.
Overall, it’s a great irrigation kit suitable for busy people who don’t always have time to wait around to water their plants in an old-fashioned way.
See More Information about: Hayifty Drip Irrigation Kit
Pros
Cons
6. MIXC Mist Irrigation Kits with Accessories
Misting Drip Irrigation Kit
The MIXC Mist Irrigation Kit is made from high-quality materials designed to be easy to use. The kit includes accessories that are an easy and affordable way to give your plants the water they need, any time of day.
This kit includes four nozzles, two high-quality tubes, and a spray head. Each mister has a flow rate of 6.7–7 L/hour with a max spray diameter of 0.3 meters, and you can even use this kit with an auto timer.
You get up to 70 percent water savings compared to manual watering. The nozzle has two drip tube water outlet modes (columnar and misty).
You can adjust the nozzle according to your needs. With this, you get precise drip watering for green, healthy plant growth with low water usage.
The irrigation tubing is made from high-quality PVC material, including all of the fitting materials. Once installed, you no longer have to worry about leaving home for a holiday. Just add an auto timer (buy separately) to control the MIXC irrigation kit.
See More Information about: MIXC Mist Irrigation Kits with Accessories
Pros
Cons
7. Orbit Micro Bubbler Drip Irrigation Watering Kit
Best Drip Irrigation Systems for Containers
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The Orbit Micro-Bubble Drip Irrigation Kit is the perfect way to water your plants without wasting a drop of water. You can start with this simple kit that includes everything you need to get started.
The irrigation system is suitable for installing a water system for your trees, shrubs, flowerbeds, and gardens and then expand it to meet even more plants’ needs. You can attach the 3-in-1 faucet adapter and 1/2-inch drip tubing to your hose faucet.
The installation is easy and includes everything you’ll need to get your plants watered quickly and efficiently. The 50-foot-long tubing with 1/2 inch and 1/4-inch diameter can cover any medium-sized garden.
The irrigation isn’t designed to work with the rainwater catcher system, but it works with the standard home watering system. The complete black color kit makes it easy to hide under the mulch and nearly invisible in flower beds.
With this watering kit, you don’t need to spend time moving hoses around and making adjustments in your garden. Parts of the kit are elastic and will last for a long time.
You can use this practical irrigation kit to water your plants and garden with ease.
See More Information about: Orbit Micro Bubbler Drip Irrigation Watering Kit
Pros
Cons
Is a drip irrigation system better than sprinklers?
There are two methods—sprinklers and drip irrigation systems when watering the plants in your garden. The latter is often much more efficient, but they also require much more time and money to install.
Sprinklers are one of the most popular irrigation systems today used in medium to large-sized gardens. These are useful for small lawn patches where you can adjust the spray head to spray a cone of water from 5 to 360 degrees.
You can install sprinklers under the ground or use portable sprinklers—such as oscillating, pulsating, whirling, and stationary rings. You can hook up to a hose and position right where they’re needed.
These handy portable sprinklers are perfect as temporary irrigation for lawn renovations or starting plants from seed. However, sprinklers shouldn’t be relied on long-term due to their inefficient use of water.
Moreover, you should keep sprinklers out of garden beds. They can hurt plants with their direct spray, promote fungus issues by continually soaking the foliage, and stain adjacent walks and walls.
The drip irrigation system has built-in emitters that are laid on the ground and covered with mulch. You can arrange it throughout a bed in a grid or other pattern to water, not just individual plants but also the soil between plants.
Individual emitters of drip irrigation systems for container plants can be tailored to match the pot’s size and water needs.
These are best to use for edible gardens where daily overhead watering can harm leafy crops. You can also easily remove it to prepare the ground for planting or during harvest.
Things to consider when choosing a drip irrigation system
Buying and installing a drip irrigation system is easy for most people as the setup instructions are user-friendly. The drip system uses a plastic pipe network to deliver a low water flow to a precisely defined area.
Consider the following factors when choosing a drip irrigation system for your garden.
Garden size
Watering your garden can be such a chore that people sometimes say they would prefer to hand water their garden than using a sprinkler system or drip irrigation system.
The drip irrigation system isn’t much beneficial for small size gardens, but it’s a great time and water saver for medium to large size gardens.
You should know the garden size and soil type that you will be watering before deciding which irrigation system to choose.
If there are small flowering plants or edible plants in your garden, the drip irrigation system works best. Also, for a landscaping garden that has ferns and shrubs at the edges, it works perfectly.
For most residential gardens, the drip irrigation system compatible with the 4 mm system works best. You can easily install it to cover pots around the terrace and balcony.
But for a large outdoor garden, choose a higher capacity 16 mm system to allow more water to pass through.
Tubing length and thickness
Drip irrigation system tubing comes in two main types. The flexible tubing is used for less than 50 feet and runs up to 100—feet. It offers less resistance to water flow than rigid tubing, but it can kink and become blocked more easily. Moreover, it’s also more expensive and harder to work with.
The second, rigid tubing, is used for runs of up to 100 feet and beyond. It’s more resistant to kinking and restrictions than flexible tubing, but it’s more rigid and can be a bit challenging to work with than flexible tubing.
If you have an open garden where the tubing will be exposed to sunlight, choose UV-resistant polyethylene-made tubings. You may also want to choose flexible tubing if you have a lot of bends across your garden.
You should also factor in the length and thickness of the tubing. The tubing diameter and size you choose will depend on the water pressure, the type of water, the spacing of the drip irrigation emitter, and the distance you want to cover.
You must understand your needs and determine what sort of tubing you need for your specific application.
Water flow rate
When you’re working with a drip irrigation system, the water flow rates are an essential factor. The water flow rate tells you the volume of water delivered to the plant in a unit of time. Most systems are rated as a gallon per minute (GPM) or cubic foot per hour (CFPH).
The water flow rate depends on several factors. The most prominent are the irrigation system’s design, the emitter’s size, and the water source type.
As a general rule, the tubing diameter is matched with the flow rate so that you can efficiently water the plant roots. It’s imperative not to increase the flow rate beyond the rating of tubing.
Emitter
Drip irrigation system uses emitters that slowly release the water onto the ground. These are inserted into the tubing with an outlet to let the water drip into the soil.
You need to carefully follow the instruction for spacing and positioning to adequately water your plants’ root systems.
The kind of soil determines how closely you should place your emitters. For example, if you have clay-type soil, the dripped water will drift laterally in the ground and cover a larger ground area.
For sandy soil, you will need emitters to be close together, approximately 1 foot apart. For mixed soil, the emitters could be more widely spaced at 1.5 feet apart.
The emitters come in different types. Following are the most common types of emitters available in the market:
Adjustable Automatic emitters: These are great to use in large garden areas where the plants need to be watered every day. The automatic emitter saves the effort of you manually watering your plant as you can set the timer to water your plants without needing any further action.
Constant flow emitter: The constant flow emitter is great for plants that need the same amount of water for all plants.
It provides a consistent and uniform water supply to each plant. Most constant flow emitters are rated to give a gallon per hour (GPH) water to the plant.
Micro sprinkler: The micro-sprinkler emitter sprays a very light raindrop-type pattern. These are at relatively gentler water pressure than traditional sprinklers that are designed to cover a larger area.
This helps install a micro-sprinkler irrigation system at raised garden beds without damaging delicate plants.
What PSI should you use for drip irrigation?
As you might have guessed, the proper PSI for your drip irrigation system depends on your needs and what you’re irrigating. The PSI of your system is directly linked to the flow rate (GPM), so the higher the pressure, the higher the flow rate.
When you’re using a drip irrigation system, it needs low water pressure and water flow to irrigate plants. Most drip systems are rated to operate in the range of 10 to 30 pounds per square inch (PSI).
You may have to use a pressure regulator to reduce the average 30 PSI home water pressure into the operational range pressure of below 30 PSI.
So, if you’re looking to water a large area, a higher PSI will work with mature plants. If, however, you’re looking to supply water to a few plants in the corner of your yard or on a raised garden bed, you will want the lowest PSI.
How to install a drip irrigation system
When installing drip lines, some considerations are made, such as the size of your garden, the soil type, plant variety and spacing, time of year and weather conditions, and layout of your garden.
Follow these steps to install a drip irrigation system:
Step 1: Measure the garden size and mark the plant locations where you want the drip irrigation to be installed.
This will help you determine the length of mainline tubing you will need include emitter joints and other components you may need.
Step 2: If the drip system is fed water through an outdoor spigot, you may need to attach backflow prevention, a pressure regulator, and a filter to prevent potable water contamination.
Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation to install these components before you start laying them out in the ground.
Step 3: Hook up the controller to the tap and install the water filter. If you’re using a pressure regulator, attach it now.
Step 4: Spread the tubing around the garden, keeping it closer to the plant that you want to water. Install emitter at the designated spot and if the tubing has no built-in dripper, make a hole and install the dripper.
Step 5: Slowly turn on the water and check out for any water leakage and regulate the pressure valve to control the water flow rate.
Most drip systems are set to turn on for one hour of watering per week. The schedule will depend on the plants in the garden, and the number of emitters hooked up to the system.
How to take care of the drip irrigation system
When it comes to a drip irrigation system, it can save you hundreds of dollars a year on water bills and provide a more constant water supply to your plants.
It also helps you to conserve the water you use by giving it more time to soak into the ground.
Here are some guidelines for its proper care:
- Prevent use of lawn tractor or mower to run over the tubing as it may cause cracking or damage to the system
- Regularly inspect for any cracks or leakage. Replace any damaged or cracked tubing with drip tape to maintain the uniform water flows inside it
- To prevent excessive evaporation during the summer, cover it with mulch as it also improves the tubing’s life
- Always ensure that the pressure regulator works appropriately to control the water pressure. High water pressure above irrigation system rating could cause the emitter to pop out
- Keep tubing clear from any blockage as it restricts the water flow
- Keeping the water filter clean and washing the emitter once a month keeps it free from any obstruction
- After a season, clean and soak the emitter in vinegar and water to remove any mineral deposits such as calcium or magnesium build-ups
The Bottom Line
The above list is the best drip irrigation system that you can find on the market today. We found Raindrip Watering Kit has everything you need to get started with drip irrigation and stop watering your plants by hand.
It’s completely customizable and perfect for any plant. You can install it in three simple steps.
Overall, regardless of which irrigation system you choose, you shouldn’t hesitate to install this as it may look intimidating, but the process is very simple and straightforward and any new gardener can do it.
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