ᐅ Is an automatic garden irrigation system worthwhile without a rainwater harvesting tank?

Our lawn survived last year without any watering and didn’t turn brown at all (we have drought-resistant grass).

Would you say it’s worth the effort to install an automatic irrigation system?

Before we expand the patio, we would first need to lay the water supply line for the automatic irrigation, as the pipe would have to run underneath the patio.

In front of the house, we still have to water by hand because there is no water connection there.

Personally, I wouldn't want to do without it. The garden is also somewhat larger, and I have a 76,000-liter (20,000-gallon) cistern.
If you didn’t have any issues last year, I wouldn’t install one. If there is a long hot period, you can water a few square meters manually with a hose or simply connect a sprinkler to the hose.

@rick2018 Yes, I would also install a cistern without any concerns.

But if we have to rely 100% on drinking water (using above-ground water tanks from, for example, the garden shed roof doesn’t provide much), that’s a different matter.

True, we could install an underground sleeve in the flower bed where I can simply connect the garden hose and water everything that way, but it wouldn’t be fully automatic.

You can simply connect an irrigation timer to the connection and then lay drip irrigation hoses in the beds. It costs less than 100 euros (about 100 US dollars) in total, and you can change it anytime.
It might also make sense to install a separate outdoor water meter, so you don’t have to pay for wastewater on that. You need to calculate if that pays off.

nordanney schrieb:

You definitely don’t need to water the lawn. Irrigation is mainly just for appearance, nothing more.

You don’t paint or wallpaper your living room either, do you? That’s only for aesthetics as well.
For those who use their garden, it serves as an extension of the living room in good weather. You wouldn’t want to look at dried-out grass then.

motorradsilke schrieb:

You wouldn’t paint or wallpaper your living room either, right? It’s just for appearance.
For those who use their garden, it serves as an extension of the living room in good weather. You don’t want to look at dead grass there.

To be honest, I never paint. I only have plaster as wall covering – that’s more than enough for me. Unfortunately, I have to add “irony” here, since you’re not allowed to wink.

Seriously though, the dead grass (which has remained quite manageable over the past few years despite everything) hardly concerns anyone here in the Lower Rhine region. The plots are generally larger anyway, and we don’t want to waste water unnecessarily. It’s also not harmful to the lawn.

So, I stick to my view that brown grass is simply not a big deal. I prefer to enjoy the beautiful flowerbeds and blooming plants. THAT is what makes a garden, not just a green (or brown) and boring patch of lawn.