Irrigation - Detailed Planning and Fundamental Issues

You can also plant large trees... otherwise they only provide shade for the grandchildren.

Unfortunately often a misconception. Proper large tree transplantation is a category of its own and not everyone can afford the tens of thousands extra. The result is also not always as hoped. On the other hand, if you take the inexpensive alternative with - let's say - 3m trunk height, you gain absolutely no time. On the contrary. While our 3m trunk height little tree is still struggling with the move, the seedlings from the seed (!) have already surpassed it after 3 years and they are also more beautiful. All are equally hooked up to the drip hose. Recommended in this context are the insights about the importance of root tips in establishing - I think it was in Wohlleben's book. Therefore: don't hesitate. Put the seedlings straight into the ground.

I water about every 3 days, so rather twice a week. The water usually comes from the tap here, but we are exempt from wastewater charges for outdoor water; a well would practically never pay off for us. Last year we used somewhere between 100 and 150 m³ of water for our garden, but compared to yours, it is also significantly, significantly, significantly smaller. Our garden is somewhat rectangular, the sprinklers are each arranged overlappingly, the coverage is very homogeneous, I am quite satisfied with the MP Rotators.

Data from the weather station and the weather forecast are already available in Openhab for me as well; I just haven’t programmed the logic yet, I need to take a few hours for that, there are various examples to be found online, it shouldn’t be a huge effort. I’m just considering whether a soil sensor would bring additional advantages, but your comment makes me tend to first work with the data that I already have available anyway. You seem to have dealt with this very intensively, so it makes sense for me to work with the same data, which fortunately is already available.

is a Graf Carat XXL and made of plastic. It is buried between the pool and the retaining wall. This way we can drain all roofs and terrace areas into it. In my thread, there are pictures of the cistern and its location...

A classic irrigation controller (except for golf courses) can always only open one zone at a time. Opensprinkler can do it too, but it usually doesn’t help much. The problem is that there is usually not enough flow available to operate two zones simultaneously. (Let’s assume you have 2 m3/h available. You design your zone for 1.8 m3/h. Another zone at the same time is therefore not possible). How large are the zones and the max. available flow? I wouldn’t make the decision about the controller based on that. For normal single-family house gardens, it doesn’t matter.

Those who are technically skilled and want to deeply integrate it with a home automation system can use opensprinkler. However, you could then also solve it directly via the home automation system + actuators and logic server.

Hydrawise is great as standalone. Clear, easy to configure, etc. Additionally, Hydrawise fetches the weather data itself. Thus operation without any local sensors is possible. Operation via app or HTML. It can also be conveniently named with images, symbols, etc.... For the “normal” user a very good solution.

I think you are technically skilled. I think Opensprinkler fits you better since you probably want to integrate it further or just map it directly with the home automation system.

How large is your irrigation area? How long does each zone run? You don’t need soil moisture sensors. Solve it with the existing weather data. I have planned and partially installed several irrigation systems. There is quite a bit of experience. It ranges from Gardena with manual opening of the faucet to 4000 m of garden (fully designed) with 45 irrigation zones and sophisticated control... Just contact me if you need support.

Of course transplanting large trees is not comparable. Just the cost for the tree and the logistics effort is higher. For example, it took about 5 years at my parents until the giant sequoia fully took root. A lot of care was invested. Two truck cranes were needed to plant it. The copper beech and other trees, on the other hand, were unproblematic.

If I want a (new) stately tree in my garden within my lifetime, you can’t avoid large trees. Anyone who only plants small trees comes off cheaper (material and logistics). The risk of loss and the extent of damage is also significantly lower. Since we will only plant one new tree, it will already be "large". What it will be has not been finally decided yet. Currently favored are ornamental apple, Japanese cherry, or flowering bird cherry. All species fit well into our vegetation zone, provide food for insects and look good (in our opinion). The trees we have looked at so far were between 25 and 30 years old.

Since we will only be planting one new tree, it will be "big" right from the start. We have not yet made a final decision on what it will be.

What budget do you have planned for this?

Trees of the mentioned species and age are priced at a higher four-figure amount + [Einbringung].

It is a Graf Carat XXL and made of plastic. It is buried between the pool and the retaining wall. This way we can drain all roofs and terrace areas into it.

I looked it up, those are really impressive pieces! And of course, the price will be appropriate. But that is quite a hefty sum. Ultimately, however, it makes sense to have such a large rainwater storage because then you really have enough water even during longer dry periods. It will never pay off financially, but rainwater is simply the best for watering the garden...