Irrigation system: Are mats useful?

Hello everyone,

we are facing the question of whether to install an irrigation system and if so, which type of system. Our landscape gardener is completely convinced by irrigation mats from iMat. He says that with this you don’t have to worry about watering anymore and the plants get exactly the water where they need it. Another gardener, on the other hand, said that he would at most do a basic irrigation with sprinklers in the lawn area.

The principle of the mats sounds quite plausible, but it also costs a considerable amount. I also fear that it would make things very inflexible for later modifications, which I consider quite realistic for the garden. Moreover, I would rather invest the money in the pool project. Can’t I plan and install something sensible myself that ensures the basis (like the lawn, for example)?

What are your experiences if you already use similar systems or faced the same question?

Think about where you even install irrigation. From my side, there should be no discussion about lawn irrigation pros and cons and no ecological preaching.

With drip irrigation, you do not train the plants to develop deep roots, so they always depend on irrigation. Everything that can root deeply (roses approx. 1 m) is watered rarely but thoroughly and kept dry again and again so that the roots grow strong downwards. The classic green, relatively soft, weed-free lawn kept short by the robot only roots about 10 cm deep and depends on irrigation. Otherwise, it becomes a currently brown area interrupted by hardy weeds. Take a look at the drought monitor. There you can see that there are very few regions that still have enough plant-available water at a depth of 25 cm.

Just as an example: We had the last rain at the beginning of May. The hedge planting autumn 2018/spring 2019 has not yet been watered. The prairie bed, planted in autumn 2019 (in full sun all day), will be watered for the first time today or tomorrow. The roses planted in autumn 2019 also have not yet seen any watering. The lawn/meadow (usually roots only 10-15 cm) is now just hay. Even the clover is brown.

About the mat. The mat prevents plants from rooting deeply; it is a root barrier. Therefore, in a perennial bed, hedge, etc., in my opinion, it is unsuitable and counterproductive in the long run. It can even happen that easy-care plants become labor-intensive because the space around the roots as well as soil organisms are missing. How is the different water demand regulated? For a lawn that is always green, which cannot root deeply, I don’t think the mat is so bad. You have no water evaporation.

If you are already skeptical about whether the money is well invested, skip it. Haydee has summarized the situation quite well. Additionally, the questions
- what kind of climate and soil do you actually have?
- where does the water for irrigation come from?
- is that also sufficient during 4-6 weeks of dry and hot weather?

Water in the soil is not lost. Water scarcity is also a local phenomenon. Lawns root deeper depending on the variety and irrigation. Such systems also exist from Hunter. I would not do it. More expensive than sprinklers, you cannot just dig a hole, problem areas cannot be watered more intensively, no control/monitoring, great effort in case of damage areas. Use sprinklers (e.g. pressure-compensated sprinkler bodies from Hunter with rotators), for drip hose (above or also underground) Rainbird XFS. For trees, direct root irrigation with bubbler in the soil. This way you can specifically address the water needs of individual areas/plantings. Watering is done in the early morning hours. Thus, the soil is cold and there is no sun. Thus, little evaporation. Always remember that the sprinklers should overlap each other! (head to head)

Thanks to everyone for your opinions.

: That matches what the other expert said.
: I think you are completely right. On paper, it sounds much better than it probably is in practice. It certainly isn’t terribly bad, but as you have also pointed out in some respects, it is impractical. Can a layperson plan and implement this in parallel? I don’t want to exaggerate it now either. But at least the lawn should stay green and the trees and hedges should grow well. What is a realistic budget for about 150 sqm of area to be irrigated?

Search for irrigation here in the forum. I have already written quite a bit about it. Where does the water come from? Cistern, well, freshwater… 150m2 is not large. It depends on the shape. 150m2 rectangular can be done with 4-6 sprinklers. Use PE-HD pipe (DN32), meaning drinking water pipe, for the line. Lay everything out of the house during the construction phase. Pressure and flow rate are important. The more you have of these, the bigger you can make the “zones.” The fewer “zones” you need and the fewer valves. 150m2 with lawn and drip irrigation, valve box, control system under 1500€. This way you can water comfortably whether you are there or not. Whether you just want to keep the plants alive or spoil them…