Hi there-
I am trying to add a drip irrigation from my existing sprinkler system to my 2 from garden beds that will have approx. 15 total plants for each bed ( hydrangeas(5) and boxwoods bushes(5) and hostas(5)) and occasional annuals. Each garden is 10'-0" x 20'-0". I see there are several different types of drip irrigation.
1- by1/2" tubing and add emitters and add 1/4" tubing to the plant, maybe add 2 per plant
2- another kind of 1/2" tubing has holes every 18"

The plants are spaced about every 3'-0" or so.
What is the best system to use and the easiest- 1 or 2?
Seems there are less parts with the drip line wholes every 18" but is that overkill? Am I soaking the whole area
Help would greatly be appreciated as I am trying to figure things out.
Thanks
Andrew

Sorry, Andrew, I can't be of help, but with all the watering I do, you've got me thinking along similar lines. Thanks!

I had 2 acres on drip in Califonia (No lawn and all landscaped). When I moved to Reno, the first thing I did was take out the lawn and convert the sprinklers to drip and put in a garden.

As you are converting lawn sprinklers, you will need to have the garden beds on their own program. That means you should convert all the sprinklers on one line or, expect to water your lawn for more time but less days. Lawn needs water only about 4 inches deep but shrubs need water down at least a couple feet or more. Drip lines don't water as fast as lawn sprinklers so, where 5 minutes a day might be good for the lawn, the shrubs are going to need 15 minutes twice a week.

Use the 1/2 inch drip hose and add drip emitters or, for shrubs, micro-sprinklers. The micro-sprinklers water an area 2 or so feet wide (and they adjust to bigger or smaller radius) so you will need just one sprinkler, instead of multiple drippers. Attach the micro-sprinklers to the 1/2 inch line with quarter inch drip. Don't try to put more than 1 sprinkler on each 1/4 hose.

Before you shop, draw a picture of what you want with all the fittings drawn in and make a shopping list and then add one or two extras. It will save trips to the store. If you are shopping at the BigBox store, I recommend Lowes over Home Depot. Home Depot has pipe fitting drip and hose fitting drip all mixed together. After I got done with my yard, I took about $30 worth of fittings back that didn't fit because it was for pipe and I kept falling for it over and over.