Thanks for talking about your drip system, MaryE. Those fascinate me.
Did you need to get a pressure regulator for the drip-tape? The cheapest I know are these, around $8:
http://www.dripworks.com/produ...
Here is a $15 wind-up timer that might not water for you when on vacation, but does let you water your yard with one twist, and then you can never forget to turn it off.
http://www.dripworks.com/produ...
I wish I had used more of these "EZ-Loc connectors" and two-valve-Ys instead of compression Tee fittings: the valves let you turn branches and zones and hose-end-sprayers on and off. The hose threaded Ys let you re-rout your system very freely.
Once I had hose thread connectors scattered around my yard, I cut up one old, leaky hose into short lengths with "hose menders" on each end. Now every bed has its own hand sprayer on a SHORT hose that never gets dragged, and an on-off-valve right there.
http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...
However, with the sprayers and drip-line, I only hand-water when I feel like it.
I do like gadgets!
Mainline END (compression fitting 3/4" to Male garden hose thread)
+ 2-Valve Pot-Metal Y (with unused valve capped)
+ cut garden hose with brass Female hose end & hose clamp
Closeup of Compression Tee with Male hose thread
+ Brass 2-Valve Y ($10)
+ EZ-Loc connector (Female garden hose thread to ½" mainline)
+ cut garden hose with brass Female Hose End from Home Depot
You mentioned keeping seed beds moist ... I like mini-jet sprayers for that instead of drippers. One sprayer will mist a big area, whereas in fast soils, a dripper will only water a narrow cone right below itself, and never moisten the surface at all.
http://www.dripworks.com/categ...
(Home Depot usually has an irrigation section. If you look past the turf-watering systems, they should have a good variety of mini-sprayers and stakes, if you want stakes.)
Almost any jet sprayer is effectively a mister when the water pressure is high (over 30 PSO).
I don't think I've had any sprayer ever disturb the seed bed soil, but I have not tried that with vermiculite yet.
Don't confuse spinners with sprayers! Spinners will throw big blobs of water fast, that look to my like they would disturb a fine seedbed.
