Last Updated on September, 23rd 2020

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I spend years hand watering my entire garden and after several years of low rain I finally decided to look into what the best drip irrigation system was to use for my garden.

Best Drip Irrigation System Kits Review 2020

A drip setup basically consists of a long hose with small holes – called emitters – located at various distances along its length, connecting to a water source through a valve. Between the valve and the garden hose, which is called drip tubing, is located a system composed of a filter, pressure regulator, and a back-flow preventer.

To water your plants in your garden, the best drip irrigation setup releases water slowly at or near the roots of the plants. These products maximize irrigation efficiency because water soaks into the soil immediately, thus reducing evaporation. Here are the top 10 drip irrigation setups on the market. I hope you find this article helpful.

The 10 Best Drip Irrigation Kits (2020 Reviews)

1. Raindrip R560DP Automatic System

​ The Raindrip Automatic is an amazing value considering the watering package not only comes with tubing, heads, ground stakes, and more, but also with a handy timer that can be used to fully automate the entire irrigation drip program. Set it up once and then allow it do the work. Raindrip makes an excellent product.

Pros:

​Timer threaded for standard spigot

​Requires little prior knowledge

No tools required

Cons:

​Irrigation fittings tend to leak

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2. Orbit 69525 Micro Bubbler System

​ Get the Orbit 69525 Micro Bubbler set up and going in as little as 15 minutes, so there’s no need to sacrifice the entire weekend just to set it up. The flexible tubing makes it simple to get around obstacles, making it easy for yards.

Pros:

​Can easily connect multiple watering units

​Instructions are very useful

​Allows for targeted spraying

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3. Habitech Adapter Kit

​ If you only have a small garden to worry about — or even if you plan on building your drip watering setup a piece at a time — then the Habitech Adapter products are a great way to get started. The irrigation system attaches directly to a hose or tap, transforming it into a steady, easy-to-manage drip irrigation kits.

Pros:

​Automatically lowers high pressure

​Mesh filter helps keep debris out

​Works on all standard spigots

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4. Drip Depot Premium Irrigation Kits

​ No tools are needed to ensure that your plants get lots to drink when you have the Drip Depot Premium. These drip irrigation kits connect to any standard tap or garden hose, allowing for an easy setup and making it a good for green thumbs without a lot of technical know-how.

Pros:

​These products work best with programmable timers

​Video-based instructions

No tools needed

​Perfect for potted plants

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5. Dig GE200 Kit

​ Dig GE200 drip irrigation kits can irrigate up to 700 square feet of ground, so if you have a lot of vegetation to water, it’s a great choice. These drip irrigation systems work especially well on hillsides, ensuring that you’ll be able to cover uneven terrain with lush green, beautiful plants.

Pros:

​Includes micro sprayers

​Perfect for watering flowering plants

​​Includes back flow preventer

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6. Mister Landscaper MLK-VEG Supplying Kit

​ The Mister Landscaper MLK-VEG allows you to individually control each row of irrigation tubing, only watering as much as needed. They also send you a DVD to help with setting up everything for their drip irrigation kits, so you can get this set up and running in no time.

Pros:

​Spikes to elevate line

​Ideal for watering raised vegetable gardens

Cons:

Valves can need frequent replacement

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7. Orbit 69500



​ Orbit 69500 products a great choice for the home gardener who already has a drip irrigation system in place but who now needs to upgrade or alter it. These products come with more than ninety components that allow for the perfect watering customization.

Pros:

​Useful case helps with organization

​Each watering head has own valve control

Cons:

Irrigation drip components are rather flimsy

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8. Koram Easy Set Drip Irrigation Kit

It’s fine if you’re not a plumber if you want the Koram Easy Set kit watering your yard. The whole setup for these products is above-ground, so you won’t need to dig a lot of holes in order to run the tubing across your lawn.

Pros:

​Includes installation tools

Easy set up

​Clearly labeled parts

Cons:

​Can’t handle high water pressure

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9. KingSo Micro System

​​ Made from UV-resistant materials, the KingSo Micro products are a durable solution that will keep your vegetable garden healthy for years to come. It features adjustable tops, allowing you to save water without making your plants have to suffer.

Pros:

​​Great for smaller plots​

​Generous 82-foot hose

Save water with adjustable tops

Cons:

​Doesn’t come with instructions

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10. Rain Bird GRDNERKIT Drip System

​ The Rain Bird GRDNERKIT does a good job of watering a few trees, especially when they’re in a straight line. This Rain Bird garden hose is much too rigid to snake around your yard, though, so don’t expect Rain Bird kit to be able to handle a wide array of vegetation.

Pros:

​Includes galvanized stakes

​Easy-attach couplings

Cons:

Includes only a few emitters

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Buying Guide

​What is a Drip Irrigation System?

Simply put, uses low pressure and low volume water to slowly water your plants 24/7. You can apply various spray patterns and nozzles to keep the foliage moist and the roots moist all the time. This of course will help your plants grow more quickly and prevent you from having to water them everyday, which helps save you time.The popularity of irrigation has risen over the past few years. Many people just don’t have the time to water their gardens and this is one of the easiest and most cost efficient ways to do that. The other big factor for many gardeners can be a lack of fresh water. Many places are going through extreme droughts and a water efficient can save you hundreds of gallons on your garden every year.

By reducing the amount of water you use on your garden you can end up saving quite a bit of money and water. Unlike an expandable garden hose, you can use your to add fertilizer quickly, which helps promote better growthx. By putting the water right at the root zone, you aren’t wasting water by having hit the foliage or other places where it won’t help the plant, and can actually hurt it.

​Sprinkler Emitter

One of my favorite emitters are the drip irrigation sprinklers. They can cover a pretty large area and you don’t have to worry about specially dripping water onto individual plants. The drip irrigation sprinklers fit and standard ¼” tubing and can be adjusted to either produce a slow drip or a large spray to cover several plants.

This way you can use one emitter to water several plants. They don’t easily get clogged and the water flow is fairly constant. The best designs I have used with regard to irrigation use only these sprinkler drippers to cover larger areas and save more water.

Spot Watering Emitters

Are inserted directly into the tubing and emit water via the nozzle on the end. One of the most common types of emitters is a 1 gallon per hour (GPH) spot watering emitter that will deliver 1 gallon per hour @ 15-50 PSI. The great thing about these is that they are designed using high quality plastic and are UV resistant. Most emitters will fit into just about all hose tubing but you might want to double check this to be sure.

​​Components

When looking for the best drip irrigation setup you will find there are a lot of components and it may seem a bit overwhelming at first. Let’s take a look at the sample diagram above a basic with three connections and see how it works.

It is much less expensive if you purchase an Irrigation Assortment Kit and the amount of hose you need. The Drip Irrigation 1/4″ Tubing is also much cheaper than a regular rubber garden hose. It is made from 1/4″ polyethylene material which is pretty durable.

Garden Hose Socket simply connects to your tap and is designed to fit all regular sized water taps.

Tubing Quick Connector allows water to flow from the hose in one direction and not flow backwards when the water is turned on. This will affect the water flow rate of the entire setup if it didn’t have this component.

Barbed Tee connector is a simple T-connector to combine three hoses together. Tubing Quick Connector allows you to collect two tubes together.

Stakes allows you to secure your tubing into the ground and prevents bugs or dirt from getting into or onto your hosing.

Risers act similar to stakes but allow you to lift the material off the ground and you can use different size as the plant grows taller.

Tee Pipe Connector lets you to put tubing into two sides and a coupling on the other side. Atomizing Nozzle attaches to the end of a coupling and is where the water comes out.

You can have it spray as broad of spray pattern as you want. Slowly drips water out and does not spray it out like the nozzle. End closure allows the water to stop and prevents it from leaking out.

​Benefits Of A Drip Irrigation System

For many people, the system is the best and most cost-effective way to ensure that their lawn or vegetable gardens stays healthy and fertile as long as possible.

The reason why they can save you money is because they don’t use as much water as many other gardening watering systems. Because they deliver water straight to the root of the plant, rather than dispersing it over a wide area, there’s less waste (3)without depriving your precious plants of the water they need.

The systems are also easier to customize to your particular situation. Most layouts use extremely flexible hosing that you can snake around obstacles, allowing you to be absolutely certain that you won’t miss a single plant in your gardens.

It also reduces the need to alter your landscape. You don’t need to level out your lawn, or move any tree stumps or fence posts that might be in your way. It’s an extremely low-effort solution, even when factoring in installation.

You’ll likely also encounter fewer weeds when you use a drip system, as virtually all the water you use will be soaked up by your plants. There won’t be large patches of wet, fertile ground for crabgrass or dandelions to sprout up, reducing the amount of time you have to spend outside with your hoe digging then up.

Drip systems aren’t all sunshine and unicorns, however. You will pay a little more up-front to install one, and the sun could damage the tubes over time. Additionally, basic ​periodic maintenance (1) will likely be required to make sure that nothing gets clogged.

All in all, though, you’ll likely find that keeping a lush, green garden is much easier (and cheaper in the long run) with a installed.

​Tips for getting the most out of ​the drip irrigation system

Once you’ve finally made the decision to convert your landscaping (2) over to a drip irrigation system, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Before getting started, you need to plan out the best drip irrigation system and examine your terrain. Remember that water going uphill requires more pressure, and you’ll want to make sure that you’ll have enough to sufficiently water any plants in high terrain.

Decide if you’re going to automate your entire operation, as well. Obviously, if you do, you’ll need to invest in a good quality timer, that can save you a massive amount of time and frustration down the line, which is really the point of installing one of these things!

You also need to be able to look into the future a little bit. Are your plants going to get bigger and require more water? Will you be expanding your lawn or vegetable gardens, and that can easily be extended? While it may now be essential to answer these questions before you begin, doing so can certainly prevent yourself some frustration later on.

Be sure to soak your emitters in a vinegar and water solution every so often and to prevent magnesium or calcium build-ups. If not, the system could get clogged — and your garden could get under-watered.

The great thing about these systems is that, as long as they are installed correctly and you don’t let them fall into disrepair, they’re pretty hard to mess up!

Table of Content

Drip Irrigation System Kits Reviews

How to choose the best drip irrigation system on the market

Good luck installing yours!

Additional Resources