Automatic sprinkler systems are by far the best way to go when planning your garden's watering needs. But in most cases, unless you enjoy navigating a shovel around tree roots, planning your garden irrigation once your yard is established is much like closing the proverbial gate after the horse has bolted.

Most automatic water systems need to be dug under the ground - which also has its benefits (ie. all the pipes remain out of sight) - but really only works on a blank, dirt canvas. Once you've added some garden beds, trees, pathways and landscaping the effort required to get pipes underground can become bigger than Ben Hur - and he was big, apparently!

Fortunately, Jason Fitzpatrick from LifeHacker.com spent his weekend creating his own automatic sprinkler system that was all above ground. Not only, that it worked straight off his mains tap - which isn't the best solution for an eco-conscious gardener (try digging a bore or pumping water from your rain tanks) but it can give some temporary relief until you get another source started.

Fitzpatrick bought all the items needed from his local big-box for $100 and would have had the whole system operating within 15 minutes. Here's his costs;

• $30 (1) Gilmour 4-cycle electronic sprinkler timer
• $15 (2) 50ft hoses
• $10 (1) brass 2 way hose flow valve
• $15 (2) all metal impulse sprinklers
• ______________________________________________
• $100 Total Cost

I decided to cost similar items from Amazon.com to see if any savings could be made on his already very cheap shopping list. Here's Amazon's offerings;

• $31.99 - (1) Gilmour Electronic Water Timer, Teal/Black #9100
• $9.99 - (2) 50-Ft x 5/8" 2-Ply Reinforced Garden Water Hose - LIFETIME WARRANTY!
• $ 9.99 - (1) Brass Y Two Tap Hose Shut-off Valve
• $14.33 - (2) Gilmour Polymer Impulse Sprinkler on Zinc Spike, #993ZS, Teal
• ______________________________________________
• $90.62 Total Cost

I'm not sure what the shipping charges would be for Amazon's purchases but considering the price of fuel it might even be cheaper to have it delivered than take time out to source them from the local store. Plus, you could spend that time in the garden instead of queuing in aisles.

Jason's post has all the details of how he put it together and the settings needed to make it automatically water your garden.