Installing Drip Irrigation with the Raindrip Flower Shrub and Tree Kit

If the California drought has taught me anything it is that plants need water, or they die.

Profound insight, no? But get this: not only do plants need water or they die, but if you water plants by hand instead of using a drip irrigation system in California, two things happen. 1) You use up to 70% more water, and 2) The water you DO use ends up getting evaporated when it pools on the surface of the soil, instead of slowly penetrating into the ground, so even with diligent watering your plant still end up dying… just, ya know… slowly. (Poor little buggers.)

When the husband and I first bought our house, we had lofty plans for landscaping in our front yard. Our yard is essentially a blank slate landscape-wise. No lawn. No earth berms. No bushes. No trees. No flowers. NOTHING. Just a big, flat, empty void ready to be transformed into a veritable garden of Eden.. or Disneyland! We do have an ivy covered front porch area, with an ash tree and a magnolia tree enclosed in the patio, but that is about it. The rest is ripe for me to go all Pinterest project up in hyah.

Right off the bat, we wanted to get some oleander bushes along the side of the house for a natural privacy fence, and some shrubs along the ivy wall, and I wanted to put some herbs along the kitchen windows. But we quickly learned that without regular watering, EVERYTHING DIES IN CALIFORNIA!

Husband and I decided that not another plant will go into the ground until we can get some drip lines installed. So you can imagine how super stoked I was to receive the Raindrip Flower Shrub and Tree Kit with Timer, a kit that promised a 20 minute installation for 50 feet of drip irrigation! Check it out!

About the Raindrip Flower Shrub and Tree Kit with Timer

Description from Amazon.com (CLICK HERE to view):

This flower shrub and tree kit with timer has everything you need to get started with drip irrigation and stop watering your plants by hand. There are only three simple steps to install this kit:

Step 1 – Connect to water source

Step 2 – Lay out the supply tubing

Step 3 – Attach the pre-assembled water lines.

The kit includes 50 feet of 1/2″ pre-assembled hose, a filter/regulator combo, timer, “y” valve, 5 wire stakes, 10 hole plugs, an end plug, a universal “t”, 10 pre-assembled 2 gph feeder lines and 10 plastic stakes. The timer, pressure regulator and supply tubing are all threaded just like a hose, making it easy to hook up and start using your system.

Our patented clamp-n-pierce connector on all of the assembled feeder lines means there are no tools required – a simple push and it connects, pierces the tubing and is “drip ready”.

More About Raindrip Products

Description from Raindrip.com (CLICK HERE to view):

All Raindrip products are made with superior quality material and designed to last year after year. Raindrip offers a number of drip irrigation kits, which makes any level of Do It Yourself Gardener an “Instant Expert”. The timer, filter/pressure regulator, and supply tubing are threaded just like a hose, making it easy to hook up, expand and customize your drip watering system. It is so easy that if you can attach a garden hose, you can install this system. This means that there are no tools required for installation. The kits can also be combined with all other associated Raindrip products.

Some of the perks of using Raindrip irrigation products include:

Superior Quality – Professional quality Raindrip hose is made from linear, low-density polyethylene. UV inhibitors have been added to resist the effects of the elements. It can be left out year-round, buried or on the surface, in any weather.

Saves water and money – Drip irrigation systems can save up to 70% in water savings which calculates into money in your pocket. At the same time it provides healthier more vibrant plants. Much of the water waste is in water run-off and evaporation. When drip irrigation watering is directed to the root ball of the plant it eliminates the run off and most of the evaporation while providing the most useful and efficient watering method for the plant.

Drought Friendly – Raindrip products are specifically designed to save water. Drip Irrigation is a perfect solution for drought prone areas.

An Economical and Time Saving Alternative to Sprinklers and Full Coverage Sprayers – Unlike traditional sprinklers, drip irrigation is inexpensive and highly effective. Our easy screw-in and snap together systems are an affordable alternative to standard sprinkler systems that require digging trenches and laying rigid pipe.

Warranty – When installed properly, Raindrip products have a 5 year limited warranty with some exceptions.

Dedicated Customer Support – The friendly and knowledgeable Raindrip support staff is trained in all aspects of drip irrigation and are available to help should you ever require assistance.

Design and Engineering Excellence – The Raindrip in-house staff of engineers makes sure all products meet customer expectations by being well made, easy to assemble, simple to operate, and a pleasure to own.

Quality is designed into Raindrip products at every stage of the development process and is ensured by detailed inspections throughout the production cycle.

My Thoughts on the Kit

With two toddler in tow, it is difficult to plan elaborate DIY projects around the house. We generally have to plan to pack the kids off to grandmas for the day or weekend whenever we embark on Pinterest worthy projects.

Since this kit advertises a 20 minute, no tool installation, we decided to risk this DIY project with our two little ones getting in the way… uhhh, I mean, helping.

So what happened?! Well, we installed this in about 15 minutes AND it was so straight forward and easy to understand that my husband installed it all without even cracking open the instructions (stubborn male!).

The pieces come bundled in little packages labeled Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3, and the timer comes with clearly labeled toggles, making it easy and automatic to use.

The timer can be programmed to water for 2 hours for every 72 hours, or 1 minute for every 1 hour, and everything in between. There are no clocks on this timer, so you cant say “start watering at 8AM”, but this feature isn’t a problem for us, we are not picky on time, so much as gallon per hour throughout the day (and in this California heat, multiple times a day!).

I loves that this kit contains all the items you will need to set up a drip system. It is a really introductory kit, with enough lines for up to 10 plants, but you can always buy more tubing and drip attachments (which we plan to do in the spring once we start planting our privacy hedges).

I also love that the color of the tubing system matches soil and mulch nicely, blending in with the home. I plan on burying the tubing in the spring when I top off the much around the house, but even fully exposed the colors of the tubes are subtle and camouflage nicely. The tubing is also very flexible and of good quality.

Overall, this is a great little system! If you are completely green to drip irrigation, I would say this kit is a must for quick and easy installation! It really does deliver on its claims of simplicity.

[Disclaimer: There are no affiliate links in this review. I am an independent product reviewer. I only review products I am truly interested in. I don’t accept payment for reviews. The products I take the time to jabber on about are either items I have personally purchased, or the product has been provided for review after me initiating contact and incessantly nagging for a sample. All of my reviews are unbiased regardless of how the item was obtained.]

Do you use a drip irrigation system? Share below!