By Gene and Katie Hamilton

Most gardeners who spend time hauling out a hose to water a raised bed of cutting flowers or a vegetable garden would prefer to be digging and planting, so it's no surprise there's a growing number of drip irrigation systems being installed. What landscapers, farmers and greenhouse owners have known for years is that it makes sense to automate watering with a drip system of irrigation that controls the flow of water so the soil maintains a balance between water and air. In addition, you'll have lower water bills.

An irrigation contractor will charge $303 to install a basic drip system. You can buy one for $150, install it, and save 50 percent. Most basic drip system are designed to be expanded, and include everything you need to get started: a filter, regulator, 100-feet of 1/2-inch tubing, 50-feet of 1/4-inch tubing, mini-sprinklers, emitters, sprayers, stakes and various pieces of hardware to connect them all together.

For some useful guidelines and calculators to help lay out a drip system in a yard, we found www.dripworks.com, an online irrigation store that offers a free design service and installation videos. You fax them a sketch of your property with dimensions following their Design Considerations, and they return a design and list of parts with an approximate estimate.

Now you know the average cost to install a drip irrigation system, which includes the labor and material, and what’s involved, so you can decide to do it yourself or hire a contractor. Don’t forget to adjust the cost to where you live by adding your ZIP Code.

Improvement and Repair Cost Updated 2019

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors' experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.