A Smart Lawn Sprinkler System?

An anonymous reader asks: "I'm about to install a sprinkler system for my lawn. There are lots of timers and computers out there to automate the watering of your lawn. However, before I go out and buy something, I wanted to know if there are any interesting open source projects for watering lawns. I've heard about smart sprinklers that get weather from the internet/satellite and water accordingly. What have other Slashdot readers done?"

Comments

Lawn? I don't need no steenking lawn.

[nathanh]

I'm about to install a sprinkler system for my lawn. There are lots of timers and computers out there to automate the watering of your lawn. However, before I go out and buy something, I wanted to know if there are any interesting open source projects for watering lawns. I've heard about smart sprinklers that get weather from the internet/satellite and water accordingly. What have other Slashdot readers done?

Ask yourself if you really want a lawn. I suspect most people don't but they've never stopped and considered the alternatives. Consider these problems with lawns...

• Incredibly high maintenance. You'll be mowing that lawn every weekend during summer, removing patches of crabgrass, reseeding the dead spots, fertilising twice a year, etc.
• High water usage. Not only does a lawn have a large surface area but it also provides very little protection for the soil. You're the number one contributor to ground salination and rising water tables when you have a lawn.
• Usefulness? Lawn really isn't that useful. It isn't pretty. It doesn't shade the house, or hide your ugly brick walls from the street. You can't sit outside on the grass without looking silly. Some people claim they have grass so their kids can run around on it, but there are sports ovals for that. Why do you want a private oval in your backyard?

The silliest thing about grass is that it's an artificially stunted plant. The grass wants to grow long but by mowing it you are cropping it to the roots. The grass is permanently kept in the juvenille state. Why bother?

So what did I do? I got rid of my grass. A few mounds of dirt to give the garden a bit of privacy. Woodchip on top to shade the soil and blanket the roots. I put in some native bushes, flowers and trees. Built a nice path through the garden. Then I built a paved area where I can put some chairs and a small table. Now I can sit in my garden and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I don't have to see the neighbour's laundry hanging on their washing line. I also don't have to water it more than once a week because of the woodchip. Native birds, lizards and insects love my garden; it's a healthy thriving ecosystem. Meanwhile my neighbours waste 3 hours of every weekend mowing their ugly lifeless lawns.