Watering

Good Morning Everyone

I have two questions on watering, please.
First I am sure I have heard of some piece of equipment that you can insert a probe into the soil and it will tell you if that particular area needs watering. Am I living in a fantasy or is there such a thing? If there is what is it called, is it accurate, and where do I find it?
The second question is about watering systems. When we first moved here my husband put in a watering system, you know the kind - black tubing snaking around the garden with 6inch or so risers coming up at each plant, there were always blockages, or the spray thingie coming off and the pressure never seemed that good (we are on tanks with a usually pretty good pump) and of course if a plant died or I put in new ones, the sprays were never in the right place. So I now hand water and it takes me several hours twice or 3 times a week and a lot of walking up and down a hill which is difficult at times with a heart problem. Is there something better as my husband has suggested re doing the system. He's wondering about a drip system I think as he suggested putting it under our very thick (12-18" deep) mulch. I'm thinking we'll never know if it's working or blocked or ....
Any help or suggestions on these 2 questions would be very, very much appreciated. Thank you
Cheers Judy

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Moisture meter.....I think you can get them from Bunnings from about $10........ they work to a point for what it is worth as compared to a multi hundred dollar one....ph meters are the same shape....

Roses like water and I'm not sure how much water your drip system supplies each rose as you are on tanks..... my suggestion would be is to find an irrigation specialist and get them t come out to look at your system.....

I'm the irrigation specialist that Neptune is talking about ?

Hi Judy, the photo John(Neptune) has shown is pretty good for your needs and yes they are $10 at Bunnings.

Some more info about your system would help, are we taliking the whole garden is done with the black poly pipe ? The pump you are talking about is that also doing other jobs when you water the garden ?
What I have done is the same as your husband, the only difference with mine, I use drippers like this
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
I place one either side of my rose, mine are 8lt/minute. The other trick I have used is to complete the line so it forms a curcuit/circle, by doing this the pressure is equal in the whole system. If you are having problems with your sprinklers/drippers bloking I would suggest you place one of these at the start of the garden tap,
there many sorts and they can be bought from Bunnings or Irrigation speciality shops, here is an example
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
My system is ontop of my mulch(when I have some), that way I can see if they are working, the other thing I have done to all my gardens and shade houses is to install one of these or similar,
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I hope some of this info from Neptune and myself helps, feel free to ask for more help when needed.