Draw it — the hydraulics compute themselves

Irrigation system design online

Plan the irrigation of your plot online. Draw pipes, place sprinklers and drip lines right on the plot plan — gardmi shows the coverage of every sprinkler, sums the water flow along each pipe, picks the diameters, splits the system into valve zones and recommends a pump. Even if this is your first irrigation project, the editor won't let you get the hydraulics wrong.

Design my irrigation Types of irrigation

Sprinklers, drip lines, pump and tank
Flow, pipe diameters and zones — automatic
Free, with a cost estimate

An irrigation plan in gardmi: pipes, sprinkler coverage circles and flow labels — An irrigation network on the plot — sprinkler coverage, pipes and flow.

$0 Free to use
L/min Flow on every pipe
Ø 16–50 Auto pipe diameters
m³/h Pump recommendation

Types of irrigation

Sprinklers, drip irrigation and lawn watering

Rotary and spray sprinklers

Pop-up sprinklers water the lawn: spray heads cover 2–5 m, rotors reach 5–15 m, MP rotators fall in between and tolerate low pressure. Each covers a full circle or an adjustable sector.

Drip irrigation

A drip line feeds water right to the roots of beds, hedges and the greenhouse — emitters every 30 cm or so, minimal evaporation, works even from a barrel with low pressure.

Lawn watering

A lawn needs even coverage: sprinklers are placed so their circles overlap (head-to-head), and matched precipitation keeps wet and dry spots away. gardmi shows the coverage so gaps are visible at once.

Root watering and hydrants

Trees get root bubblers; for the hose there are yard hydrants — a quick-coupling water point on the network. Both are ordinary nodes of the same pipe graph in gardmi.

Equipment

Automatic irrigation system: pump, tank, valves and zones

An automatic system is a few standard parts: a water source with a pump, a storage tank so the well isn't drained dry, valves that switch the zones, and the pipes that tie it together.

Pump and source

The pump must give the flow of the biggest zone at the sprinklers' working pressure, plus friction losses. gardmi computes m³/h and the head with a 20% reserve and shows the spec to buy.

Storage tank

A low-yield well cannot feed sprinklers directly — a tank accumulates water and the pump takes it from there. Water in the tank also warms up, which plants prefer.

Valves and zones

Electric valves split the network into zones that water in turn from a controller. gardmi groups the sprinklers behind each valve and checks the zone against the source flow.

PE pipes

Irrigation runs on PE (HDPE) pipe, 16–50 mm, buried a spade deep. The diameter follows from the flow: gardmi keeps the speed under 1.5 m/s and marks every run with its diameter.

How to design irrigation for a plot

1
Draw the plot and plantings

Import the plot by cadastral number or trace it over a satellite map, then mark the lawn, beds, hedges and trees — that is what decides where sprinklers and drip lines go.
2
Lay the pipes and sprinklers

Click along the pipe route from the source; where lines cross, gardmi drops a junction. Place sprinklers on the nodes — the coverage circle or sector of each one is visible right away, drag its handles to fit the lawn.
3
Check the hydraulics

gardmi sums the flow along every pipe, assigns diameters, splits the sprinklers into valve zones and computes the pump: flow of the biggest zone plus head with a reserve. Problems light up in red before you buy anything.
4
Get the estimate

Pipe metres, sprinklers, valves, the tank and the pump turn into a cost estimate in your currency — export it with the plan to PNG or PDF and take it to the store.

Open the editor

The irrigation planner

An irrigation layout that computes itself

Coverage you can see

Every sprinkler draws its coverage — a circle, an adjustable sector with 0/90/180/270° snapping, an ellipse or a strip for rectangular nozzles. Drag the on-canvas handles or type exact metres.

Live hydraulics

Flow accumulates along the graph from every sprinkler to the source; each pipe shows its litres per minute and diameter. Move a sprinkler — the numbers update as you drag.

Real models to buy

For the coverage you set, gardmi suggests matching sprinkler models of the major manufacturers — Hunter, Rain Bird, Gardena — so the plan maps to actual store shelves.

Estimate and export

Pipes are priced per metre and equipment per piece, summed into an editable estimate; export the plan over the satellite image to PNG or PDF.

Design my irrigation

Irrigation — frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the water flow for irrigation?

Each sprinkler's flow follows from its coverage area and precipitation rate, a drip line — from its emitter spacing. gardmi sums the flow over every pipe automatically: you see litres per minute on each run and the total the source must supply.

What pipe diameter do I need for irrigation?

Keep the water speed under ~1.5 m/s, otherwise friction losses eat the pressure. gardmi picks a PE pipe diameter (16–50 mm) for every run from its actual flow and highlights undersized pipes.

Which pump do I need for the irrigation system?

A pump is chosen by the flow of the biggest zone (m³/h) and the head — sprinkler working pressure plus friction losses, with a ~20% reserve. gardmi computes both from your plan and shows the recommended spec.

Why split the irrigation into zones?

A typical source cannot feed all sprinklers at once, so the system waters in zones switched by valves. gardmi groups sprinklers by valves, checks each zone against the source flow and warns when a zone is too big.

Design your irrigation system online