Installing drip irrigation: What I'd do next time

What a freaking headache.  Meh, I shouldn't say that.  You learn 3 times as much by failing first than by doing something correctly first.

I have delicate, newly planted bare-root trees all over the acre, and that made it especially hard to unroll the 3/4" irrigation hose and lay it out without whacking and damaging the new plants.  I mean, that 3/4" hose is not at all like a garden hose, so unrolling was a pain.  It kinks easily, and it's hard to fix the kink once established.  The attachments are super hard to get onto the 3/4" hose with my level of strength.  Also, pushing the 1/4" drip lines into holes I punched into the 3/4" hose killed my thumb tips!  They're so sore!  At one point, I had the wrong attachments (see the male to male connection I messed up on).

If I were to do this again with established plantings, I would unroll, in the sun, in an open space to get it stretched out and let the sun warm it up, and fix the kinks.  Then gently move it into place.

If I were to do this again with NO established plants that I cared about, then I would lay it out in one of
these patterns.

Hmm.  It just occurred to me that I might've found info similar to this online before I started.  Oh well.  I was in a hurry.

Also, I figured out (finally!) how to get a strong enough grip to shove attachments onto the 3/4" and the 1/4" drip line.  This potholder, which is actually useless for holding hot pots!  Actually, maybe my sister read the box wrong when she bought it for me, and it's actually one of those jar opener assist things.  Who knows!  I just wish I had thought of it when I spent days wrestling with wet hose and wet fingers.  Gah!

Alright, I've got 2 of the 4 major areas set up.  That took 3-4 days, so I guess I've got a lot of work left to do.  :)  I also want to get timers that will turn the water on automatically.  I often forget to turn the water off.  OMG!  I'm forgetting right now!  

I'm out in the garden now.  Wow, somebody's happy.  The ends of this noble fir were looking brown and dry until after the first watering.

In fact, there's a general sense of ease and joy coming from the acre now.  Like all the plants have breathed a sigh of relief.

Oh!  I forgot.  I'd also weedwhack where the hoses go, and then staple landscape fabric under it (ie, before laying the hose), about a foot or 18" wide.  That way the hose wouldn't disappear under greenery.  At least, not in the first couple years.  Maybe I'd put wood chips over the hoses for winter.