Anyone with an underground sprinkler system would benefit from owning a Rachio smart sprinkler controller. It’s a major upgrade from a timer controlled system. The setup is straight-forward and the freedom and advanced functionality will solve your watering woes. Learn about some of this smart device’s great features then enter for a chance to win one.

Inch by inch your garden will grow better with Rachio

There is a classic song appropriately called “Garden song.” Not the one by Phoebe Bridgers; the one written by David Mallett and made famous (for me at least) on the Muppet show with guest John Denver. “Inch by inch, row by row, Gonna make this garden grow,” it begins. That song makes it sound so easy.

Growing a garden is not easy. I wish it was. Every year it’s something different. This year the arugula went to seed after less than two weeks. My onions got smothered by poppies and Burdock. And don’t get me started on the tent caterpillar infestation. The biggest challenge every year is water. The beginning of the season was wet. Last year it was too dry and hot for anything to survive. For two years before that the growing season was very long and very consistently warm. We need to respond differently each year, sometimes each day to the challenges of keeping the garden moist, but not soaking wet.

What is a smart garden

My dream garden would get water when it needs it, not get watered when it doesn’t, and I would not have to be in the garden every day to make that happen. That’s the promise of a smart garden that Rachio makes a reality with the Rachio 3 Sprinkler Controller. A timer is not smart: it just sends water along a tube at the same time each day for the same amount of time. That’s dumb. What if it’s raining? The timer still waters wasting water and potentially drowning the crops. What if it’s particularly hot? The amount of water doesn’t change.

Rachio is smart. You can connect it to Wi-Fi then use your phone to adjust all the settings at any time from anywhere in the world. You can set individual watering schedules for up to 8 different zones. If one section gets more sun than another it makes sense for it to get a different amount of water. A timer doesn’t do that. Similarly, a timer doesn’t check the weather forecast in your area before watering your plants. Rachio does. Read Shelly’s detailed discussion of the benefits of using a Rachio smart controller then return here to enter for a chance to win one.

How to enter

Entering this contest is easy and you can enter in two different ways.

  1. In a comment below tell us one reason why you would want to win a Rachio smart controller for your home.
  2. In a comment below Shelly’s article, tell us one thing you learned about the Rachio Smart Sprinkler controller in her article or video.

What you can win

At the end of this contest we will randomly select one winner from all eligible entries to receive a new Rachio 8 zone sprinkler controller.

This contest runs from August 12th until August 28th. 

Remember that you can enter in two different ways. If you have friends or neighbours who love to garden, perhaps even obsess about their gardens, then tell them about this contest so they too have a chance to win.

Win a Rachio R3 8-Zone smart sprinkler controller Rules and Regulations

Good luck

Martin Renaud
Editor in Chief
Martin loves working with the talented editors and writers on the Best Buy Blog as Editor-in-Chief. During his spare time he is either working on his next novel, cooking up a masterpiece in the kitchen, or adding some smart tech to his new home on Mayne Island in British Columbia.

333 COMMENTS

  1. I would want this to water more when it’s sunny and less when it rains! It’s great for the environment

  2. Our sprinkler system got broken & frozen over last winter so we have been going without a system all year. We want to put in something new, and the Rachio would be amazing!

  3. As a senior – being able to turn it on/off from anywhere as opposed to manually turning sprinklers on would be a huge game changer and blessing

  4. I want this for my boyfriend, because he is running around and always watering the elderly neighbours lawn. This would be awesome!

  5. Being able to turn it on/off from anywhere as opposed to manually turning sprinklers on would be a game changer.

  6. This would make things so much easier in the summer. Great idea. It would be great to have because it would help water efficiently.

  7. I learned that it uses satellite, radar, and other weather data to help you plan your watering schedule.

  8. mostly because I’m tired of turning the valves manually and then getting wet leaving and coming to turn them off.

  9. I would love to have this because you can vary the amount of water for each section of your garden. My husband would love it!

  10. I would be great to control the amount of water used and be able to set different zones in my vegetable garden.

  11. Being able to turn it on/off from anywhere as opposed to manually turning sprinklers on would be a game changer.

  12. This would be amazing to help save on water and would just make my life so much easier. Time saver which is huge right now for my family.

  13. My wife and I are moving into our new home with a very large backyard full of grass. We will eventually be adding some flower and vegetable gardens so the Rachio smart controller would be extremely helpful!

  14. mostly because I’m tired of turning the valves manually and then getting wet leaving and coming to turn them off.

  15. This would be really good for keeping our son’s clover lawn healthy while conserving water in our hot summers.

  16. This is remarkable. We are a smart home and have just finished a summer of garden upgrades including 4 new beds of wildflowers for the pollinators. 32 x 8 feet is a lot to water manually. We are preparing to install a sprinkler system at the end of the summer in preparation for next year. I had no idea there was a smart sprinkler system. We are adding 4 more beds in the spring and this would be a remarkable and much needed addition to the garden.

  17. I would love to win a Rachio smart controller for my home because I have so many gardens and this would save me so much time and energy manually watering them! I think it’s super amazing and is great to avoid overwatering!

  18. We travel a lot, and our gardens always suffer. Would love to be able to keep our plants alive while we’re away!

  19. My daughter and her husband recently had an underground sprinkler system installed at their house and I’m sure they would be thrilled to receive this as an anniversary gift. Being able to control their system with their phones would be a huge help since they work many hours.

  20. It would be awesome to be able to control the water on days that it is raining or going to rain! Would save me a bunch but still keep my garden watered!

  21. This would be great to win because I always start the seson being on the ball with watering and then life gets busier and I slip on remembering to water everything, this would be very helpful to have!

  22. The one reason I want to win a Rachio smart controller for your home is to have the flexibility to water the garden, flower beds, and lawns when needed, which would help me avoid over/under watering.

  23. This is great to control the amount of water that is used, so not to over or under water. I would love to set this up in my new garden.

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