I am investigating the use of a PC to control my yard irrigation system. The research that I've done has only revealed one system with the (unfortunate) name of Irritrol.
Have you used your PC to control your yard irrigation system? If so, how did you do it?
I am considering hobbling something together with an X10 controller and writing some software to control it but don't want to dive into that if it's already been done...
If you want to write software probably you are looking for customized solutions, you have imagination and you don't mind to do it yourself.
I suggest you try search with google: Arduino + Watering ( for example look at this document: THE GARDUINO GARDEN CONTROLLER
It is a simple open-source platform with which many hobbyists have already ventured and you can find a community willing to help.
A company called Irrigation Caddy makes a great product that runs on an internal network, and even has mods for remote offsite management depending on your router and web skills.
If you're techie enough to mess with code, feel free to use mine. I built an arduino-based solar powered one that cues off soil moisture levels instead of timing.
I have used two wi-fi controllers for our irrigation from
http://www.hottimesoftware.com/wifi-time-control.htm and are happy with the results. Uses the Raspberry Pi to operate the solenoids and can be set to auto or manual functions. I can now control from anywhere in the world with my smart phone.
