I've found a cheap drip-watering system that could potentially take
care of my raised beds. Has anyone got any experiences of these
systems - I find it difficult to believe that a constant drip drip drip
could satisfy the plants, especially during the summer.

They are very efficient. Much less wasteful than a hose pipe since
water is delivered only to the roots. Depending on the type you may
find that you need a filtered water supply if your feed is from a water
butt. I found mosquito larvae otherwise jam the jets. Solar powered
pumps intended for fountains can be adapted fairly easily to provide
pressurised water at 7L/minute. One other thing you will need an
adjustable timer to get the amount of watering right. An hour a day in
the mid evening is a fair starting point.

One very bad feature of hosepipe bans is that it also seems to apply to
any direct pipe based irrigation system. I live in a fairly wet part of
Yorkshire so seldom have to worry about watering the garden.

One important tip is run it for at least a couple of weeks to check
that you have the settings right before you go on holiday. Switching on
and praying is unreliable. I have just rescued a neighbours greenhouse
setup from innundation.

Regards,
Martin Brown