On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 07:57:50 -0500, Mr Gardener
wrote:


On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:49:21 -0500, dps
wrote:

While the recycled tire soaker hoses just ooze water generally, they
sometimes do develop (manufacturing defects?) pinholes that can spray
out 5' or more. This is moderately common with the ones I've used, but
not a real problem unless you are trying to keep your foliage dry. Then
Murphy steps in and your hose will leak more. I estimate that less than
1% of the water is lost in unwanted jets.

I use tire-type soaker hoses in my perennial beds at lengths up to 100
feet. They are buried 3 or 4 inches in the soil, and remain there year
'round. I keep several inches at the distal end above ground, so that
when I turn on the water, I can see when the hose is weeping along its
full length. When water is below the surface, gravity no longer
determines the direction of flow, and the water disperses
horizontally, by capillary action, I think, wetting an area about a
foot to two feet on either side of the hose. I rely heavily on a
moisture meter to tell me when the beds are sufficiently watered,
since the soil surface ofter appears dry even though the soil below is
soaking wet. I also use this method in my vegetable beds, but it can
be a real pain because food gardens are frequently cultivated during
the season. I'm exploring the possibilities of switching to a surface
drip system, so this thread is most interesting to me.


I use the soaker also, permanently in the ground for permanant
plantings such as raspberries and strawberries.

I take the soaker up from the vegetable garden every fall. I
fabricated a reel similar to the large cable reels and wind them up on
that. It makes the seasonal installing/removing much easier and I can
easily rototill the garden in spring and fall.

John
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All of my dumb opinions are my own. If I ever have a smart one it
will be wife's.