I know this is a stupid question, but I'm a fairly new gardener who is still
learning so bear with me. What's the most effective way to use a soaker
hose? I've been told to bury the hose under the mulch and let it run, but I
don't know how to tell how much water my plants are getting that way. How
long should the hose be left running? Is there any benefit to a soaker hose
over a hose with holes in it that sprays up? If the mulch gets soaked, will
any of that water leach into the ground and water the plants below ground
level? Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!

Rhonda
Alexandria, VA
Zone 7


*********
Basic psychology is one of my subroutines.

This is actually a smart question. I find that with my own experience using
soaker hoses, the ones which are porous are better than those which spray up.
Depending on how dry it has been, I will put the soakers on and go out and check
the soil in a half hour. If I find the water has reached a depth of at least
eight inches, I know a half hour is a good timing gauge. However, in beds where
I have native plants, I have to be careful to not over water the beds. So, it
really depends on many factors, some being what type of plants, how well does
the soil drain, level of organic matter in the soil, how much runoff you have,
slope, etc.

In some of my native beds I have put in among the xeric plants one plant which
will wilt when extremely dry. I call it my indicator plant. If that plant is
starting to wilt, I water the appropriate amount to get it turgid again.

Many different things to consider, but placement of the soaker hoses should be
located under the mulch and within a foot or two of the plants you want to water
with them.

Victoria


On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 18:35:44 GMT, "Natty_Dread" opined:

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm a fairly new gardener who is still
learning so bear with me. What's the most effective way to use a soaker
hose? I've been told to bury the hose under the mulch and let it run, but I
don't know how to tell how much water my plants are getting that way. How
long should the hose be left running? Is there any benefit to a soaker hose
over a hose with holes in it that sprays up? If the mulch gets soaked, will
any of that water leach into the ground and water the plants below ground
level? Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!

Rhonda
Alexandria, VA
Zone 7


*********
Basic psychology is one of my subroutines.

"Natty_Dread" writes in article dated Thu, 15 Apr 2004 18:35:44 GMT:
I know this is a stupid question, but I'm a fairly new gardener who is still
learning so bear with me. What's the most effective way to use a soaker
hose? I've been told to bury the hose under the mulch and let it run, but I
don't know how to tell how much water my plants are getting that way. How
long should the hose be left running? Is there any benefit to a soaker hose
over a hose with holes in it that sprays up? If the mulch gets soaked, will
any of that water leach into the ground and water the plants below ground
level? Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!

The only advantage to pointing the holes upwards is that you cover a larger
area. Of course you then have to let it run for longer. There is no
botanical advantage to getting the leaves wet. In fact, it may even slow
down your plants' metabolism on a sunny day.

After the mulch is saturated, water will drip through to the soil. You
should let it run until the soil is good and wet. Knowing how long that
takes is part of knowing your garden, you can test it by sticking your
finger in the dirt until you have a feel for it.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:16:07 +0000 (UTC), (Spud
Demon) wrote:

The only advantage to pointing the holes upwards is that you cover a larger
area.


earth to potato devjl WTF did you get ths idea?

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 18:35:44 +0000, Natty_Dread wrote:

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm a fairly new gardener who is still
learning so bear with me. What's the most effective way to use a soaker
hose? I've been told to bury the hose under the mulch and let it run, but I
don't know how to tell how much water my plants are getting that way. How
long should the hose be left running? Is there any benefit to a soaker hose
over a hose with holes in it that sprays up? If the mulch gets soaked, will
any of that water leach into the ground and water the plants below ground
level? Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!

The amount of water your beds/garden will need have to do with many
factors. Soil type, temperature, plant types...etc. A rule of thumb is to
aim for it an inch per week. A gallon or two per plant should be good
enough. The bigger the plant, the more water. The more sandy the soil,
more water. The higher the temperature, more water.

I personally like to bury my soaker hose. I don't like looking at it
really. I would expect that a buried hose would be more efficient than an
above ground hose. It would seem that a buried hose wouldn't loose water
to evaporation. But that is just a guess.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 03:45:27 +0000, Timothy wrote:

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 18:35:44 +0000, Natty_Dread wrote:

I know this is a stupid question, but I'm a fairly new gardener who is still
learning so bear with me. What's the most effective way to use a soaker
hose? I've been told to bury the hose under the mulch and let it run, but I
don't know how to tell how much water my plants are getting that way. How
long should the hose be left running? Is there any benefit to a soaker hose
over a hose with holes in it that sprays up? If the mulch gets soaked, will
any of that water leach into the ground and water the plants below ground
level? Any assistance is appreciated. Thanks!

The amount of water your beds/garden will need have to do with many
factors. Soil type, temperature, plant types...etc. A rule of thumb is to
aim for it an inch per week. A gallon or two per plant should be good
enough. The bigger the plant, the more water. The more sandy the soil,
more water. The higher the temperature, more water.

I personally like to bury my soaker hose. I don't like looking at it
really. I would expect that a buried hose would be more efficient than an
above ground hose. It would seem that a buried hose wouldn't loose water
to evaporation. But that is just a guess.

Almost forgot to add....

Take your soaker hose and put it in a 50 gallon drum, 35 gallon garbage
can..etc. Turn on the hose like you would normally would and time it. See
how much water your can/drum has after 10, 20, 30 minuets. This will give
you a good feel on what your hose will put out in any given amount of time.

You go out with a trowel and you move the mulch aside and you dig a
small hole and you observe how moist the soil is.
I hear that drip tubing and soaker hoses is more prone to damage by
rodents and the like when burried.
Don't depend on the irrigation system to make things brainless, go out
and observe your plants for stress.

Tom Jasz writes in article dated Thu, 15 Apr 2004 17:25:14 -0700:
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:16:07 +0000 (UTC), (Spud
Demon) wrote:

The only advantage to pointing the holes upwards is that you cover a larger
area.

earth to potato devjl WTF did you get ths idea?

I tried it with a new soaker/sprinkler hose from Target by putting the red
stripe on top. The spray covers 5' on each side of the hose.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

You go out with a trowel and you move the mulch aside and you dig a
small hole and you observe how moist the soil is.
I hear that drip tubing and soaker hoses is more prone to damage by
rodents and the like when burried.
Don't depend on the irrigation system to make things brainless, go out
and observe your plants for stress.

Tom Jasz writes in article dated Thu, 15 Apr 2004 17:25:14 -0700:
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:16:07 +0000 (UTC), (Spud
Demon) wrote:

The only advantage to pointing the holes upwards is that you cover a larger
area.

earth to potato devjl WTF did you get ths idea?

I tried it with a new soaker/sprinkler hose from Target by putting the red
stripe on top. The spray covers 5' on each side of the hose.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

but in the dirt it will move laterally as well as horizontally .. so it does spread
out. Ingrid

(Spud Demon) wrote:
The only advantage to pointing the holes upwards is that you cover a larger
area.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.