In article ,
wrote:

I have two soaker hoses, both Hozelock. One seems to work well, in
other words, when I switch the water on it gets wet and drips. The
other one seems much less porous and hardly "leaks" at all. Do soaker
hoses have a life span? Do they clog up or dry-out with age? Is this
what has happened here?

How do they compare with other methods of watering? What do you all
think about these tubes with drip attachments; are they better or
worse?

It could possibly be a long-term buildup of scale if you live in a hard
water area. Try bending/agitating the hose to break up any scale.

For all that the gardening media love to recommend porous hose for
efficient, water-wise irrigation, it is far less successful in these
terms than a drip irrigation system since a) you can't use it to target
individual plants (it emits water along its full length - including on
empty soil); b) it isn't as flexible/bendy as small-bore micro tubing
so is difficult to double back on itself, eg to water two rows of veg;
c) it is bigger than micro tubing so is harder to hide on hard
landscaping, eg if watering patio containers.

Its advantages over dripper systems are that it is virtually
plug-and-play (no piping network to assemble) and that it can be buried
in soil to almost eliminate evaporation (so can micro tubing but the
dripper arteries have to break through the surface).

However, much depends on the application. Porous hose would be better
suited to a new hedge which would require a very big micro network.

Neither is particularly well suited to watering a veg plot (porous hose
is too unwieldy, micro would require a great many drippers). Here, I
would go for a standard sprinkler with area control settings -- or
Hozelock's Sprinkler hose which waters a larger area and can be turned
over to soak down into the soil (see
http://www.tooled-up.com/ManProduct.asp?PID=121989)

I don't know what your problem is, but both hoses should drip at the same
rate. I know that hoses made by different companies will drip at different
rates. I look for a "Y" connector with regulating valves in it, and hook
both up at the same time and turn one down far enough so the dripping is
equal.

I make my garden rows long enough to use one soaker hose per row. If space
doesn't allow that, I go down the row, make a "U" turn and come back on the
next row. I till the ground, rake the dirt from both sides into "raised
row". Then I rake the top of the entire row to flatten it and make the row
wider (usually 6 inches). I lay the soaker hose in the middle of the row
and get it situated. Then I plant my plants or seeds on either or both
sides of the hose. I make a row of radishes, carrots, onions, etc. on each
side of the soaker hose. That way I get double for the amount of room I
have in the garden and the amount of water I put down.

Dwayne


wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have two soaker hoses, both Hozelock. One seems to work well, in
other words, when I switch the water on it gets wet and drips. The
other one seems much less porous and hardly "leaks" at all. Do soaker
hoses have a life span? Do they clog up or dry-out with age? Is this
what has happened here?

How do they compare with other methods of watering? What do you all
think about these tubes with drip attachments; are they better or
worse?

Thanks.

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:38:52 +0100, Stan The Man
wrote:

For all that the gardening media love to recommend porous hose for
efficient, water-wise irrigation, it is far less successful in these
terms than a drip irrigation system since a) you can't use it to target
individual plants (it emits water along its full length - including on
empty soil); b) it isn't as flexible/bendy as small-bore micro tubing
so is difficult to double back on itself, eg to water two rows of veg;
c) it is bigger than micro tubing so is harder to hide on hard
landscaping, eg if watering patio containers.

Its advantages over dripper systems are that it is virtually
plug-and-play (no piping network to assemble) and that it can be buried
in soil to almost eliminate evaporation (so can micro tubing but the
dripper arteries have to break through the surface).

I've just installed one of those dripper systems across pots and
hanging baskets around the patio and I have to say that I'm quite
unimpressed. Not all the drippers drip at the same rate even though
they're all supposed to be fixed at 4 l/h so every so often halfway
along the row I find one that is giving nothing while elsewhere
another will be flooding. Unfortunately with the foliage in the way I
spend more time checking that its working correctly and correcting
where it has underwatered than if I just watered by hand in the first
place.

I suspect they would be a godsend in the greenhouse over a holiday but
in general use I've found it to be too tempermental to be practical.

JB

JB wrote:
I've just installed one of those dripper systems across pots and
hanging baskets around the patio and I have to say that I'm quite
unimpressed. Not all the drippers drip at the same rate even though
they're all supposed to be fixed at 4 l/h so every so often halfway
along the row I find one that is giving nothing while elsewhere
another will be flooding. Unfortunately with the foliage in the way I
spend more time checking that its working correctly and correcting
where it has underwatered than if I just watered by hand in the first
place.


The drippers are a waste of time i just leave the tube open and run for 2
mins am and 2 mins pm. Switch on in May, off in October. Hostas have saucers
below, big pots have two pipes (4mm) and the rest have a single pipe and no
saucer. With proper crocking in the pots it works just fine.


pk

JB wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:38:52 +0100, Stan The Man
wrote:

For all that the gardening media love to recommend porous hose for
efficient, water-wise irrigation, it is far less successful in these
terms than a drip irrigation system since a) you can't use it to target
individual plants (it emits water along its full length - including on
empty soil); b) it isn't as flexible/bendy as small-bore micro tubing
so is difficult to double back on itself, eg to water two rows of veg;
c) it is bigger than micro tubing so is harder to hide on hard
landscaping, eg if watering patio containers.

Its advantages over dripper systems are that it is virtually
plug-and-play (no piping network to assemble) and that it can be buried
in soil to almost eliminate evaporation (so can micro tubing but the
dripper arteries have to break through the surface).

I've just installed one of those dripper systems across pots and
hanging baskets around the patio and I have to say that I'm quite
unimpressed. Not all the drippers drip at the same rate even though
they're all supposed to be fixed at 4 l/h so every so often halfway
along the row I find one that is giving nothing while elsewhere
another will be flooding. Unfortunately with the foliage in the way I
spend more time checking that its working correctly and correcting
where it has underwatered than if I just watered by hand in the first
place.

I suspect they would be a godsend in the greenhouse over a holiday but
in general use I've found it to be too tempermental to be practical.

They require much more maintenance and effort than one (hopefully)
initially imagines. In addition the timers that come with them are
exorbitantly expensive.

We have tried/used two or three different brands and no one brand
stands out as particularly good.

We had several set up at one time but none was particularly effective.
We now have just one watering the tomatoes in growbags in the green
house. It's a very simple system watering about ten growbags with three
plants in each, thus if one nozzle stops watering it isn't a
disaster. I've replaced the timer with a home made one using a plug
in timer and a washing machine valve, much cheaper and lasts more
than a season.

--
Chris Green

In message , writes
JB wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:38:52 +0100, Stan The Man
wrote:


I've just installed one of those dripper systems across pots and
hanging baskets around the patio and I have to say that I'm quite
unimpressed. Not all the drippers drip at the same rate even though
they're all supposed to be fixed at 4 l/h so every so often halfway
along the row I find one that is giving nothing while elsewhere
another will be flooding. Unfortunately with the foliage in the way I
spend more time checking that its working correctly and correcting
where it has underwatered than if I just watered by hand in the first
place.

I suspect they would be a godsend in the greenhouse over a holiday but
in general use I've found it to be too tempermental to be practical.

They require much more maintenance and effort than one (hopefully)
initially imagines. In addition the timers that come with them are
exorbitantly expensive.

Ours in the previous house (hozelock type stuff, though mostly nom-name
alike) was ok, but yes can be a bit temperamental

We have tried/used two or three different brands and no one brand
stands out as particularly good.

I tried out the Tropf Blumat stuff in some baskets instead and that
worked well. It's advantage is that is it requires no timers (it lets
out water as the pot dries). disadvantage is that the 'bits' are more
expensive, but it's more efficient in water use, non of the typical over
watering, and of course - no timer needed either.

Not very available in the UK though.

http://www.blumat.at/Weninger_engl/seiten_engl/frameset1_engl.html

http://www.growell.co.uk/p/1319/Trop...ering_System.h
tml

http://www.twowests.co.uk/TwoWestsSite/category/WATER_TROPF/
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html

I've had decent results with my B&Q drip system but whoever said that drippers don't drip at the same rate are bang on target. Some drip while others spurt. I tend to use the drippers for smaller pots and spurters for larger pots and my raised beds.

There is one thing that went wrong with my system though. My neighbours border turned into a soggy clay quagmire because of my excess water draining to the lowest point. Even with the watering system off there was water dribbling through the fence.

The reason for this is that my garden is all raised beds and pots sitting on a courtyard of white chippings. Under the chippings is sheets of landscaping material to stop weeds and that sits on a layer of sand over the thick clay soil. The sand was to even out the surface as trying to even out the clay was a nightmare. Unfortunately what I had created was a huge sand table that stores the excess water and then constantly feeds it into next doors garden...

Ooops!

I'm having to do two things to try and solve this problem... One is creating a soakaway and the other is make a concrete barrier between my garden and my neighbours. The concrete wall will be buried under the chippings when I've finished and will hopefully send the excess water down. I've also reduced the time to the minimum the plants need (which was a lot of trial and error) so hopefully this will help.

(and I saw what turning the automatic system off and forgetting about it caused today... An entire garden of very upset plants. So I can see how much help the automatic system I put in this year has done to make my garden the best it's been in ages!).

John H

Well I finished my irrigation drainage system yesterday and it got an unintentional stress test. I'd re-assembled the water timer and manifold and forgotten to include the pressure regulator which meant that there was a LOT more water going through the irrigation system than normal.

Fortunately the new drain system worked flawlessly and is not flooding my next door neighbours driveway anymore. You can't even see where the work has been done as a frame and net supports three slabs and surrounding gravel over the drains.

Just goes to show.. when installing an irrigation system ALWAYS make sure your soil is either free draining or if not (like my thick clay) to work out the lowest point and then run some sort of drainaway system to your main drains.

In message , NeoMorph
writes

Well I finished my irrigation drainage system yesterday and it got an
unintentional stress test. I'd re-assembled the water timer and
manifold and forgotten to include the pressure regulator which meant
that there was a LOT more water going through the irrigation system
than normal.

Fortunately the new drain system worked flawlessly and is not flooding
my next door neighbours driveway anymore. You can't even see where the
work has been done as a frame and net supports three slabs and
surrounding gravel over the drains.

Just goes to show.. when installing an irrigation system ALWAYS make
sure your soil is either free draining or if not (like my thick clay)
to work out the lowest point and then run some sort of drainaway system
to your main drains.


If that much water is being collected that it needs draining away sounds
like you a e wasting a lot of water
--
Chris French

NeoMorph wrote:
Just goes to show.. when installing an irrigation system ALWAYS make
sure your soil is either free draining or if not (like my thick clay)
to work out the lowest point and then run some sort of drainaway system
to your main drains.

I would have thought one of the major objects (selling points?) of an
irrigation system like this is that it doesn't waste water. Needing a
'drainaway system' suggests that you are overwatering surely.

--
Chris Green

I definately was when I forgot to fit the pressure regulator. Normally though only a small amount is wasted but with the local soil being heavy clay and with my house being on a hill any excess was travelling down to the next house down.

The thing with normal drip irrigation is that it doesn't know when the soil is saturated or dry so you have to adjust the system to tilt the flow rate towards the drying out side. Consequently when the soil is wet the excess is channeled away to stop the roots rotting in the pots.

wrote in message ...
: JB wrote:
: On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:38:52 +0100, Stan The Man
: wrote:
:
: For all that the gardening media love to recommend porous hose for
: efficient, water-wise irrigation, it is far less successful in these
: terms than a drip irrigation system since a) you can't use it to target
: individual plants (it emits water along its full length - including on
: empty soil); b) it isn't as flexible/bendy as small-bore micro tubing
: so is difficult to double back on itself, eg to water two rows of veg;
: c) it is bigger than micro tubing so is harder to hide on hard
: landscaping, eg if watering patio containers.
:
: Its advantages over dripper systems are that it is virtually
: plug-and-play (no piping network to assemble) and that it can be buried
: in soil to almost eliminate evaporation (so can micro tubing but the
: dripper arteries have to break through the surface).
:
: I've just installed one of those dripper systems across pots and
: hanging baskets around the patio and I have to say that I'm quite
: unimpressed. Not all the drippers drip at the same rate even though
: they're all supposed to be fixed at 4 l/h so every so often halfway
: along the row I find one that is giving nothing while elsewhere
: another will be flooding. Unfortunately with the foliage in the way I
: spend more time checking that its working correctly and correcting
: where it has underwatered than if I just watered by hand in the first
: place.
:
: I suspect they would be a godsend in the greenhouse over a holiday but
: in general use I've found it to be too tempermental to be practical.
:
: They require much more maintenance and effort than one (hopefully)
: initially imagines. In addition the timers that come with them are
: exorbitantly expensive.
:
: We have tried/used two or three different brands and no one brand
: stands out as particularly good.

http://www.access-irrigation.net
I have found the drippers very reliable have been dripping at 2 lt/hr.
now in their 3rd. season..
:
: We had several set up at one time but none was particularly effective.
: We now have just one watering the tomatoes in growbags in the green
: house. It's a very simple system watering about ten growbags with three
: plants in each, thus if one nozzle stops watering it isn't a
: disaster. I've replaced the timer with a home made one using a plug
: in timer and a washing machine valve, much cheaper and lasts more
: than a season.
:
: --
: Chris Green
: