Soaker Hose failure/repair.

[Gord]

Its quiet in here, so I thought I would say something to give folks something to reply to...

Last summer we suffered a soaker hose failure. The sucker split right at the end farthest from the house.

I was happy that it was repairable using a spare end from the local Home Hardware (like Ace Hardware, only Canadian) store. I was worried that the hose wall might not be strong enough to handle a hose clamp, but it worked OK. I was also concerned about flow The hose is now a foot too short for the bed, but at least it works. More importantly, this means that soaker hoses are SIZABLE!!

So if you bought the longest hose you could find, which should be cheaper per foot than a short one (buy in bulk and save!) you can cut it to lengths to match the lengths of small gardens, then put in a length of solid hose to run between them. Of course you would still need to reel it in at the end of the day, but you could make a whole custom fit soaker hose system!

(I used the spell checker on this post, and it works!)

[karen]

I could never get soaker hoses to work here. Water pressure is too low. I like your idea though. When they get OTF fixed you should send it in as a 'tip' to Fine Gardening and see if it wins you something.

[karen]

Whoops ... I was trying to figure out what exalt and smite meant and I accidentally smited you since I tried that one first (what does that say about me?). I promise I'll come back and exalt you later.

[jeana]

I'm not sure how well they work in colder climes, but I love the kit water systems you can get in box stores. I used soakers for many years and they have their good points. Like you say, they have to be hooked up and unhooked which means dragging a hose around. The water systems are a perfect answer, I just like it much better than soakers. Everything is hard plumbed and on timers, so it's one less thing I have to do and one less thing for me to keep an eye on. If I had alot less to water, though... I *do* think they're much better for establishing new trees and shrubs.

[jeana]

I just reread my post. I meant to say that water systems are NOT a perfect answer. But it's as good as it gets for me.