Soaker hose

[kygreg]

Do any of you use soaker hoses underground to water your tomatoes? If so what has been your experience and any suggestions, hints etc.

I am thinking about using this summer. I planned to use it last summer and actually "installed" a system but because of a wet summer never actually had to use it.

I use 250ft of connected 50ft and 75ft hoses. I have valves that I could use and not have all the hoses connected.

My questions:

I have put the hoses 10-12 inches under the soil which is clay with a lot of ammendments of organic matter. Will the weight of the soil on the hose keep the water from getting into the soil?

If I am connecting hoses should I remvove the washers from inside the hose connections or leave them in.

One half of my garden is on a slight slope and of course the hose here runs downhill; is this a problem?

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

PS: It took me 2 years to learn how to use a doorknob.

[brokenbar]

That is all I use. I bury them 6". This has really cut down on weeds because weed seeds are only able to germinate in the top two inches of soil which is not getting wet in my garden. It also puts the moisture directly onto the roots. I live in high desert with an average of only 10" of moisture per year (frozen or otherwise.) We get almost no rain in summer here. I soak overnight (10 pm until 6 am) about every 4 days. My soil is basically 10 year old horse manure composted but the soil deeper down has a lot of sand and bentonite so it drains pretty fast. We also have extordinary amounts of wind here that drys the heck out of everything. I have noticed a HUGE difference in my watermelons...they have been twice the size watering with this method rather than flood/sprinkler irrigation. There is a site called Mr. Drip which sells hose in commercial rolls of 500 feet as well as all of the fittings. I have hose that is 6-8 years old and still working fine.

[mtbigfish]

broken
never thought of burying the soaker hose - always thought they would clog. good to know
Dennis

[brokenbar]

Dennis, Mine never have. I blow them out at the end of the season (use husbands compressor ) And then I loop them up and hang them in the barn. Because they are never exposed to sunlight, they hold up really well. The stuff I buy in bulk is commercial grade and I imagine that makes a difference in longevity over the ones sold at Walmart. Off course, at least once a season, I am digging carrots and poke a hole in one...good thing couplers are cheap!

[mtbigfish]

Broken
Thanks
Better that you dig the carrots than rabbits - where are you in Wyoming? I have a friend that lives in Jackson Hole and another that used to live near Cheyenne -

Are you moving to Mexico if I remeber on one of the threads correctly?
Dennis

[brokenbar]

Originally Posted by mtbigfish

Broken
Thanks
Better that you dig the carrots than rabbits - where are you in Wyoming? I have a friend that lives in Jackson Hole and another that used to live near Cheyenne -

Are you moving to Mexico if I remeber on one of the threads correctly?
Dennis

I am very nearly on the Montana Border, backing up to the West Side of the Big Horn & Pryor Mountains. Yep...we are leaving for our new home in the Yucatan around the end of April, this time, for good. Son is taking over the cattle and ranching (he grew the garden out here last year as we were gone so he is taking on the sun-dried tomato business as well. He had a great year in 2009.) It is time for me...I am a veterinarian and I have worked my butt off my entire life. I want to fish, read, grow a garden and be able to grow my nearly 200 orchids and bromeliads outside.
Set on the beach with a book and an ice-cold bucket of beer or pitcher of Margaritas! Husband is AVID deep-sea fisherman. That was all he every missed when we left California 30+ years ago. He also is a gardener. I grow just for the sun-dried business, he grows everything else and also other kinds of tomatoes. He is also the chief canner.

We want to travel...went to Egypt, Ireland and Rome in 2009. Going to Venice in Oct and taking a cruise that goes to vairous ports all over the Meditteranian and eventually to Fort Lauderdale and then in spring 2011 to Beijing, catching a cruise that goes to several ports in China, Japan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Russia and then eventually, back to British Colombia.

Time for me to have a life beyond horses and cows!