A soaker hose is an effective way to keep your garden well-irrigated throughout the year.
It closely resembles a garden hose and is a porous, continuous tube. Moreover, it slowly drips water right into the soil and can cover as much as its length.
However, you can imagine that that might make moving about in your garden a hassle. But can you bury a soaker hose to make walking around easier? Read on to find out!
Yes, you can bury a soaker hose, but only under mulch. If a soaker hose is buried under soil, then the pressure of the soil restricts the flow of the water. Hence, I’ve given the steps to properly install a soaker hose system, so you don’t face any issues with the water flow.
Set up the soaker hose in such a way that most of the plants in your garden are covered. I recommend attaching the hoses and laying them out in a spiral around the plants. However, I suggest not exceeding the length of 100 feet when laying it out.
Now, affix the pressure regulator at the juncture where the water supply meets the hose. This will help you check the water pressure to ensure that the hose is consistent throughout its length.
Only connect the hose with its water source once you’ve set up the pressure regulator and checked that it’s working properly. Here, you must make sure that the water seeps out gently and slowly from the holes, not gush or squirt out.
Now, disconnect the soaker hose once you’ve ensured that it’s up and running, and make the connection a bit more robust. I recommend burying it under mulch, but not soil.
You must also ensure that you’re running the soaker hose for an optimum amount of time since most plants require about two inches of water weekly.
It usually takes 200 minutes to deliver an inch of water. However, to figure out when to switch off the hose and avoid overwatering, you can place a container beneath a hole. Once you know when enough water is dispensed by the hose, you can install a timer to turn it off accordingly.
I recommend using a mechanical timer that you can attach toward the tail end of the hose.
Before I conclude, I must state that the mulch covering the hose shouldn’t be more than 2-3 inches in height. Again, too much mulch will essentially render the hose ineffective due to excess weight.
But burying the soaker hose under the recommended amount of mulch has multiple benefits. Not only does it protect the hose from the harsh sun and any resulting damage, but it also aids in moisture retention.
With this, I’ve come to the end of my guide, and I’ll see you again soon with another one of these!
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