Efficient watering is a prime consideration for any homeowner who likes to garden. Many gardeners find that a garden soaker hose offers the maximum convenience and coverage. You will typically waste less water and save more time when you use a soaker hose to maintain your plants.
What Is a Soaker Hose?
A soaker hose is distinguished by its design. These hoses look like most other garden hoses, but there is a crucial difference. The soaker hose has tiny pores along its length that aren't that different from the pores on your skin. These pores allow water to slowly escape from the hose.
When a soaker hose is placed in your garden, the low water pressure allows an efficient flow from the hose directly to the base of the plants. This means that you are getting more water to the root system and less water in places where it will quickly evaporate.
Soaker hoses are convenient because they can be moved about with ease. You can also place them and allow the hose to do the work. Very little maintenance and observation of watering is required when you use a soaker hose.
How Does a Soaker Hose Work?
The porous material of a soaker hose allows water to seep out at an even, slow rate. This lets the water soak into the ground around the base of your plants where it is needed most.
You don't need any special type of equipment to use a garden soaker hose. It attaches to your outdoor spigot just like any other type. Soaker hoses also come in many lengths. You can buy them in 25', 50' or 100' varieties.
To use the soaker hose, you simply place it in the garden where it rests near the base of the plants. Once placed, it does not have to be moved unless you need coverage in multiple areas. You simply turn on the water and allow the hose to saturate the ground.
Does a soaker hose need pressure? Very little, in fact. The porous material of the hose does a great job of keeping the water pressure low. You may not even need to open your spigot all the way when using a soaker hose.
The Benefits of Garden Soaker Hoses
So does a soaker hose save water? The answer is yes. This type of hose will always deliver maximum efficiency when it comes to watering your garden. This is mostly due to how the water from a soaker hose is distributed.
When you water with a sprinkler or by hand, you likely use more water than necessary. Most of the water that you apply in this fashion never reaches the root system; it is instead delivered to the leaves of the plants, where it can cause problems like mold and rot.
All the water delivered by a soaker hose goes right to the area near the root system of your plants. It can be easily absorbed as needed to keep your plants healthy.
We mentioned convenience as another advantage of using a soaker hose. The busy life of today's homeowner means that many people have little time for gardening. The need to monitor the water disbursement of a regular garden hose with or without a sprinkler is time-consuming.
Once you have placed a soaker hose in your garden, you only need to turn it on for a certain period of time to achieve the results you desire. You don't need to stay and monitor how the water flows, and you don't even have to move the hose.
For most gardeners, a soaker hose can put the joy back into cultivating beautiful plants. You'll spend more time enjoying your garden and less time fretting over watering when you use a soaker.
All content provided in this article is for general informational purposes only. All use of products referenced in this article should be done in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
For more information on soaker hose watering, read the following articles:
How to Use Soaker Hoses in a Vegetable Garden
Soaker Hose Flow Rate and Water Usage
A Soaker Hose Vs. Sprinkler—Which Is Best for Your Garden
