PT(K) - Planting the Knowledge - DIY Soaker Hose

Remember last summer? Remember the drought? No one wants their garden to look like this:

 From: fromdamascustoemmaus.com

No one wants a garden to look like that, but with the high heat in the Southeast, coupled with a disappointing lack of rain, it's hard to have a good looking garden (and can be quite expensive to use traditional watering methods).

Now, there's a better way to water your garden: Soaker or Drip Hoses. These hoses deposit water directly on top of the soil, under the leaves, so the sun doesn't evaporate as much and it takes less water (and less money) to get the same job done.

You can't run soaker/drip hoses up and down your whole yard for your grass, but you can use it for your flower beds, raised bed gardens, and shrubs that you want to keep looking lush and healthy.


What you'll need:

• Drinking Water Safe Hose* (About $18 for 50ft at Walmart, but check a local supply store first)
• OR for ornamental plants, that you do not intend to eat, just grab the oldest hose in your garage to save money!
• Drill Bit and Drill Set
• Hose Cap/ End Cap
• Tape Measure

How to do it:

1. Purchase a "Drinking Water Safe" hose (as approved by the FDA) whatever length you need. Or, if you have an old hose that is "Drinking Water Safe", use that to save money! Do not use an old hose that is not "Drinking Water Safe"!*
2. Lay out your hose against your extended tape measure. 
3. Mark every 3 inches for drilling. Or, find out where the base of each plant is and only mark those distances to save even more money.
4. Using a 1/16 drill bit, drill a hole all-the-way-through.
5. Attach the hose cap/end cap so that you're not wasting water out the end and so that it drips properly. 
6. Lay your hose in your garden making sure to align the holes with the base of plants. Remember to keep the hose close to the plants so that you don't waste any water unnecessarily. 
7. Run the water at a trickle for about thirty to forty-five minutes and you're all finished!

*Traditional water hoses are often made from reprocessed materials from the automotive industry and can contain up to 100 times the amount of lead designated as safe to drink by the Environmental Protection Agency. Be sure to use only "Drinking Water Safe" hoses approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Good luck and happy gardening!