Linda Coyner's May Garden Edition continued
How do I know
what faucet-setting to use?
This puzzled me from the outset. Too much pressure, of course,
can damage hose meant for low pressure. Start by figuring out
your faucet's approximate flow-rate at few low settings (quarter
turn, half turn, etc.). You can do this by measuring how long
it takes to fill a gallon can at those settings. That's your flow-rate
for that faucet setting. Fiskars recommends 1 gallon of water
per minute for the 1/2" and 5/8" hose per 100 foot. For the 1/4"
soaker hose, 2 gallons per hour per 10 foot length is the recommended
maximum flow rate.
What's the maximum
length I can run connected soaker hoses?
The standard advice is not to exceed 100 feet. The problem with
extended lengths beyond 100 feet is uneven watering. At the faucet
end you'll likely to get a lot more water than at the other end.
Increasing water pressure doesn't solve the problem and can damage
the hose. Waterworks and Fiskars Pro Series hoses seem to be the
exception. Those brands say you can run up to 200' feet of hose
while maintaining even watering along the entire length.
Which brands are
made with recycled materials?
Fiskars, Aquapore, Better Homes & Garden (sold at Wal-Mart and
made by Fiskars) are the ones I know of. Buying products with
recycled materials creates new uses for old tires and recycled
plastics from items such as discarded cable wires and old traffic
cones. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, look
for hoses that use no more than 60-70% post-consumer recycled
material.
Are soaker rings
useful?
The jury is still out, as far as I'm concerned. A soaker ring,
which is fashioned like a fixed noose with a hose fitting the
end, is meant for watering trees and shrubs or specimen plants.
Its size‹about 2 feet in diameter‹limits its usefulness to relatively
small plants that are just going in or already-planted ones whose
head you can lower the ring over. A major disadvantage of the
ring is that it monopolizes the hose unless, I suppose, you adapt
the hose end with a splitter. I also foresee long-term problems.
The plant's drip line is likely to outgrow the ring and plant
growth is likely to make it impossible to remove the ring in one
piece without cutting it.
Is there an easy
way to uncoil a new hose?
I placed my first soaker hose in the bed with great difficulty
because I couldn't get it straightened out before I started. Home
Depot told me the secret: Stretch out the hose in the sun as best
you can. Once the hose has warmed up, hold one end and get someone
to hold the other end, and pull. Voila! It's straight.
What kind of warranties
are there?
Apparently, weathering has been a problem and they've come up
with this UV inhibitor process in an attempt to solve it. Fiskars
is the only one I came across that offers a lifetime warranty
because, according to the web site, of its UV inhibitor process.
Seven years seems to be standard for Waterworks and Better Homes
& Garden/Wal-Mart. Aquapore is vague and catalog descriptions
simply say its hose lasts many years.
Is it possible to custom-design
a soaker watering system for a bed?
Aquapore can be bought in bulk, in the 5/8 inch size, in lengths
so of 100 feet. Then you can buy the fittings you need‹end cap,
tee, elbow, coupler, or hose fitting. See Peaceful Valley Farm
Supply, www.groworganic.com.
Resources: Fiskars also has an excellent Q&A section on soaker hoses on its web site: http://gardening.fiskars.com.
(Editor's Note: Fiskars
is one of the oldest companies in the western world. The Company
dates from 1649, when a Dutch merchant was given a charter to
establish a blast furnace and forging operation in the small village
of Fiskars in the Western portion of Finland. This historic Finnish
business is now headquartered in Helsinki and organized into a
number of business units.)
Read Part Two and Part Three of Linda's award winning series on water saving products for the garden.