You won't increase the chances of diseases, which can happen if the leaves get wet. The biggest thing you have to remember is to turn off the water. But leaving the soaker on for eight hours would be enough for most plants.
Start running your soaker hose about 30 minutes twice a week. After a watering day, check your soil to see if the moisture has penetrated several inches, then adjust accordingly. When you find the magic number for your conditions, use a timer to water the same number of minutes every time.
Since soaker hoses are just tubes with holes, water distribution is uneven due to pressure loss, often resulting in overwatering at the start and underwatering at the end, which can harm plant health and waste water.
Mornings and evenings are excellent times to water gardens when using a drip irrigation system or soaker hose. Watering in the evening isn't a problem as these methods don't wet plant foliage.
The soaker hose will only deliver the water that's available: It weeps at an average of 0.5 gallon–1 gallon of water per foot per hour. For homes with high-pressure, high-flow systems (as high as 125 PSI in some cases), you might need to install a pressure regulator (sold separately).
Soaker hoses enable you to get water to your plants where they need it most…at the root. They save time (no moving around sprinklers or hand watering) and they save money by reducing water loss via evaporation.
Don't outright bury the hose in the soil. Cover it with mulch so the water can still seep through with ease. Coil the hose around certain plants, such as bushes, so you're able to saturate enough soil for successful root absorption.
A drip line is less susceptible to UV damage, algae growth, and it provides more efficient watering than a soaker hose. It's designed to be used in long runs and is great for watering hedgerows and large areas.
Quick facts. Water your garden so that your plants always have enough moisture. On sandy, well-drained soil, you may need to water twice a week. For soils that hold moisture, such as heavier clay soils, or loamy soils rich in organic matter, watering once a week is fine.
Both are good choices to water your garden and which is best can come down to the size and type of area you are looking to water. Sprinklers are better for larger areas, while soaker hoses are great for targeting the foot of plants in flower beds and vegetable gardens.
Similar to a soaker hose is drip tape, a more lightweight product that works for row crops and raised beds. Easy and inexpensive – Simply attach to a garden spigot. Useful for small gardens – good alternative when drip is not a possibility.
Many of today's soaker hoses are made from recycled car tires and are a great way to supply plants with a slow, deep, uniform watering with little runoff or waste. Soaker hoses wet an area 1 to 3 feet wide along their length, depending on soil types.
Water regularly.
Consistent watering produces stronger plants and larger fruit. In the height of summer, water two to three times a week.
The good news is that a soaker hose can actually conserve water, saving you both time and money.
Can soaker hoses be left out over the winter? The answer is most definitely yes, but consider a different scenario.
Morning watering is actually preferable to evening watering as the plant has time to dry before the sun goes down. At night, water tends to rest in the soil, around the roots, and on the foliage, which encourages rot, fungal growth, and insects.
During extremely hot weather (daytime temperatures above 90F and nighttime temperatures above 70F), try to water daily or every other day. In a 10x10-foot garden, this would mean giving your plants 8 to 9 gallons of water each day.
One square foot = 144 square inches. One gallon = 231 cubic inches. Therefore, an “inch of water” is 0.62 gallons per square foot of garden area. Unless you use a gallon jug to water a square foot garden, this number may still leave you wondering how to obtain that inch of water or 0.62 gallons per square foot.
The major problem with soaker hoses is that they're composed of reconstituted rubber and will degrade over time, especially if exposed to sunlight. Expect them to fall apart in a year and a half to two years, at most. An old soaker hose will exhibit small water fountains all along its length.
Turn on the soaker hose. Allow it to run for 20 minutes. Turn it off. Wait 10 minutes.
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.
Secure hoses in place with garden pins to keep them from shifting.
The Soaker Hose creates a fine mist that's released from small holes along its body, whereas the Weeper hose allows water to seep directly into soil as it drips, or weeps, directly out of its body and downwards towards the surface.