Soaker hoses vs. Drip

[Pocboy]

I've been using a soaker hose system on my gardens for a long time but I've always felt that I'm wasting water in between plants. Does anyone use a drip system with tubing and do you like it? Thanks. Tom

[Sometimer]

We have about a 1,600 sq ft veggie garden here in CenTex. We started off using soakers, but with as many rows that we have, we would run out of water pressure toward the end. I should mention that I put together a 3/4" pvc header with the tees for the hoses spaced at our row spacing. After a couple of years (full sun), the soakers would spring leaks from sunlight deterioration. I bought some 5/8" drip hose with 12" drip spacing from one of the huge conglomerate home supply stores and have used it on the same header I made for about 5 years now. It looks like it'll last several more. I can now get water everywhere - even at the end of the runs. There's no way you can lay out the drip hose so that it's perfectly level, so it drips and runs down the hose from gravity. In other words, you still get water between the plants, but to me it seems much more efficient. My 2 cents...
However, if you have a small area and mulch over the soakers, they'd prolly last longer, do just as well, and cost less upfront. 'Course, I don't know... we have a weekend place in Fulton and put in a pallet of Zoysia grass - but before I laid down the sod, I worked in soakers zigged-zagged in the sand, the put the sod on top. Within 2 years the soakers were trash - even being covered with sod.

[czechgrubworm]

Like Sometimer said, if you cover with something, they last a good amount of time. I have a 40 x 20 garden and i have no problem. I water one half, then unhook and hook to the other side of the garden to another soaker hose and get it soaked well. I put between my rows, as flat as possible and then cover to the top of the mounds with leaves. Holds moisture a good long time. Another reason I do this is because my water has ALOT of calcium and minerals and veggies do not like the water on the leaves.. Causes them to die. isn't that nice. So this solved the problem.. Good luck.

[Mustad7731]

I'm not trying to steal this thread, but I have a related question.
I'm planning on irrigating a 1/4 acre food plot at the deer lease.
I was thinking about using a small pond and pump to irrigate via
a pattern of soaker hoses placed about 2"-4" underground maybe
2' apart.
The lease is outside of Conroe, so it is not as dry as the hill country.
I want my 1/4 acre to be the greenest area around.
I understand about the soaker hoses not providing water all the way
to the end but will the drip line give enough h2o to make a difference??
Any input is welcome...
Mustad7731
Jackie

[Sometimer]

I don't rightly know the answer. Me thinks it could depend on the pump size, gpm and head pressure, but if'n ya wanted to try it, I'd run like a 2" line from the pump (if it's big enough), then reduce down to 1" and make a header at each end to feed the water from both ends toward each other. Where you tee the two 1" lines, you may have to add a ball valve on each 1" line to balance the flow some.
I don't know the gpm for a given length of soaker hose, but you can kinda figger your gpm with a drip hose if you know the emitter rate gpm. Mine are 1 gpm each, with 12" spacing, if that helps.
The length of time you run it also comes into play.
I dunno if that was much good to ya, but it's an idea...
Good luck to ya, and hey, let us know what you end up doing, and how it worked out.

[Rubberback]

I use drip That way you just water plant & not watering weeds Plus save on water Plus your not watering the leaves just root system I also have irrigation system on a timer Because I'm not always their works great My nickles worth Good Luck