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Thu, Apr 19, 12 at 16:26
| My blues showed up today, the bed is prepared and ready. I expect to have it done by dark. I plan to loop a soaker hose down both sides of the bed under the mulch. Bed length is approx 40 ft = approx 80 ft of hose. I will water by hand after the initial planting, but going forward, how long and how often under "normal" circumstances would you run that hose each week? I have no idea how much water comes out of a length of soaker hose. Any guesses? 1/2 hour a week? I recall soaker hose discussion by Blueboy or Fruitnut some time ago, but the search function isn't too kind to me today.
Thanks, Chad |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by bamboo_rabbit 9A Inverness FL (My Page) on Thu, Apr 19, 12 at 17:14
| Not a fan of soaker hoses myself, I tried them many moons ago with the blues and it did not work well but hey maybe that is just the sand here. Just make sure if you use it that it wets the entire bed. Strips of wet soil and strips of dry soil will lead to dead plants. I much prefer micro irrigation heads. 40 foot run of tubing with a head aimed at each plant or spinners that will cover the entire width of the bed. |
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- Posted by blueboy1977 9 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 19, 12 at 22:27
| Hey Blackrag, I took regular garden hose and punched holes in it every 2 inches with a nail and then coiled the hose around the plant. I would guess about 15ft of hose coiled into a 3x3 raised bed and covered with 3inches of pine bark mulch. I also made sure to punch the holes only on one side of the hose and made sure the holes point up. The idea is to soak the mulch on top of the hose which gives a even water pattern. Its worked very well so far. In your case you could do the same or just move your soaker hose around alittle bit to get even watering. Right now Im having to water my raised beds about every 4 days and potted plants every 2 or 3 days unless it rains. In the summer I will water every morning. Good luck! |
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| If the soaker hose is pressure limited to 25-30 psi and is located under 3 inches of pine bark mulch I have had great success. First year make sure the hose is very close to the plant. Future years you can space it away. Of course watering can vary based on many factors but if you water every 2-3 days for 15-30 minutes that should be sufficient. The mulch is very key and bigger pine bark chips are less likely to harbor voles vs. pine mulch. |
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| Thanks for all your replies. I appreciate it. Chad |
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