OK, I won't leave you hanging any longer. I found my cheap and easy solution ...

Take a wine cork, cut or whittle it down so it fits tight in the hose end, and clamp it with a 3/8-7/8 hose clamp.

if the end of the soaker hose is threaded as most are just a simple $.50 end cap purchased at Lowes will do it

The problem is that I'm cutting them to the needed length, so no threads. I can add threads with hose repair kits for $2-3 each, but that's too much.

I've since realized even my wine-cork idea is too complicated -- I ended up just folding the ends over and clamping them down tight.

Hi,

If you are using the 1/2" Fiskars soaker hose, the Fiskars fittings will do nicely. The 2 most common fittings are one that connects to a PVC fitting and the other is a double threaded one - the hose fits into one end and on the other end you add a cap- like you get at the Depot