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Beach Park, IL.

I was wondering. This year I bought and use a soaker hose for my pumpkin. I hope it is getting enough water. I turn it on in the evening or late at night when I get home from work. I leave it on for about an hour to an hour and a half. Is this long enough????

7/11/2006 12:22:41 AM

Santa Cruz, CA

We are doing soaker hoses too for the first time this year. I think the amount of water depends on the type of soil you have. Our soil has a bit of clay so we water for @20 min. every other day. My brother is using soaker hoses on his two pumpkin plants and he needs to water every day @15 to 30 min.. His soil is sandy. He waters extra if it's a hot day and he sees flagging. I've been watching our plants and they seem fine to me so our 20 min seems good but I do have limited experience.(We are also near (50 feet) to a creek so I think our water table is high too.) Water is a hard one to figure out and I will be curious to see what everyone posts here.

7/11/2006 10:07:06 AM

Danville, CA ([email protected])

Also depends on water pressure. I know you can use a reducer but I don't like them. I water 12 min every other day which seems to be enough. Water "sprays" out of the soaker at some points due to the pressure but I am able to see a significant amount of water in a reasonable time.

Read the plants as they will tell you more accurately. If they are wilting in between waterings then it is not enough. Want reasonably consistent moisture. Also check the end of the soaker farthest from the faucet and see what amount of water is coming out. Put a margarine dish or bucket under a section and measure the amount of water coming out.

7/11/2006 11:57:52 AM

Beach Park, IL.

Thanks. When you mean flagging, it means the leaves are drooping, right??

7/11/2006 2:09:53 PM

San Jose [email protected]

yes

7/11/2006 8:38:51 PM

Santa Cruz, CA

Flagging is when the leaves droop. I found if the soaker hoses are longer than 100', with our water pressure, we can't add any more hoses on.

7/12/2006 1:25:07 AM

Nashville, TN

I've got 6 - 50' Soakers attached end-to-end..With two 50' sections of 'normal hose' connecting the patches across the 30' grass pathway... So, we're talking 400' of hoses to pressurize - and with normal water pressure..

My engineer hubby had a brainstorm! If this system just dead-ended - there wouldn't be enough pressure to even pressurize half of it... -BUT- if you treat it like a continuous electric circuit - plenty of pressure!

At the front end - you attach a two-way splitter valve. Then on the last hose you make a two female-ended hose - which can attach back to the valve. You've got a round circuit - and you open both valves full-on.

I've only got two plants right in the center of the circuit not getting as much as I'd like - We'll have it perfected next year!

I leave the water on for 45 minutes - which is about 1/3-1/2" of 'precip.'... With the soakers and patches all covered with a good layer of mulch - I'm only having to water 2-3X per week. And the soil moisture is staying VERY STABLE - even with our high heat and lack of rain!

7/13/2006 4:32:22 PM