I'd like to install a watering system in my garden - a mixture of
well-established borders and lots of mature shrubs set into what was
once mainly a lawn area. However, the Hozelock system and its
competitors look over-complicated, a bit expensive and quite fiddly to
set-up and maintain. I'm also a bit concerned about having delicate
plastic components hidden under shrubs where they might get damaged by
normal gardening activities.

My preferred solution would be bury a network of plastic half-inch pipe
throughout the gardenand use this to feed lengths of 'soaker hoze' in
the borders and around the shrubs. Ideally I'd like to bury the soaker
hoze as well so that only minimal water is lost to evaporation and the
whole thing will be protected from the blades of my rotary mower.

Has anyone tried this sort of approach? Does soaker hoze work OK if
buried just under the surface?

Thanks,

Mike

<mheden [at] bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:1149872941.912151.174270 [at] y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> I'd like to install a watering system in my garden - a mixture of
> well-established borders and lots of mature shrubs set into what was
> once mainly a lawn area. However, the Hozelock system and its
> competitors look over-complicated, a bit expensive and quite fiddly to
> set-up and maintain. I'm also a bit concerned about having delicate
> plastic components hidden under shrubs where they might get damaged by
> normal gardening activities.
>
> My preferred solution would be bury a network of plastic half-inch pipe
> throughout the gardenand use this to feed lengths of 'soaker hoze' in
> the borders and around the shrubs. Ideally I'd like to bury the soaker
> hoze as well so that only minimal water is lost to evaporation and the
> whole thing will be protected from the blades of my rotary mower.
>
> Has anyone tried this sort of approach? Does soaker hoze work OK if
> buried just under the surface?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
>

Soaker hose ( leaky pipe) works fine both on the surface and buried just
under the surface.
The trick is not to run the system under too much pressure-so it is best to
run longer lengths in parallel rather than series.

"Soaker hose ( leaky pipe) works fine both on the surface and buried
just
under the surface.
The trick is not to run the system under too much pressure-so it is
best to
run longer lengths in parallel rather than series."


Thanks. I think I'll get some soaker hose and a pressure reducing
valve and do some experiments.

"Rupert (W.Yorkshire)" <reply [at] newsgroups.com> wrote in message
news:4489e76f [at] 212.67.96.135...
>
> <mheden [at] bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:1149872941.912151.174270 [at] y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> > I'd like to install a watering system in my garden - a mixture of
> > well-established borders and lots of mature shrubs set into what was
> > once mainly a lawn area. However, the Hozelock system and its
> > competitors look over-complicated, a bit expensive and quite fiddly to
> > set-up and maintain. I'm also a bit concerned about having delicate
> > plastic components hidden under shrubs where they might get damaged by
> > normal gardening activities.
> >
> > My preferred solution would be bury a network of plastic half-inch pipe
> > throughout the gardenand use this to feed lengths of 'soaker hoze' in
> > the borders and around the shrubs. Ideally I'd like to bury the soaker
> > hoze as well so that only minimal water is lost to evaporation and the
> > whole thing will be protected from the blades of my rotary mower.
> >
> > Has anyone tried this sort of approach? Does soaker hoze work OK if
> > buried just under the surface?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Mike
> >
>
> Soaker hose ( leaky pipe) works fine both on the surface and buried just
> under the surface.
> The trick is not to run the system under too much pressure-so it is best
to
> run longer lengths in parallel rather than series.
>
As Rupert says it works fine although I have seldom used mine as the
mulching I do to cover the pipe generally means I don't need to water, Try
LBS for the hose and bits.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)