Install Soaker Hoses Before You Plant Your Garden

Installing a soaker hose in your Spartanburg garden is a stellar idea if you have a few garden beds or are too busy to water every plant by hand. Soaker hoses make sure that your plants are deeply watered. This is important because deep watering forces the roots of plants to penetrate into the soil where nutrients lie. This keeps the plants strong and healthy enough to recover from droughts, fight off diseases and pests, and bring you closer to your dreams of a perfect garden. How do you install a soaker hose system?

Plan the system before anything else

Ideally, plan and then lay out your soaker hose system well before you plant the first seed or seedling in your garden. It is simply easier for you to see and test the hose in an otherwise bare garden plot. When the system is arranged the way you want it, you can place your plants or seeds near it instead of struggling to wind the hose around existing plants. A simple sketch, maybe on graph paper, can help with the soaker hose’s layout among your garden beds. Professional landscapers such as those at Conserva Irrigation can certainly help.

Know what kind of soil you have

The spacing of your soaker hose depends on the kinds of plants you’re putting in and the kind of soil you have. If your soil is sandy or if you’re growing annuals, arrange the rows from a foot to a foot and a half apart. If the soil is loamy or clayey, place the rows from 18 inches to 2 feet apart.

Flush the soaker hose before using it

Like any other garden hose, soaker hoses come in coils, but their ends are capped. The first thing to do is take off the caps, screw the end to the garden spigot, and turn on the water to flush it. This should only take a few minutes. It’s good practice to flush the soaker hose now and then, as debris inevitably accumulates inside and clogs the holes.

When you’re satisfied that the hose had been flushed out, turn off the spigot, replace the cap on the front of the hose, and turn the water on again. Then, check to see if drops of water are emerging from all areas of the hose. This is called “weeping.”

Let the hose lie in the sun for a while

Another reason to lay out the hose before planting is to allow it to get full sunlight. This makes the hose more pliable and easier to bend.

Trim and connect the soaker hose

If you have too much soaker hose at the end, you’ll need to trim it neatly with scissors or a sharp knife. When you’re finally ready to use the soaker hose, connect it to a regular hose, and cap the free end. Connect the regular hose to the spigot, and turn it on so that the soaker hose is weeping and not overwhelmed by the flow of water. For more information on adding a soaker hose system to your garden, visit The HomeMag’s pages on Facebook and Instagram.