5 Best Soaker Hose Reviews In 2020 - Our Top Picks
Do you find farming tiresome when you think of watering your garden? Or maybe, you’ve got to hire so many people to work on your garden such that you hardly get great rewards from your hard work? You don’t have to spend so much money by hiring people. A soaker hose is all you need.
Whatever the size of your irrigation project, soaker hose waters your plants and delivers moisture right to the roots of your plants. Whichever way you chose to do it, it will still serve the purpose. I mean, you can opt to lay it on the ground or cover it with soil.
What more? The fact that you can bury the soaker hose in the ground means that the water reaches the roots of your plants directly thereby lowering the chances of water evaporation during irrigation. That, therefore, means that your plants will get enough water as you intend.
Again, you don’t have to deal with all the headache of having water where you precisely need it. In fact, the best soaker hose allows you to do just that! That’s amazing. Right? We’ve got more amazing benefits of using a soaker hose in this review.
Top 5 Soaker Hoses - Comparison
Image | Product Name | Length (ft) | Material | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  | Melnor Flat Soaker Garden Hose | 50 | Plastic | |
  | Gilmour 870751-1001 27075G Hose Flat Soaker | 75 | Recycled Vinyl | |
  | Teknor Apex Apex, 1030-100, Soil Soaker Hose | 100 | Rubber | |
  | Gardener's Supply Snip-n-Drip Soaker Hose System | 50 | Recycled Rubber | |
  | Swan Products MGSPA38050CC Soaker System | 50 | Recycled Rubber |
The 5 Best Soaker Hose On the Market
1. Melnor Flat Soaker Garden Hose
The Melnor flat soaker allows flexibility. That means, you can dig a thin layer of mulch or soil and install it there or you can save yourself much trouble and have it on the ground. Whether you have raised your beds or you have some vegetables growing, this tool will be excellent for you.
Do you want to connect multiple hoses together? No trouble. This tool caters for that in that it comes with an end cap that is resistant to rust.
If you have a problem with storage space, then this is a good choice since it allows rolling into a small size. What about the available sizes? You can have it either in 25 feet, 50 or 75 depending on your garden size.
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2. Gilmour Hose Flat Soaker
The Gilmour hose flat soaker saves you plenty of water due to its tiny pores. Whether you place it on the ground or bury it in the ground, it will still work well for you. You can use it to water your vegetables, shrubs, flowers, or trees.
While you are away for a vacation, you do not have to worry that your plants won’t get water. All you need is a timer as previously discussed in this review.
One great future of Gilmour Hose Flat soaker is that it allows water to soak your plants right at the roots consistently. This is so because the fabric that covers it up is clog-resistant.
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3. Apex 1030-100 Soil Soaking Hose
Apex 1030-100 hose allows you to gradually regulate the faucet until you have water weeping to the end of the soaker hose.
It saves you a lot of water wastage, unlike the sprinkler that makes you lose a lot of water during irrigation. You need great results. Right? Remember to have it lying flat on the ground.
Well, I know that sometimes you may buy a tool that doesn’t work well for you and you end up losing so much money. With Apex 1030-100 soil soaking hose, you get a warrant. You, therefore, don’t have to worry about trying it out.
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4. Gardener’s Supply Snip-N-Drip Soaker Hose System
The gardener’s supply snip-n-drip soaker hose is the best choice if you want to water certain areas of your beds and not others. In fact, if you have weeds growing all over your farm and want to get rid of them by ensuring they get no water and starve to death, this is the tool you need to get right away. Besides, having a pruning saw to keep garden in shape might come in handy.
You have to customize the length of the tool so that it supplies water right where you need it. You don’t have to be an engineer to do installation neither do you need any special tools.
With a pair of scissors, you will be ready to cut your soaker hose depending with the size of your beds. Where you don’t need water, cut the garden hose to have it fit appropriately. This garden soaker hose is appropriate to serve your purpose if intend to watering the lawn and garden.
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5. Swan Products Miracle-Gro Premium Soaker Hose
The Miracle Gro-Premium is safe for watering your flowers as well as your vegetables without causing health issues to you. This is because the material used to make it is free of lead.
Moreover, the size of your garden should not worry you; you can always customize it according to the size you need. You do this by cutting the hose according to the size you need and applying the push on fittings. The built-in water restrictor fittings will help you to regulate the amount of water.
No need to worry about the fittings since you can switch them off any time you don’t need them. For installation purposes, the tool comes with two T-connectors, four female, and male connectors as well as four plugs and feeders.
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Soaker Hose: What Is It?
A soaker hose is made of porous rubber (from waste tires after recycling), which have some hoses to allow the transportation of water from one place to another. You need to know that the soaker will water the intended plants directly thus the name “soaker” which is derived from the word “soak.”
What does that mean? The tool helps to “soak” your plants. Since you can dig rows to set it up, it is possible to have water at the root point. That’s critical because you also eradicate the chances of infecting your plants with diseases which are transferable from one plant to another through watering of the leaves.
As earlier mentioned in this review, you don’t have to hire people to do irrigation for you. Let me explain. With a soaker hose, all you need to do is set it where you need it, set the faucet on, and walk away to your other commitments of the day.
What about if you want to go on a vacation? Or maybe, you want to spend the rest of the day in the office? No worries, all you need is a hose timer. Be sure to buy a high quality so that you won’t get frustrated. Awesome! You’ve got your garden watering gradually without any worries. Cool?
How to Install a Soaker Hose?
- The first thing you need to do after buying the tool is straightening it up to be able to remove the end cap.
- Ensure that the female connector, which is the other end, near the source of water.
- Set up your layout for the soaker hose. You do this by digging rows in the soil/mulch and make sure you don’t dig beyond 6”. However, you can also have it on the ground if that is where you need it.
- Let the rows be big enough (depending with the type of soaker hose you are using) to allow the hose to sit flat. This allows an even watering of your plants. Also, you need to remember that the length from the source of water to each soaker hose should not be more than 150 feet. What, therefore, should you do if you need water to go further from the 150 feet? Just have an additional source of water. You can also use a T-connector to have water flow in two different directions.
- Now, arrange your soaker hoses in the rows you dug in the ground around the base of your crops.
- Once done, cut off any soaker hose that isn’t necessary at each end of the supply line. As you cut, ensure you retain an end of 90 degrees.
- You remember our female connector? It’s time to use it to connect the soaker hose to the source of your water.
- Finally, cover the soaker hose with soil or mulch ensuring that you can access the end of the hose connecting to the source of water.
- Do you need a hose timer? Where your source of water is, connect the hose timer.
How Often Should You Use Your Soaker Hose?
You can set up your timer to water your crops for 30 minutes, once a week. This, however, depends on the type of plants you are growing and the season too. If it is during summer, you may need to do it twice.
Also, you need to consider the type of soil you are growing your crops on. The trick however is, to water them until the soil is moist. This helps you to ensure that the plants don’t get overwatered since that will mean damage to your crops.
The Benefits Of Using A Soaker Hose?
Features to Look For When Purchasing A Soaker Hose
Durability
The market has so many soaker hoses made of fabrics other than recycled tires. If you love yourself, go for those made of recycled tires since they are durable and affordable.
The Length
You need to consider the measurements right from plants to the paths you have dug. To be safe, it’s always advisable that you add some extra feet to the exact size you need.
Design
This is one thing you need not overlook if you have storage issues. Go for that design that will favor you.
Price
Soakers hoses differ in costs. Don’t go for what you cannot afford. The fact that they are affordable doesn’t mean that you can afford each of them. It is good to go for what you can afford.
Pressure Rating
Pressure is critical when it comes to the effectiveness of a soaker hose, but it can also cause lots of disasters if it is too high and fail to function right if pressure is too low. The solution is to go for the soaker hose that can fit your needs. Always look at the label for pressure details before buying one. Better still is to have a regulator to help you regulate the pressure to whatever amount you need it.
Final Words
One thing as a farmer you can’t do without is water. Again, we are living in days where there are so many ways of watering your plants. However, most of them are not cost-effective, friendly or useful and can be very frustrating. Soaker hoses are some of the best ways of having water in your garden. However, there are many soaker hoses out there, and their low prices can trap you into buying them.
As a result, you end up losing so much money while you could have gone for the best soaker hoses to save you time and money. As if that is not enough, things get worse when you realize you have to refund it and shipping takes forever, or not available.