Yes, good point. Mine always kink when I'm moving them around to water, or when I used to reel them in.
What do you do with your hose??
Victor - Thanks. There is a story behind this bed. Under the armillary and stone it sits on is our water pump (we are on well water). It had a nice blue painted head to it sitting in the middle of my back yard. Not exactly garden art. I placed a 5 gallon bucket over it and built up the bed with dirt. The plan is when the pump dies and needs to be replaced it will be accessible. Kinda like putting a rock over the septic system cover. I did the same thing with that in the front.
Can someone from Arizona vent about hoses? Thank you :) I am the angry owner of the worst hose ever created. This hose was purchased from Costco March 20th of this year. I love Costco products but this is a nightmare hose. It is the Flexon Forever commercial grade garden hose. 100 ft in length. Lifetime guarantee and Kink-free. It is even recommended by the arthritis foundation for ease-of-use. Well if you do not have arthritis before you use this hose you will after using it. This monster kinks about every 6 ft then twists around itself over and over at the kink. Once you get one kink the whole hose becomes alive with kink and knot after knot. You need super human strength to untwist this thing. The material it is made out of is much thinner then any hose I have ever owned. I informed the manufacture of this and he admitted they had problems with this in the colder climates. Needs to be above 70. Well this is Arizona we are always above 70. He offered to send me a new hose but never did. I will have to return it to Costco which is a pain with 100 ft. of wet hose. Please someone tell me if there is a good hose out there. This one was made in the USA which I thought was kind of neat but not anymore. :( Linda
What a terrible experience, Linda. Sorry to hear that. You found the right place to vent about it!
Thanks Victor. I had been thinking about starting a hose section in the SW forum then noticed this one. Felt good to vent!! :) Linda
I use my watering cans more and more to avoid the hose fiasco. Takes a little more time, but I got used to it when we had drought up here and they recommended it for the landscaping. The exercise was helpful, too. I know this isn't feasible for those of you with large gardens. We are on a well, and try to be careful when conditions are dry. I've minimized the plantings and try to use the watering can whenever possible. Good for the waistline! And fewer problems with the hoses, too.
I use it sometimes too - I have rain barrels. But it's just not very convenient when I'm in a rush or if I have to water far away.
Hey Victor. Nice yard there, those maples look really nice. For what its worth, I don't like dragging hoses because they catch on things & damage my garden. I either leave mine permanetly somewhere I need it so it doesn't get dragged back & forth or just use a watering-can. I have a heap of 40 gallon drums & a large rain tank, so all my water is rain. Plants don't like tap water as much because it has already reacted with fluoride etc & doesn;t dissolve nutrients the same. After all, water to plants is mostly just a nutrient-delivery medium.
Anyway, something about hoses & irrigation systems have always struck me. They take away the simple joy of watering your garden with a can. To me, that is one of the greatest pleasures of gardening & it keeps me in touch with it.
Ian
We posted together there. With my back gardens, I just syphon water down to another drum so I can water from it. Beats carrying it & beats tap water.
This message was edited May 9, 2008 6:35 PM
Hi Ian,
Nice to hear from you. The photo above is not my garden. Very true, and if my garden was not as spread as it is, I would try to water exclusively with rain water. Wish I had a huge cistern buried. Many benefits to rain water. Temperature, no chlorine, fluorine, etc. I, too, like to stand and water when I have the chance to.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who likes to use the old fashioned watering can! I get used to it during the winter with all the tropicals and other houseplants. It's more personal. Again, I know this isn't feasible for large scale gardening! Then I use the (lug it around) hose.
I use a three gallon one that gives a soft sprinkle.
I'd have a little trouble with a three gallon. Two is about my limit! Maybe I need to use more weights when I walk to pump up!
I think we need to be careful with our thread names - "What do you do with your hose??" and "Size is not everything!" (Kassia's)! LOL
They're attention-getters, though!
I must have had a temporary setback or was tired, because I did not think of that when I wrote it. After, I did.
I think I saw something like that in old pictures of firefighting equipt! ☺
Gotta love this!
http://www.tobinapparatus.com/fitogahoad.html
... goes nice with a red house. ☺
Yeah, but I'd rather stock my garden shed with the EMS supplies instead of the firefighting equipment!
My son would rather have the firefighting equipment. He's a volunteer up here and loves all things related to fire and emergency services!
In regard to hoses...I bought the 2-50' hoses at the Christmas Tree Store, I believe they were $8.99 each...something like that. The 100' hose I have, that is partially burried, is made by Swan, and it is their industrial strength hose. When I was in the market for a heavy duty hose, that is exactly what I went looking for, I bent, pinched, twisted, and tested pliability of all hoses I was thinking about purchasing, this 100' hose from Swan doesn't bend, is hard as a rock, isn't very pliable, it will coil (when not full of water) and doesn't kink. It wasn't a cheap hose though. I believe I purchased it at Agway about 3 years ago, and it was around $45 or so. But, it has been partially underground for that long, has not sprung any leaks, and doesn't leak from any of the connecting areas. The other hoses get abused, so I don't mind buying the cheapies for the front beds/front porch, or the new deck...for now.
I have a retractable hose reel in the front yard similar to the one shown. Only problems are that mine is not 100 ft like the one in the picture, and sometimes it takes a while to persuade the automatic latch to click in and prevent it unreeling. It is quite easy to dismount and store in the garage in winter.
I can't believe how many of my nozzles or sprinklers drip water all over me, how often I have to replace even brass Y connectors, etc.
Good thread Victor. I have just accepted regularly replacing nozzles, shut-off valves & Y connectors and still getting dripped on while I water. As far as reels, I went through a couple and gave up. I just circle my hoses on the ground now. But I may try Katye's reel.
The hose in the back yard is on a hand crank, not too bad. The one in the front is black, and we lay it along the driveway, and it keeps the grass edged on that side of the driveway, move it onto the driveway to mow.
Dittos to industrial or commercial strength hoses: they do not kink. They are usually grey, so they are visible.
I would have a verrrry long right arm if i watered with a can: too much property. But we are blessed with very adequate rainfall here, so the watering season is fairly short. I am on a 100' deep well - my water is excellent, but does come out of the ground very cold. So far so good.
I do enjoy hand watering, and save that for the containers up around the house. I have tried a variety of connectors, watering wands and such - metal is still the best. It's the hoses that are made poorly.
Someone could make a mint if they manufactured a quality line of hoses & attachments. Sounds like we've all experienced many of the same problems.
Dave - my hose reels are not automatic - you do have to guide the hose while cranking them. But if you set up the hose for a straight return, it goes much faster with less hassle. I keep one in the back & the other out front. Each one has 250' of hose on it, and they both attach to a 50' lead to either faucet, which makes it versatile. It is the first hose reel I have been happy with. Easy to move around the property, too.
DH bought me a black hose made by Firestone after we split 3 in a season. i have to cross a driveway, and people drive over it a lot. Even when i am right there and could easily move it away. Sigh.
It smells terrible though. (Well, not anymore) i was watering with gloves on because otherwise my hands smelled like tires all day.
I have the reddish-brown 'commercial' one from HD. Hot it last year. So far, so good.
Be careful handling a hot hose. Or leave it in the shade... (Definitely a problem with the black Firestone kind - ouch!)
; )
This message was edited May 11, 2008 1:55 PM
Thanks Katye! I'm happy to crank.
I hate the crank I have. Its on the side of the house and I don't like it. I have hoses going in between the house and the garage and down to the, GH, Pool and to the garden. They are all Y or T from the faucet down and I am teed off.
DH is now going to run pipe and get me on the other side of the house!
We had this.
This is the set-up my dh did before the lawn was put in.
He buried the drainage pipe (black ribbed thing on the left) from the house across to the stone wall (about 30' - 40'). He then ran a gray industrial hose through it with a rope (don't know how) so that it can be taken out and replaced easily.
. . . and here's where it comes out. To the right of the pic is where I have a connector with two hoses. I just don't like it going across my little brick area.
I've got a better hose solution. Set the mower blade on 3 1/2 or 4 inches. Lay the hose and just mow over it. Yep I drain them but leave them out all winter too. I buy the worlds best lifetime so and so at Wally World. Every ten years or so I replace them when their life time guarentee wears out. You did not know that the guarentee was for the lifetime of the hose? Oh well. Now you do. :)
I am still trying to find a solution... almost broke a brand new rose bush yesterday!!!!! hate the hose still!
I haven't read this whole thread, so forgive me if this was already mentioned...
I have a reel that operates by water pressure. I just flip the switch to "wind", turn on the water and it winds itself. It works very well - no batteries and no hand-cranking. I don't know the make, but I bought it at Lowes or Home Depot and it wasn't terribly expensive.
How long a hose can it work with? No leaks? How long do you have it? Thanks.
I think I have a 75 footer attached but I don't think that's the limit. This is my third year with it. I don't notice any leaks.
That sounds promising,