I need water input over here!

Hi folks, How are you watering your plants. I used to use a sprinkler but I read not to get water on the leaves. Now I am just using a garden hose and I water the dirt but it is taking me an hour or more each time. Do any of you use soaker hoses or have some other brilliant contraption I can use instead. Don't you say Aqua Globes ok.

Thanks!

For me its soaker hoses and the garden hose. Eventualy I'll put in a drip system. If you search for drip systems you'll get a ton of info.

I put soaker hoses along each row and then cover them up with wheat straw which helps hold in the moisture and protects the soaker hoses from our hot sun. They are easy to remove at the end of the gardening season so we can get the tractor in to disk it.

Does the soaker hose put out enuff for the tomatos???? Without overwatering the peppers? I guess I can put timers and all up if I need to...

Since the ground is very dry here during the summer I've never had any problems with the peppers getting too much water. I'm sure your ground is very dry too :-} I usually water for approximately an hour each time and that has been sufficient.

All my peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers are in pots, so I have to water every day it does not rain. In the heat of summer, I often have to water twice a day. I use a shower head on my hose, and give each pot about 10 seconds at soil level. It takes about 15-20 minutes a session. It's usually the first thing I do, so it gives my brain a chance to wake up.

OK I can't put in a drip system because the kids will think they are "Transformers" or some sort of magic rain maker. They would be destroyed in less than a day. I got a 75' soaker hose and zig-zagged it thru the garden, it looks like it might work. Let me ask you, should I cover the hose with soil or just let it sit on top of the dirt? I don't have any straw and I don't think I will ever get any.

Thanks!

When I first started using soaker hoses, I never covered mine with straw either. The only drawback is that our scorching hot sun tends to ruin the soaker hoses in one or two summers--that's why I started putting them under the straw. When I did that, I always made sure to watch Wal Mart or other discount stores for year-end clearance on their garden items and usually managed to pick up new hoses dirt cheap. But your soaker should be fine for at least one or two summers. I'm not sure it would work as efficiently if its covered with dirt though.