Michigan Gardener

SIGN UP to stay in touch!
We will send you occasional e-mails with gardening tips and information!


Digital Editions

Click on the cover to read now!

  • Home
  • Departments
    • Ask MG
    • Books
    • Clippings
    • Garden Snapshots
    • MG in the News
    • Janet’s Journal
    • Plant Focus
    • Profile
    • Raising Roses
    • Thyme for Herbs
    • Tools and Techniques
    • Tree Tips
  • Garden Event Calendar
  • Resources
    • Alternatives to Impatiens
    • Garden Help
    • Soil and Mulch Calculator
    • Public Gardens
  • Web Extras
  • About
    • About Us
    • Editorial Content
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
Home Ask MG Watering with soaker hose

PLEASE NOTE: In the autumn of 1995, we hatched the idea for a free, local gardening publication. The following spring, we published the first issue of Michigan Gardener magazine. Advertisers, readers, and distribution sites embraced our vision. Thus began an exciting journey of helping our local gardening community grow and prosper.
After 27 years, nearly 200 issues published, and millions of copies printed, we have decided it is time to end the publication of our Print Magazine and E-Newsletter.

Watering with soaker hose

March 29, 2009   •   

I know the main benefit of watering with a soaker hose is that the water goes right to the plants’ roots where it is needed, but how do you know exactly how much water you are applying since you can’t really see the water being delivered?

Environmentally conscious gardeners love soaker hoses. Many of today’s soaker hoses are made from recycled car tires and are a great way to supply plants with a slow, deep, uniform watering with little runoff or waste.

Soaker hoses wet an area 1 to 3 feet wide along their length, depending on soil types. If your soil is heavy in clay, hoses should be spaced 2-3 feet apart for even coverage; loam soils 1-2 feet apart; and sandy soils 1 foot apart.

Hose length should not exceed 100 feet. However, multiple lengths of 100 feet (up to 6) may be split off a main feeder hose and run simultaneously. Under normal house water pressure, a 1/2 inch soaker hose will deliver about 1 gallon per minute per 100 feet of hose, which is equivalent to 1/2 inch of moisture in 100 minutes (per 100 feet of soaker hose).

Filed Under: Ask MG

Previous Post: Organic fertilizers
Next Post: Pinching off annuals when planting

Copyright 1996-2025 Michigan Gardener. All rights reserved.