Make own seeping hose?

Peckedhen

Rather late in the season but, I have caught the gardening bug and built three raised beds which I am planting and sowing atm. I hadn't given holiday watering a thought but, after all my hard work, I don't want the veggies to die of thirst whilst I'm away!

I have a large quantity of hosepipe - would it be possible to puncture it, lay it in the beds, attach it to a timer and leave it set so that it waters whilst I can't? Buying a ready made hose will add to the ever increasing costs - it's going to take me five years to break even at the rate I'm spending!!:rotfl:

Zazen999

Well, if it is a raised bed and has soil in it, the veggies only need watering when they are planted out. The idea is that they grow roots and find their own water. I only water in cases of extreme drought or long spells of extreme heat; with the weather like this they should be fine. If the soil is just seed compost, then can you put a layer of your own garden soil as a mulch to keep the water in?

ukjoel

Yeh - you could do that if you want. It may even be better than a seeper hose as it will deliver the water exactly where you want it.

Or what you could try is using you old milk cartons (the plastic 2 litre ones).
Get a soldering iron or heat up a screwdriver on the hob and make six small holes around the edge at the bottom.
Put one whole in the screw on lid (otherwise air pressure stops water escaping)

Then bury them in the garden when you plant your veg out.
They can be filled from the top, will hold a large amount of water, and that water will go directly to the roots of the plant in the soil that you planted next to it.

Means less evaporation, encourages deeper roots, and you dont need to soak the whole bed. Also very cheap to do and saves on sending the milk cartons to landfill.

Peckedhen

OK Thanks guys.

My plants will only be babies when we go away....I'm soo late sowing the seeds. Just keeping my fingers crossed that something germinates soon.

paulofessex

Just to say that our local Pound Shop have the hoses you describe, for...yes you guessed it £1. They have the attachment fitted so it 'snaps' into the hose fitting

Peckedhen

paulofessex wrote: »

Just to say that our local Pound Shop have the hoses you describe, for...yes you guessed it £1. They have the attachment fitted so it 'snaps' into the hose fitting

Oh, thanks. I'll take a trip to town and have a look.

Kay_Peel

Zazen999 wrote: »

Well, if it is a raised bed and has soil in it, the veggies only need watering when they are planted out. The idea is that they grow roots and find their own water. I only water in cases of extreme drought or long spells of extreme heat; with the weather like this they should be fine. If the soil is just seed compost, then can you put a layer of your own garden soil as a mulch to keep the water in?

This is my outlook too.

A bit of drought is good for a plant. it makes it work harder and grow better roots to find deep water.

I water vegetables sparingly. I don't want prissy little delicate things that need a lot of looking after! :rotfl: I water them in at planting and I pop a mulch on top to stop the water evaporating.

Also, I'm not a big fan of hoses in general. I won't use fresh water on the garden - only harvested rainwater and grey water from the kitchen.

:beer: