If you’ve ever tended to a garden of any size before you know how difficult and time consuming it can be to hand water all the beds with any amount of regularity. The more beds you have the longer it takes and no matter what size your plants are you always have to be careful when using a hose, sprinkler, or watering can.
Young seedlings can be easily damaged by abrasive overhead water flow while established vegetables and plants can be susceptible to disease from overhead watering…and that’s why experienced gardeners always move to ground level watering solutions like soaker hoses and drip systems.
In my 220 square foot garden my wife and I used to use drip irrigation but we eventually scrapped it in favor of soaker hoses because they are so much easier to move around when the layout of our garden beds change from season to season.
The Best Soaker Hoses – My Top Recommendations
1. Dramm ColorStorm 1/2″ Soaker (25 & 100 ft)
2. Meifeng Low Flow Soaker Hose 3/8-Inch Diameter 50ft
3. Rocky Mountain Goods High Volume 5/8″ Heavy Duty Rubber Soaker Hose (50-ft)
4. LINEX High PSI Garden Soaker With Heavy Duty Metal Hose Connectors 1/2-inch | 50-ft
5. FLORIAX Garden Flat Blue Soaker Hose (25 & 50-foot) 1/2″ w/ Reinforced Fittings
Considering we’ve used many different soakers in a variety of different styles over the years I feel particularly confident in my assessment of what soakers are best for gardeners. I want to help you pick the right hose for your garden so that you have no regrets.
For standard 32-square foot 4×8 garden beds I recommend a 50-foot 1/2″ hose paired with a a 10-PSI pressure regulator. Soaker hoses should have strong fittings and I prefer metal connectors to prevent cracks and leaks.
The hose I would buy over and over again is the Dramm ColorStorm hose. It’s a rubber hose that has actual metal fittings making the connection to standard garden hose thread so much more durable.
You can find the Dramm soaker hose right here complete with pricing and specs.
What is a Soaker Hose and Why Do I Need It?
A soaker hose is a specialty hose that a lot of lawn owners absolutely love. It has made out of a special material that is really porous. So, with a little pressure building up inside the hose, it lets out droplets of water along the entirety of its surface.
So, if you have a row of plants, using a soaker hose is actually one of the best choices you can make! And that’s exactly why it’s one of the most fitting things for your vegetable garden, isn’t it? So, that’s why you might want to go for a soaker hose in your vegetable garden.
However, one thing you might want to keep in mind is this. A soaker hose actually lets out water along the entire length it’s stretched over. So, if you only wants specific spots covered, that’s not something that the Soaker hose can do. In a case like that, you might want to go with a Drop sprinkler that actually applies drops of water to specific spots instead of the entire length it’s extended over.
Related Reading: Drip Irrigation VS Soaker hose: Which is the best?
Best soaker hoses for vegetable gardens
Now, once again, there are quite a few soaker hoses available out there. So, if you just go out to find one, you might actually be confused by all the close alternatives available. Unless you do your research, it’s actually almost impossible to differentiate between two soaker hoses!
However, here are a few things you might like to keep in mind when differentiating between soaker hoses:
- Material: The specific material that’s been used is something you might want to keep in mind. This is a deciding factor as to the quality of the water that’s coming out as well as the overall durability of the hose. Again, the amount of water coming out with the same level of pressure (with the same pore size) might also depend from one material to another.
- Length: Like all garden hoses, you might want to pay attention to the length of the hose you’re getting. It is really easy to forget this basic thing and get one of the wrong size- a lot of us lawn owners have done that at least once already! However, that’s something you might want to avoid by paying a little extra attention to this factor.
- Cost: And of course, there’s always the economic factor at the end of the day. Keep in mind that a smart buyer always gets the best product that’s within his limit. And as long as you have that in the back of your mind, you can actually stop yourself from misusing your hard earned money!
Even then, there are just so many choices out there to choose from! So, Turf Mechanic has done the tiring job for you- here’s a list of the best soaker hoses available for vegetable gardens that you might want to choose from!
Melnor Flat Soaker Garden Hose
The first model that I’d like to bring to your notice is the Melnor Flat Soaker Garden Hose.
For those of you who don’t know, Melnor is one of the brands you can blindly go for when it comes to gardening products. They have a wide range of products, and each of the products is top-notch, making it one of my personal favorite brands!
Anyway, this model, like all other Melnor models, also offers you with almost everything that you might be looking for.
The prime features that this hose boasts of are:
- To begin with, It flattens so that you can actually store it away easily. That also means that it is much more flexible than the other choices out there!
- This model also fits really easily with the connections that you want. This is something that’s rarely found, although all companies claim to give you this. So, the fact that this model actually gives you this level of ease makes it special.
- Again, this model also comes with a two year warranty, despite the fact that it is one of the most affordable choices out there! Combine to that the factor that this model actually looks pretty elegant, and I’m fairly certain you’d be able to see why people love this model so much- did I mention that this model is a bestseller?
Gilmour Garden Hose Flat Soaker
The Gilmour Garden Hose Flat Soaker is the next product I’d like to recommend for anyone.
Glimour is yet another brand that’s worthy of your trust! So, if you’re one of those people who stick to specific brands, you might find yourself sticking with Glimour once you purchase one of their products!
So, this model is one of the top selling models in the market when it comes to Soaker Hoses! And frankly, the reason why people love it so much can easily be understood if one takes a look at its main features.
The main features of this model might be summed up as:
- This model is also a flat model. This means that this model is easy to store and is much more flexible than the ones that aren’t flat. So, it saves your space while giving you a greater level of ease, making it a good choice for everyone!
- Again, this model also comes in 25Ft, 50ft and 75 ft sizes. So, it does provide you with a certain degree of choice about the size before you go for it. So, that’s something that’s bound to be helpful.
- It claims to be made of 100% recycled Eco-friendly vinyl and it claims to also be clog-free, owing to the high clog resistant fabric cover that it uses for consistent soaking!
- This model comes with one of the greatest warranties for any soaker hoses out there- it comes with a 7 year warranty. This alone goes to show how confident the company is about the quality of the model- and how confident you can be!
Rocky Mountain Goods Soaker Hose
Next, we would like to bring to your notice a specific model which is probably the highest rated on Amazon when it comes to the best soaker hoses for vegetable gardens: The Rocky Mountain Goods Soaker Hose!
The Rocky Mountain Goods Soaker Hose boasts of a 4.5 Star rating, which is among the top, if not the very highest! But why do people love this model so much?
Let’s take a look at the features of this model to find out:
- This model boasts of a really high quality. This model claims to be heavy duty and suited for regular and rough use. So, even if you’re going to use it everyday, and you want it to last for years on an end, this heavy duty model might just be the right choice for you!
- Quick reattach reinforce fittings are something that the company provides you with. This means, you can actually add to the length of the hose whenever you want. So, that actually gives this model a higher level of functionality than most other models out there!
- Again, this model also claims to save a lot of your water from being wasted owing the high quality rubber that it uses. So, if you’re as eager about water conservation as I am, this might be a great model for you to go with.
- This model also comes with a 7 year warranty. Once again, this is a really high level of warranty and it shows that the company is pretty confident about its products. So, that gives you an excellent reason to actually go with this model without worrying too much about the quality.
- Finally, this model is a perfectly mid-range model. It isn’t the most expensive model out there, and it isn’t the cheapest one either. However, this model actually provides you with a whole lot of features, making it one of the most value for money products in this range.
SWAN PRODUCTS GIDS-2496287 Element Sprinkler Soaker Hose
Next in line is the Swan Products GIDS-2496287 Element Sprinkler Soaker Hose.
Well, Swan Products actually has a lot of soaker hoses available in the market. And honestly, while most of them are really good, this model just takes the top position.
This is further proven by the fact that this model enjoys the highest rating among them on amazon and has people praising it for its quality as well as functionality.
The main features of this model are as follows:
- The main features of the SWAN Products GIDS-2496287 Elemtn Sprinkler Soaker hose are hard to be covered in some points or arranged in order. However ,one of the first things that you might want to mention about it is its quality. It boasts of a super quality, which actually helps it pay for itself in the long run.
- Again, this model also boasts of proper fitting, which ensures that you can use this model without running into problems every once in a while- we understand how annoying those are!
- From a financial perspective, this model is pretty reasonably priced. While it isn’t exactly the most affordable choice out there, it’s still pretty affordable. So, it’s one of the models that almost everyone can easily go for.
Osmile Professional Series Soaker Hose
Finally, let us conclude today’s article with a comparatively premium model, that is still a bit lesser known than some of the other models on this list.
The Osmile Professional Series Soaker hose is a great choice if you’re looking for a model that boasts of a great look, a pretty high level of functionality and really high durability at the same time.
We can describe its features as thus:
- To begin with, the Osmile Professional Series Soaker Hose is actually a great choice for almost everyone to go for because of how beautiful it looks. If you’re a lover of aestheticism like me, this might make you go for this model by itself!
- The water distribution is even across the hose. This means that the same amount of water will be coming out of each part of the hose. This is actually a really good thing because it would ensure that none of the parts of your lawn are overwatered or underwatered.
- Finally, this model actually boasts of a really high level of durability. With the use of high quality material, this actually seems like a plausible claim. You must keep in mind that paying a little extra for more durable models is actually alright, because they pay for themselves in the long run- in fact, they might even pay you more if you’re lucky!
How to Choose the Right Soaker-Hose for Your Garden
Choosing the right model might seem like a really hard job at first, but that’s not true at all! In fact, it becomes significantly easier once you’ve actually found out what you need to keep in mind. There are some key points, which when kept in mind make the process a lot simpler!
What are these points, you ask? Well that varies from person to person, since each person has different specific needs. All you have to do is find out what your specific needs are, and you’re good to go! You can easily find out the best model for you once you figure this out. Once you know what you are looking for, you can judge every model accordingly and choose the one that is the best for you!
One thing you must keep in your mind is that all models are not the best choice for you. In fact, even the bestselling or the most/least expensive models might not be the best for you. The best model for you is the model that serves all your needs at the price that seems the most reasonable to you!
As long as you keep this simple rule in mind, it’s really simple to find the right model for you. So, remember the main thing: know what you are looking for!
Turf Mechanic is here to serve you all the time!
Finally, we have reached the end of today’s article. We really hope that you could learn at least something new from this article. Hopefully, you would be able to implement these ideas in real and actually make your lawn even more beautiful!
We thank you from the core of our heart to take your time to read this article till the very end. We understand, however, that you might still have a few questions for us. Please know that Turf Mechanic is always here and is always prepared to serve you. So, if you have anything which you think we might be able to assist you with, please do not hesitate in reaching out to us! We look forward to hearing from you!
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