I've never buried them, and honestly they're out all winter. Its not like I'd mind them springing a leak or anything...LOL! Never heard of burying them...interested in hearing anyone's experience with that too! PIM

I haven't buried them either. Leave them out all year long. Go to HD or Lowe's and buy 16" metal rods that are used to hold insulation in the floor joist. Cut in half, curl one end and sharpen other end. Works great and you can get LOTS from one box. Of course, it helps to have a bench grinder.

Mine eventually do get buried under layers of mulch, and eventually they do fail and get replaced. Some of mine are going on ten years, though.

Have used them for years and haven't buried them, although I've seen recomendatios that they are more efficient when buried a few inches. The rationale is: They extrude water through the entire circumference of the hose and some of that moisture exposed to the air, will evaporate. I do pull back the mulch when I lay the hose and then cover it with mulch. They generally last for many years, but occasionally spring a leak. If it's a small one. I usually ignore it, but have repaired some using a small sheet metal screw dipped in gasket cement, then screw it into the hole. Allow to dry for a couple of hours and then turn on the water again.
About 100' is the maximum length per feed, because you should not open the faucet more than one-fourth turn, else the pressure will sometimes rupture the hose. It is made from recycled auto & truck tires and is designed to be porus, therefore does not withstand much pressure.
Where I need several hundred feet in an area, I use splitters to connect several 100' sections to a single hose and adjust the water flow to reach the end of each section.
Each year. I add a few more sections and have more than 1000' in use and haven't even started in the rear beds yet!
I have an overhead system there, but can't use it on windy days, due to high evaporation rate.
The soakers are ideal for getting the moisture where you need it, the omly method that is more efficient is drip, but when you grow 1000's of plants, it is out of the question.
Rb

I live in Texas, and we use soaker hoses a lot. I used to work for Home Depot, and I always told people to bury the soaker hoses. It ensures even watering, that they'll stay in one place, and curb appeal!! By burying the hose, you'll get better watering than if they were sitting on top of the soil. when they're on top of the soil, you have 2 water loss factors: evaporation, and runoff. Yes, even with the slow drip of a soaker hose, you have runoff! Also, with how light the hoses are, they tend to blow around some when the wind hits them, so burying them will eliminate that, and ensure that every time you water, you're watering in the same spot. Lastly, by burying the hose, you can't see it (obviously) so no one else can see it either. Burying the hose provides BEAUTIFUL results that are a result of a practically invisible source!!!

Hi, Wisconsin zone 4 or 5ish here....I leave mine out all winter and they are not buried although I don't try to keep the mulch off as I'm adding it either. Some have been out there for at least 4 years no with no problems.

Be very careful to remember where they are if you bury them. I tried that once and kept damaging them with the shovel when I forgot where exactly they were.

How long and how ofen to you water withe the soaker hose.
I'm growing roses. Thanks, Dee

I have a couple of soaker hoses in use in one of my beds... we bury it with mulch, and we do not leave them out all winter. Also, this year, I found some skinny U-shaped metal holders from either Lowes or HD (can't remember which, we have both here) and they work perfectly to hold the hose right where I want it until I get it covered with mulch. I can't remember if they're specifically meant to hold down hoses, but I asked a store employee for them and he found them inside the store, near the gardening stuff (birdhouses, plant food, etc.) by the door that goes out to the outdoor garden center. Hope this helps...

Buff

Those are gardening staples and frankly, so expensive they should kiss you.

Invest in a pair of good metal snips. Take your old hangers, the ones that multiply in your closet? Snip the two shoulder points off of them and you have garden staples as long as you like.

Dee, that totally depends upon your water pressure, your length of hose, and how much water you want your roses to get.

Remember, that with any circumstance, watering deeping is important. If you don't, particularly if you mulch, where the mulch will soak up a lot of the water? You promote shallow root growth. So plan to really soak the recommended inches down into the soil.

I mulch so heavily that not only do I get very interesting, anerobic fungus, but I leave my 150' hoses on overnight sometimes.

I wouldn't trade in my soakers for anything. Ok, maybe more of certain plants, but I'd really have to think about the dehydration my gardens would definitely suffer! :)

Christine

Sounds like everyone has got the bases covered. I use both a soaker hose 1/2" and 1/4" sizes. I recently added small variable sprinkler heads that attach to a small raising stake. They sit about 12 inches above the gardens and I can adjust the coverage from 2' to 10'. This allows me to cover everything in my garden, including my lawn. My garden is small about 35' by 25'. It is working so well I might try it in the back yard. They are all set on times so that every 3 days the garden is watered for 90 minutes.

Lynne

AT this very moment I'm watering 75 feet in a front bed, 50' in a shade-ish bed, and 150 feet in another sun bed. This is all coming from the same water source, and pressure so far remains good.

I admit, though, that since I mulch so heavily and I really can't check the pressure to time to amount of water? I turn 'em on and 6-8 hours later I change them. But then, it never, EVER rains at my house. and I have witnesses.

Christine

I've had several lengths of 50-ft hose going all of 2010, but at the start of 2011, it seems that some aren't weeping. There's a lot of SC red dirt on them from the rawness of my land so I'm wondering if anyone has some experience with the soakers clogging up after an off-season. I've recently added a third 50-ft length to one branch to cover some additional plantings, and it weeps just fine so pressure along the whole length should be OK, but the first two in line don't weep. Ideas, anyone? tnx/rich

So do you leave the water running all day with soker hose. I am planning to use it for a visitable and flower garden.

please help