now this i have to try! i carry 2 watering cans and make several trips back/forth to fill up my cans & also hate taking my hose down & reeling it back up... was looking to make my own watering tank on wheels... thx for info!

i did not grok this at first; i thought the container was a water receptacle, to be continuously filled w/water, and that didn't make sense because it would be so heavy to carry aroound ....
but then i remembered that it was a very smart cookie who was the OP, so i looked awhile at the photo and finally GOT it!!that the container is for the coiled up hose. But summer, what keeps it from dragging along behind you as you extract the hoze nozzle further?
best,
mindy

Here is a link that might be useful: photo of said watering gadget!

grok...???? ;)

Cool product. Thanks for the photo, Mindy - that helped me visualize it. This looks pretty helpful for someone who has a patio full of potted plants... or a pot ghetto, lol.

:)
Dee

Smart cookie--I like that!

The hose does drag behind you as you pull it around, but because it's much thinner and lighter than a normal hose it's not too cumbersome. There's also a lock mechanism so that if you prefer you can pull it all the way out, lock it so it won't retract, and then walk around with it. Like any hose it can get caught on things--I seem to regularly catch it between arm and body of a chaise lounge, for instance--but it's not too bad.

For planters in the front of my house I keep one of those inexpensive coil hoses in the garage, but that darn thing keeps kinking and shutting off the water as I drag it around cars.

One thing I've done that helps is put those quick-release connectors on all the hoses and wands and sprinklers so that it's easy to change them out. Fortunately the brands I've tried seem to work with each other.

One of these days if I hit the lottery I might install an in-ground watering system.

smart cookie?,
i'm not asking if the HOSE drags; i'm asking if the hose HOLDER,i.e. 'watering can', drags along behind you!!...
not ?

and plse tell us about these 'quick release' connectors.
best,
mindy
p.s. kinking hoses are my HATEST!!!! thing in the garden.Would some ambitious capitalist-in-the-making puhleese go out and manufacture a BLACK non kinkable hose!!

You carry the watering can like any other, with the hose trailing behind like a tail. The handle on the can is a squeeze lever (which also has a locking button for continuous flow).

The quick release connectors have been around for years. I have some old ones by Gardena, in orange and white, and recently bought another brand at Home Depot that seem to fit well with the Gardena. There are male and female connectors that just click together rather than screwing and unscrewing, so they're easy to change out.

I'm still waiting for a definition of "grok", lol! Is this some kind of local slang...?

The more I think about this little contraption, the more I like it. I detest dragging the hose around the patio. This would still be dragging a hose, but a smaller and thinner and hopefully non-kinking one. And it sure beats refilling the watering can over and over.

:)
Dee

I'm not sure if you just have to be of a certain age, or if you have to be a science fiction fan of a certain age to understand grok.

Claire

I want an automated one - ya know, with 40 tiny hoses and a little drip device in each pot. I think there is such a thing, a "vacation watering system" or something, I just haven't seen one since I started thinking I'd buy it.

Certain age for grok? I'm ancient, not a sci fi fan, and I grok grok. But then again I'm a techie, so maybe that's the difference.

I've seen those automated systems demonstrated on TV but not in person. Look up drip irrigation on amazon or other sites, there's lots of stuff out there.

Gardenweb has an irrigation forum, might be a good place to start researching.

Hmm, I guess I don't grok grok... I'm not a grokker, lol...or maybe now I am a grokker since I guess now I do grok grok.

I never knew we had an irrigation forum! I'll have to check that out!

:)
Dee

Oh my Grok, stop it!

Marie, I don't grok why you are so agitated...??? Okay, okay, I'll stop. Just couldn't resist that last little grok reference. ;)

DTD, I was just thumbing through my Gardener's Supply catalog that came in the mail yesterday, and they have one of those patio watering systems. It's called Deck and Container Watering System. Well, gee, let me just find a link for you...

:)
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: hope this helps!

Dee - System includes ... and nine sprinkler heads. for $59.95 NINE? We would need to be bajillionaires to buy enough for either of our pot ghettos! If I don't water them at all, there will be less to water. (insert evil laugh here)
: D

Oh goodness, Deb, I wasn't thinking of this for my pot ghetto, lol! I probably won't even get around to something like this for my patio plants!

Actually, I'm rather proud of myself that my pot ghetto is finally shrinking. I've been very restrained the last few years (more or less) and I've actually *planted* some of those plants - can you believe that, lol? What a concept!
And then last week I went through and weeded out all the dead ones (yes, I admit it - it was due to my neglect, and I can't even blame the heat wave because this was before it started!).

I haven't counted, but I'd say I'm down to 100 pots! Whoo-hoo!

:)
Dee

OK... but it looks like an aardvark.