Simplify Garden Maintenance With A Clever DIY Soaker Hose

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If you're curious about how to water your plants hands-free, look no further than the soaker hose. The store-bought hoses are made of a porous material, which allows water to "leak" slowly out of the length of the hose. While this may seem counterproductive for a hose at first, this one is designed to sit in your garden, delivering low-pressure hydration right to the soil without any elbow grease from you. But there's no need to head to the store for this labor-decreasing upgrade. If you have a damaged hose on hand you were thinking about tossing, then you can create your own DIY soaker hose with just a few steps.

To recreate this handy soaker hose yourself, all you need is an old garden hose, a drill with a smaller bit, and cable ties. If you don't have these supplies on hand, don't worry, there are some easy swaps you can make too, such as opting for a hammer and nail over a drill or using a hose cap or nozzle that can turn off, instead of cable ties.

Before diving into this eco-savvy DIY that repurposes a hose otherwise destined for the trash, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, not all hoses are safe for food gardens due to BPA plastics. Second, soaker hoses aren't as precise as some other methods of watering, since it creates dry spaces between holes, or may spray up or back, depending on how the hose is laying. It's important to monitor your plant's hydration even with a soaker hose to avoid common gardening mistakes like overwatering or underwatering.

First, cap off the end of your hose, so water doesn't spray out. Soaker hoses have built-in caps. With this DIY, you can use cable ties to fold and secure the end of the hose, especially if the couplings are missing. Or buy an end cap that screws on to your hose, like the Sanpaint brass spigot garden hose endcaps.

When it comes to the holes, there are two routes: First, if you're using your hose in a variety of garden layouts, then you may opt to drill small holes (a 1¹⁄₁₆-inch bit is great) at even intervals along the length of the hose. This allows you to switch up where and how your hose lays. If you favor a consistent layout in your garden each year, consider laying your hose out first, then drilingl small holes where your plants are. This is particularly useful for specifically placed plants like seedlings, bulbs, or tomato plants. Try and drill only through one side of the hose, rather than all the way through, and leave plenty of space between holes. This protects the structural integrity of your hose and better targets the water.

Now turn on the hose. Rather than opting for an open spigot with high water pressure, aim for a lower water pressure for gentle watering. This DIY soaker hose is just one example of ways to repurpose an old hose in your yard. If your hose is a bit too broken for this project, you can also use a broken hose to make a stunning DIY plant trellis. If you have multiple damaged hoses, you can create a DIY hose wattle for easy garden edging.