Where your time is spent....

[IAfarmer]

It's the chopping and freezing that is the worst part. If I could properly cure them, the only chopping would be when the are needed!

Soaker hose reduces the chance of disease, and puts the water where it is needed, at the root zone. It uses much less water than a sprinkler system. You would be surprised how much water in a sprinkler system never hits the ground due to evaporation.

If you are using a well, no big deal, but if you are paying for the water from a city, then, soaker is the way to go.

Rarely do I water, however. I use water during emergence or transplanting, then hold off, unless we have a real dry spell. Let the roots go deep and find their own water first. Then, use water during key times, like flower set, fruit set, pollination, etc. Just don't over do it, or you can get too much leafy growth and not enough fruiting.

[Vince_o]

Im on a well, and have left the soakers hoses on for as long as over night half way threw the next day before I remembered! Never ran out of water but its been low a few times. I have city water to back me up.

I like the soakers cause you wather the roots. The more water you give them the deeper the roots go, the better the plat dose. I t r y not to wast water, but I do. On the hot days in the summer with the soakers buried in the ground with about 4 inches of dirt on them, the plants really like it. All the produce farmers do rased bed covered in plastis with a pipe running threw the bed. I do what they do. When I see the south of the boarder help planting I plant. 99% of the time they are right.