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What about a sprinkler hose as yet another option? Our garden has a railroad tie border. The previous homeowner had a sprinkler hose tacked down over the length of the area. He said it was enough to water the garden area (he had it as a flower bed full of day lilies), as well as the back terrace of the lawn. That runs the width of the back of the property and about 25' deep (25x50). We never had a chance to try it out because the dog demolished it as soon as we moved in. That would also leave that much less lawn to worry about watering.
My only concern then would be that I'd probably have to get away from spreading the grass clippings.
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regulr hose
sweat copper if you want a fancy post with a hanger
drip system if you have the patience to figure out what you need and set it up
soaker hose under mulch works fine unless you are on a well pump
a simple mechanical timer is great for soaker/drip - set it for an hour and don't wake up at 2AM knowing you left the water on drowning plants and end up outside feeding the skeeters
I don't have that one but mine are similar - they freeze and break so take it in Fall
a good deep soak with a timer is better than a sip every day
avoid getting vegetable plant leaves wet after noon, preferably not at all
don't go crazy with fertilizer unless you know you need it from testing you don't want 30 foot tall green leaved pretty plants with no veggies
amend soil in the Fall when it is also a good time to plant grass
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h linamen wrote:
[quote=BernDog]
Also, I don't plan on going hog-wild with a heavy-duty hose. Something lightweight would be a plus. I've seen these coiled hoses, and I'm wondering if they're any good
You just have to buy a good one:
https://www.XHOSE.com/pro/?mkwid=smQoYUk...hose|pmt|b|&gclid=COy35Mm80r4CFUWRfgod3UQAug
neighboor has that one, still going strong over a year later.
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rhubarb has a double root system, one shallow, one tremendously deep unless you are living in a drought stricken part of the country it really shouldn't need water. Doesn't do well in terribly sandy soil though.
An inch of rain a week with normal temps/wind/soil conditions usually
How much soak really depends on the composition of your soil / water pressure, flow rate and the only way to know for sure is either stick your fingers/hands in and feel it or dig a narrow trench before and after watering and look to see just how far the water has soaked in. You won't kill anything as long as you don't dig up a plant and leave it out. Find a test spot and play detective.
Shallow rooted vegetables like cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli might need watering twice a week if the surface dries out quick from heat and dry, even with mulch.
Deep rooted veggies like tomatoes, some squash need a good soak, but then don't usually suck it up quick - although tomatoes can use quite a bit of water and do NOT like drying out and then soaking - the tomato skins will split like weak balloons.
Again - dig holes and get a feel for how your soil holds and loses water.
If you have thirsty plants packed together and sandy soil you may need two inches of rain a week.
Dig a hole after a rain or thunderstorm that you got an inch of rain to see what the soil looks/feels like.
color/texture/moisture.
edit: not a big hole, a little narrow trowel should do
it's just dirt, not a $300,000 greenhouse stock investment that you have to calculate an inch of growth/week or whatever unit requirement to meet a target sale date.
