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Re: Filtering & Soaker Hoses

I think soaker hoses are probably great in areas with lots of rainfall and
plenty of inexpensive, pure irrigation water.  But during our spring
growing season from mid March to mid June, which is also out driest season,
the total average rainfall during the 3 month period is  0.47 inches which
isn't much better than no rain at all.  Most of our water comes from the
Salt River and it picks up lots of minerals on the way down.  The people at
Aquapore, located next door in Tolleson AZ, have made a lot of improvements
in filtering, pressure equalization and in the composition of the hose
material.  Everything works fine for the first year or so while the soakers
are still new.

The biggest advantage of drip tapes over soakers for desert gardeners is
knowing exactly how much water is being applied because the rate in
gallons/foot/hour is known based on the tape being used.  The daily
newspaper publishes information on daily water requirements for Bermuda
lawns based on measured evapotranspiration rates.  I'm not aware of any
published info on water uptake or ET rates for specific vegetables but I've
found the lawn criteria works pretty well for most.  Using soakers almost
always results in applying more water than the plants really need - not
that it hurts the plant - just wastes water.

I used to make up my own drip lines by installing flag emitters
equally-spaced along 1/2-inch drip line.  Worked pretty well but the
emitters also tended to become plugged but were easy to clean.  Newer
emitter types are pressure-compensated and self-cleaning and can be run at
supply pressure but are also more expensive.  The slotted emitter ports in
my drip tapes haven't become plugged yet but I'm sure it's possible. 
 
Re use of Lime Away.  Some people think it works real well but my
experience was unspectacular.  I soaked the hoses in a plastic tub.  I
think one would need to use a compressor to run the solution through under
pressure to clean out the pores..

Olin

> From Meconella@aol.com
> To: veggie-list@eskimo.com
> Subject: Re: Filtering & Soaker Hoses
> Date: Tuesday, June 09, 1998 10:08 PM
> 
> I've been using soakers for many years.  My oldest hose must be close to
10
> years old now.  It still works and has never been cleaned in any way.  It
> doesnt drip as much as the newer hoses,  but it never did.  When I first
got
> it the recommendation was to leave it on 8 hours.  Indeed.  I think the
newer
> ones flow much faster than those first ones ever did.  And perhaps in the
> desert you may have water with a higher mineral content,  and greater
> evaporation leaving even more residue behind.   
> 
> I havent had noticeable trouble with unequal water distribution.  I snake
my
> hoses around in my beds and they are fairly close together,  about 8 to
10
> inches apart,  so maybe I just havent noticed it.  I will watch the next
time
> I water.
> 
> When you used LimeAway,  did you have success clearing the hoses?  If so,
 how
> did you do it?   Did you fill the hoses or coil them into large container
with
> the acid solution?  I would use dilute muriatic acid -- pool acid.  It is
only
> about $1, 50 per gallon,  and if I recall is really HCl.   One would have
to
> be careful to keep the metal ends away from the acid solution.  Oh well, 
at
> this rate, it's still  years before I will have to clean them.  I hope.
> 
> Janet.
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