Watering system extension

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The watering system seems it can only extend so far before it becomes ineffective. Since my hand strength is too low to completely seal every joint, I have to let the faucet open only up to about 30% capacity. So, I recruited the faucet on the other side of the house to water the pear tree and the berries.

But first — a few extensions to the “primary” watering system, and some troubleshooting.

I redirected a leak to water the apricot tree. I tried swapping out a new end piece but that only lessened the leak. Next year when my hand strength is back up I’ll put the seal on fully. In the meanwhile, two spare pieces of wood redirect the leak. That solves the problem of how to automatically water the apricot.

Hey Fig. Enjoy some water.

First add-on: The fig has been waiting patiently for some hydration.

I put mulch (not pictured) over the hose to preserve moisture. Let’s see if the fig is inclined to grow now. What’s nice is this is not a complete 25-foot length of soaker, but a remnant.

Revelation: I can cut up soaker hose and use it where I like.

Turns out the hose repair pieces that I use on garden hose to add a male or female connector can also be used on the soaker hose. I’ve been buying Scott’s “Miracle Gro” soaker hose (not to plug their brand but to be specific about what exactly I’m using), and the soaker hose fits perfect inside the connectors.

So now for each bed that I want to water, I don’t actually have to buy individual 25-foot lengths of soaker hose. I can just cut one to size for multiple sections, and cap them off.

Second watering system: For Fruits Only

This green hose works much better with the hose repair kits than the yellow hose. The green hose also fits over the soaker hose much better than the yellow. If only I had discovered sooner. At least the pear and the defensively planted marigolds will finally get a good watering. They are the first stop from the second outdoor faucet, which has stronger pressure than the first faucet.

Green brings water directly from the source; yellow passes it on.
First split from the yellow hose: one exit waters the citronella, the second exit feeds a second split, with one exit pushing water to the berries and the other exit pushing the water downhill for future beds.

I also scored a water meter at the hardware store. Just from a few minutes of use, the primary watering system uses a lot of water. In the future I want rain catchment systems to cut down on costs and reliance on public water systems.

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Watering system extension by mehron is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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