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DIY Soaker House Irrigation System | For Raised Bed Gardens
Guys! Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but it just turned spring here, like yesterday, and I haven’t been able to do anything except stare at small green things that are growing in my yard. It makes for very boring blog talk. However, I have been up to a few little projects that you guys might be interested in, like creating a new irrigation system for ma raised bed gardens, installing landscape lighting in my backyard, and watching some very hard working dudes build me new front steps. Patience grasshoppers.

It has taken me everything in my being to come inside and write this post, but you are my internet bros, and I won’t leave you hanging.

So, today I’m talking about how I’m really bad at watering my veggie gardens. In the past, I have been known to either forget to water my gardens (’cause it’s just such a pain to hook up the hose and turn the tap on), OR I’ll turn the water on and forget to turn it off, for like, days. Sorry environment.

My focus for this garden season is to get a handle on watering and general give a shitness. After I sow my seeds, I kind of just let it go, and forget to weed and water. I have decided to go back to good old straight rows, instead of the square foot method (which I had been using previously). For one, I am a crazy person and I much prefer the order of rows, secondly and most importantly is that I can water the garden much more effectively if I have it planted in rows, and thirdly I hope to become a better, more efficient weeder. In the past I would just throw a soaker hose in the garden snaking it back and forth and keeping my fingers crossed that it would water a decent amount of the plants. It didn’t. With this new watering setup, I will ensure that all my plants are getting watered at the roots, and the timer will ensure that I don’t leave the hose running for days and days. Win.

DIY Soaker House Irrigation System | For Raised Bed Gardens

DIY Soaker House Irrigation System | For Raised Bed Gardens
There are three main parts to the system; a soaker hose, a traditional garden hose, and couplers. Basically, use a scissors to snip the hose to yer desired length, this makes it super customizable, bros! There also all sorts of accessories and parts that go with it so that you can make it into whatever cool shape or design you like – you can even add a drip system if you have big plants like tomatoes to water. I do not have plants like this, so the soaker hose seemed pretty tryll for what I was going for. I buried part of my hose under the pathway between the garden bed and the spigot, this means I don’t have to unhook the hose every time I needed to mow the lawn. Also, I added a splitter to the tap so that I could have a dedicated spigot for the veg gardens, and another for everyday watering. ALSO, there is a timer, and that is essentsch for my situation. All I have to do is turn it on for half an hour in the morning when I go on my daily garden inspection. Just like Ron Popeil use to say, “set it, and forget it, budz”. So now we wait and see if it this plan really works, if I am a gardening genius, or if let myself down and still forget to water and weed. Only time will tell.

PS I’m sure I forgot to mention a bunch of stuff, but I’m just so antsy to get back in the garden. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try and answer them. Also, I hope you guys have a great weekend.

PPS, I found this system over at one of my favorite gardening sites, Garden Supply Company – what other sites are cool to look at if you love looking at gardening stuff??

DIY Soaker House Irrigation System | For Raised Bed Gardens DIY Soaker House Irrigation System | For Raised Bed Gardens DIY Soaker House Irrigation System | For Raised Bed Gardens
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  • Rachel April 15, 2016

    I put together a similar setup for my raised beds last year, and it helps so much! Although the big thing for me is that the timer I got (from the Dig line at Home Depot, I think), allows you to schedule watering. If you need to replace your timer, I highly recommend a programmable one. During our last very hot summer I had mine programmed to go on for 30 minutes early in the morning,and 30 minutes in the evening. So if you find yourself still forgetting to water, that method is foolproof. And it’s brilliant for when you go on vacation, but your plants still need watering.

    • Scoops April 20, 2016

      Hey Rachael! I saw some of those programmable timers, and that is something I would like to invest in next year. This one ran me 25 bucks and it’s more expensive counterpart was nearly twice as much. I just looked up your Dig timer, and it looks like it is only slightly more than what I paid. I should’ve done more internet shopping!

  • Vanessa April 15, 2016

    Luckily for me I adore watering, it just seems to go with summer and I wouldn’t want to give that part up to a system, but I know that everyone likes different things and I do see soaker-hoses recommended all the time. I’d love it if you’d review it at the end of the year and let us know how it works for you. We tend to sell a house and move every few years, and I have just been thinking that I’d like a long term garden for a change.

    • Scoops April 20, 2016

      Hey Vanessa! I am with you, I guess I wasn’t clear. I love watering my perennial gardens, it’s like my favorite. The hard part for me was my veggie beds, because I needed to water them with a soaker hose I had to take the nozzle off the hose and then reattach the soaker. I just wasn’t good at keeping up with it, and I think this will give me the best of both worlds. I will for sure let you guys know what I think of the system. I’ve got my fingers crossed ;)

  • Karen April 17, 2016

    Your yard is my inspiration! I just put in my raised beds this weekend. Love the soaker system and will be implementing that soon. What are the white trellis-looking things in the background? Tomato cages? Also, it appears you have a path around your beds. How do you keep the weeds out? Thanks.

    • Scoops April 20, 2016

      Hey Karen! Woohoo, I am excited for your raised beds! Are they brand new, or did you just plant them for the season? The things in the background are tomato cages that I opened up and placed in a chevron pattern. I grow my peas on them, it’s worked in the past

  • Bridget April 20, 2016

    In my patio garden I used to use dripworks (plus a timer from amazon) to keep my watering on track. This looks great as well, I’m jealous of your beautiful setup.

    • Scoops April 20, 2016

      Have you had better success with the dripworks than if you would have watered by hand? Do you use it on root veggies or just tomatoes and peppers?

      • Bridget April 21, 2016

        I had 88 raised beds to water in an eighth floor penthouse, so watering by hand wasn’t really an option. We had the timer set to go off twice during the night for three minutes each time, just enough to keep the soil wet and avoid excess water drainage, which was a slip hazard. Evaporation from wind was our biggest problem, which was why I had only herbs, and mostly Mediterranean ones at that to tolerate the somewhat harsh conditions.

  • thelady April 20, 2016

    I would like to know more about your plant supports. What are the tomato cages? and bamboo for? What is holding the bamboo together?

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