The Best Soaker Hose For A Healthier Garden

#1. Gilmour 870751-1001 Soaker Hose - Best for Design

The Gilmour 870751-1001 soaker hose is a worth-considering product because of its flexibility and high watering efficiency.

Its unique construction allows water to weep through tiny pores on the hose. Thus, it will provide you with higher watering performance without wasting due to evaporation.

The most remarkable feature of this product is its flexibility. It can be buried underground or placed above the ground, snaking through bushes, flowers, and vegetables. Hence, you have the flat soaker with watering directly to the bed of your plants no matter which terrain.

If you are familiar with Gilmour, they are a brand of sustainability and environmental excellence. This soaker horse from Gilmour continues to satisfy green users with environmentally-friendly vinyl material.

Besides, it is covered with fabric to protect the hose from harmful UV rays. Not only to enhance the lifespan of the hose, but the fabric also acts as a filter to prevent clogs for the consistent water flowing.

So, if you are looking for an environmentally-friendly soaker hose, this Gilmour 870751-1001 is the one you should consider.

#2. Melnor 86050-12 Soaker Garden Hose - Best Lightweight

This Melnor stands out in the market and makes it up to our list today because of the compact and lightweight design. It is a porous hose with the flatten design and can be rolled up. The 50 feet version of Melnor 86050-12 hose only takes up about 0.05 ft³ in your garage.

In terms of durability, this porous hose with a nylon fabric coat can withstand month by month without the need for maintenance. You can place them in your garden to water plants season after season and only need to detach the hose in the cold season.

This Melnor porous hose is suitable for vegetables and seedlings since it provides soft and gentle watering and minimizes waste.

Moreover, we praise this product as it is such a breeze to install. The built-in end cap makes the hose compatible with several types of hose connection.

#3. Teknor Apex 1030-100 Soil Soaking Hose - Best for Length

If you own a large garden with several types of bushes, flowers, and vegetables, finding a long enough soaking hose might be a complicated problem. With the maximum length of 100 feet, this Teknor Apex soil soaking hose is a worth considering product for you.

It comes with four options of length from 25 to 100 feet that meet all watering demands. Besides, it is incredibly lightweight that you can carry and place it around without putting any pressure on the root zone of plants.

This Teknor Apex soaking hose features weeping pores that allow soaking directly to roots and enhances the watering performance.

Also, the weeping water mechanism can save water up to 30%. Thus, it is ideal for deep root water penetration and commercial water conservation applications. 

#4. Swan GIDS-2496287 Sprinkler Soaker Hose - Best for Versatility

Next on our list is an old-fashioned sprinkler and soaker hose from Swan Products. With two different sizes of hose, it offers the best versatility with sprinkler and soaker watering mechanism.

When you place the stripes side up, the Swan hose can spray water up 1 or 2 inches from the ground. And if you want to deeply water the garden bed, stripes side down with soaking mode is ideal for you.

The most remarkable feature of this hose is its incredible durability. It is constructed of thick and robust plastic that can withstand extended use. However, the quality material makes this hose quite stiff to make corners around bushes.

Another advantage of plastic is the fact that it's lightweight. You can carry it around and assemble it at anywhere you want. Besides, the thick material also makes the hose less likely to twist and kink.

We recommend you to attach this Swan hose to the ground with some U-shape spikes. They will keep the hose stay on the right side and also make it easier to bend and create corners.

#5. Rocky Mountain Soaker Hose - Best for Water Saving

If you are looking for a soaker hose for your home-use water conservation application, this Rocky Mountain soaker hose is an excellent choice.

Water seeps through pores along the hose’s length and exposes directly to the root zone of plants without evaporation. Thus, this soaker hose can conserve up to 70% compared to manual watering.

We praise this product as one of the most durable soak hoses on the market. It is constructed of a double-layered PVC liner that can take the beating of harsh weather. The covered fabric also provides extra strength and acts as a filter for constant water flow.

The Rocky Mountain soaker hose comes with three options of length. 25, 50, 75 feet that are suitable for all ranges of the garden. Moreover, it is lightweight and easy to reach corners. Thus, you can provide even the most tricky corner of the garden with enough water.

#6. Apex 1030-50 Soil Soaker Hose - Best for Price

Last on our list today is the 50-feet version of Apex soaker hose at a reasonable price. As this product is shorter than the Teknor Apex soaker hose we have mentioned above, it offers a smaller cost but the same efficiency and features.

Its flat design provides users with ease of placement and transportation. It is also lightweight and does not put any pressure on the root zone. When it is not in use, you can also roll it up and store it in your garage.

Moreover, the vinyl construction offers more flexibility as it can bend and reach corners without any hassles. The brass coupling provides you with a secure connection and prevents water from leaking from the attachment.

The Apex soaker hose is suitable for soaking around plants, deep root water penetration, and mostly used in water conservation applications.

1. Use them for Garden Beds

The first thing you need to remember when using soaker hoses is that these are primarily designed for watering garden beds.

If you want to water your lawn, what you need is a sprinkler. If you’re going to water the plants on a steep slope, you need to have a drip irrigation system.

2. Proper Connection

It's also important for you to properly connect the water source to the timer.

This is very important because this is where the amount of water supplied to your plants depends on.

It's best if you use a pressure regulator to ensure that the water pressure won't go beyond ten psi.

3. The Right Size

It doesn’t mean that the longer the hose, the better it is.

That’s not the way things work when you’re using soaker hoses. This is because these hoses merely soak the soil. They don’t directly dampen or wet your plants.

They supply water to the plants by soaking the soil and letting the roots absorb the water and the nutrients.

4. The Importance of Level Ground

These soaker hoses are designed for use on flat grounds or surfaces.

These don’t do well if you’re going to use it on slopes or steep inclines because the water would just accumulate in one place due to the pull of gravity.