Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Watering the garden is often a much-discussed topic. Garden watering should not only be easy and convenient, but also environmentally friendly, water- and therefore cost-saving. Watering cans and garden hoses are not always the best solutions. An alternative form of irrigation is bead, drip or spray hose. But here, too, it is important to weigh the pros and cons.
Perl hose, drip hose and spray hose
Since the names of these irrigation systems sound very similar, the question arises whether there is a difference between these hoses. This is not as easy to answer as it first seems, since the differences, as is so often the case, lie in the details.
Perl hose and drip hose
A pearl hose waters the garden, like the drip hose, with small drops of water that are released continuously. The difference, if at all, is that with the drip hose the water drops are released individually, at greater intervals, and with the pearl hose several drops are released at once, if you will, i.e. not individually. The pearl hose looks almost like a dilapidated garden hose. This is due to the fact that the pearl tube has many small "pores" from which the water escapes. So it drips much finer than the drip hose. Since it is somewhat difficult to distinguish between individual drops and multiple drops, these two forms of irrigation are commercially available for more or less identical products. Since some manufacturers do not make this distinction at all, the terms are often used synonymously.
pearl tube
Advantages and disadvantages
The biggest advantage of this form of irrigation is that the water can be applied in small portions and continuously. And this is good for the plants, because they can absorb small doses better than a gush of water from the watering can. The advantages at a glance:
- Young plants do not break off as they would under a hard jet of water
- saves water as continuous watering keeps the soil evenly moist and soil cannot dry out
- Water does not drain into deep layers of the earth first, especially in dry soils
With a drip or bead hose, up to 70 percent of irrigation water can be saved if the hose is laid correctly and "watered" at the right times.
Laying and pouring times
However, the advantages mentioned for plants and your wallet can only be achieved if you water at the right time, i.e. keep water evaporation as low as possible. Therefore, you should only turn on the tap when the sun is not shining or the temperatures, especially in summer, have not yet reached their peak during the day. This is the case at dusk and dawn when the ground is still cold. If the floor has already warmed up, you have to expect that some of the water on the warm floor will evaporate, which in turn leads to increased water consumption.
tip: You can set the appropriate times with a timer.
The second point that is essential to reaping the benefits of a beaded hose is the correct routing of the hose. A distinction must be made between laying above and below ground, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
Above ground laying
Laying the hoses above ground is primarily a visual issue, because many hobby gardeners simply don't find the laid hoses very pretty. You can remedy this by placing the drip hose under a mulch layer embarrassed. If dark, i.e. brown to black hoses are used for the garden bed, they almost completely disappear from view. In the garden bed, the hoses "disappear" when the plants have reached a certain size, i.e. they cover the hose.
tip: Green hoses have the same effect on green spaces.
Underground laying
If the drip hose is laid underground, then logically you cannot see it. However, this visual advantage can also hide a major disadvantage, namely the clogging of the hose. That's why you should use a pearl tube
- Floors with a very fine structure
- calcareous soils
do not lay it underground, because lime and fine soil clog the drip hose and to clean it you have to dig it out of the 10 to 40 centimeter deep furrow.
spray hose
With the spray hose, there is a greater difference to the drip or bead hose. On the one hand, it is offered by many manufacturers under the generic term "lawn sprinkler" or "lawn sprinkler", on the other hand the water is also released in other forms. It is sprayed several centimeters into the air from the openings in the hose, while the water is released directly into the ground with the drip and pearl hose.
Advantages and disadvantages
A spray leek is particularly suitable for lawns and low plantings. But they can also be used for larger perennials or shrubs. The use of a spray hose is not recommended for large-leaved plants, as the sprayed droplets can leave limescale on the leaves. Also will spray hoses above ground laid, which can lead to optical impairments in the garden.
The advantages of a spray hose are particularly evident in places in the garden that are difficult to access. In this way, these plants are also supplied with sufficient water. They are also a valuable water dispenser for rock gardens or borders. For the lawn, a “spray unit” should last at least half an hour. As with bead and drip hose, you should only turn on the tap in the morning or evening hours, otherwise too much water will evaporate or vaporize.
