Soaker hoses are a gardener’s best friend. Just set them in your flower garden once in spring and don’t move them again until you put them away in fall.

These porous, capped hoses, available from garden centers and hardware stores, lie on the ground and “sweat” when hooked up to water. The water soaks into the soil and nothing is lost to evaporation or overspray. In flower beds use long hoses. For young trees, you can also find soaker rings, like the one below right.

Here are some tips for working with soakers:

● Find a length that works best with your bed. In a flower bed, there’s nowhere to go with extra hose, and hooking too many together may compromise your water pressure.

● Before you put one in the garden, lay it in the sun so it’s flexible.

● Use ground staples to pin the hose in place around tight turns.

● Mulch over your hoses to hide them.

● If your soaker springs a leak, duct tape it — or don’t. This is one time a leaky hose doesn’t matter!

it’s in the mail

Have trouble keeping your garden hose neatly coiled? Try this hose storage tip. Install a mailbox on a post near your outdoor spigot. The mailbox is sturdy enough to hold a lot of hose looped over it.

As a bonus, the mailbox itself can be used to store hose accessories, such as spare gaskets, in case your hose springs a leak, and attachments like nozzles and wands. That way, everything is in one place and handy when you need it. The mailbox and post can be painted to blend into their surroundings or to coordinate with the colors of your house and garden.

overwatering
house plants

Overwatering house plants is just as bad as underwatering them. How do you tell if your plants are overwatered? Start by checking the soil. If the soil feels wet to the touch and you haven’t recently watered it, it may have been overwatered. Smell the soil too. A fermenting or rotting smell might indicate that the roots are decomposing. Examine the roots. Healthy roots will be white or light yellow in color and firm. Damaged, rotting roots will be brown or black and soft.

The top of the plant might not look like it has too much water – in fact, it might be wilted. Wilted foliage is often a sign of too little water, but it can be a sign of too much as well. An overwatered plant that is wilted doesn’t have any living roots. Leaf tips or margins may also turn brown if the plant has been overwatered.

After checking the plant’s roots, you can decide what action needs to be taken. If the roots are reasonably healthy, then you need to allow the roots to dry out before you water again. Don’t allow the soil to dry so much that the plant then wilts. If the roots have begun to rot, then it is best to start over with a new plant. To ensure proper watering in the future, water only when the plant needs more water. Check soil moisture by touching it, using a moisture meter or by checking the weight of the pot. Never leave your plants sitting in water.

garden hoses

When it comes to hoses, it’s hard to tell the difference between them from the outside. An inexpensive, plain vinyl hose will move water, but it might kink easily or even burst under strong pressure. You can see illustrated cross sections of some good ones at left. When you’re buying a new hose, look at the labels for some of the terms here.

A multi-chambered hose (A) allows water to flow through it even if it’s kinked. But it still may not take high water pressure. Choose a belted hose (B), and it’ll remain flexible even when the weather turns cold. Spiraled nylon and knit belts also make the hose strong under pressure. A hose with additional layers of rubber or vinyl (C) is one of the most durable and long-lasting. Even with all of the layers, it’s still easy to coil.

Three other ways to tell the quality of a hose — fittings, weight and price. Solid brass ends are often a good sign of a durable, long-lasting hose. A heavyweight hose indicates several layers of rubber or vinyl belting for strength. And finally, high-quality hoses are more expensive, but you probably won’t need to replace them as often as you would cheap ones.

If you live where it’s hot and dry, you’re probably spending lots of time watering, especially if you have containers. Here are some tips and a tool to help make that task easier and more enjoyable.

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pest watch

Spider mites

Plants stressed from too little water can be in double jeopardy. First, lack of water weakens plants. Second, once they’re not healthy, they’re more susceptible to other problems.

Identification — The dog days of summer are just when the mite population thrives. These tiny brown-gray insects, no bigger than specks of dust, live on plants and suck the sap (and sometimes the life) out of leaves. If you have a plant infested with mites, you may notice yellowing, dropping or a light webbing on the leaves or stems. You may be unsure if a plant is stressed because of lack of water or because of mite infestation. One way to tell is to place a piece of white paper under a damaged stem. Shake the stem and look closely at what falls on the paper. Dust specks that move are probably mites.

Control — Mites thrive on dusty plants, so use a strong stream of water to knock the dust and the mites off plants. Keeping plants well watered has the added benefit of giving them ammunition to fight off devastation. Healthy plants are better able to replenish valuable fluids taken by the mites. If mites seem to have the best of your garden and simply washing them off isn’t working, try spraying weekly with insecticidal soap for three consecutive weeks.