Comparison of dropper watering vs. soaker hose in my Denver garden - no contest

I switched from a soaker hose to dropper irrigation for my raised beds last spring after 3 months of wilting tomatoes, and the droppers saved my harvest by actually getting water to the roots instead of just wetting the surface - has anyone else seen a big difference between the two methods?

2 comments

2 Comments

lane.eric1mo ago

Have you looked into how Denver's low humidity affects water evaporation with soaker hoses? I read somewhere that in dry climates, like ours, soaker hoses lose a ton of water to the air before it even sinks into the soil. Droppers just seem to target the roots way better. I mean, I tried soaker hoses a couple years ago and my tomatoes still looked sad, but after switching to droppers, everything perked up. It might just be the difference between watering the surface and actually watering where the plant needs it. The droppers also save water in the long run since you're not wasting it on mulch or leaves.

margaret_williams51mo ago

I gotta push back on that a little, Eric. You said soaker hoses "lose a ton of water to the air" but that hasn't been my experience here in Colorado at all. If you bury them under a few inches of mulch, the evaporation is pretty minimal because the water's going straight into the soil, not floating away. Droppers are great for precise spots but I've found soaker hoses actually soak a wider area around the roots, which helps my plants when it's really dry. Tomatoes looking sad could've been from not running them long enough or the hose being too far from the stems, not the method itself. I switched to soakers last year and my peppers and tomatoes did just fine, even with our low humidity. To each their own, but I think a lot of folks give up on soakers before they figure out the right setup for their garden.