Kevin Welch's Blog

I've never really believed confession is good for the soul in every case. Carrying unspoken guilt can build character. But here we go.

After starting way too many plants from seeds in the chill of winter and buying way more than enough clearance plants at Irwin's wholesale greenhouse blowout clearance, the evenings have been filled with careful, gentle watering of said plants. But time, sun, heat and wind never let me get ahead so that it didn't have to be every day. But running a sprinkler to throw the water to the wind was not an option and the need to not wash them away meant no flooding.

So I finally got the landscape fabric and soaker hoses laid out. You remember, the stuff purchased months ago. Anyway, I happily turned on the water-saving helpers last week and walked away. Know what? They're great for not having to be tended - unless you just forget them.

This won't be the first time I left the water running all night, but they did a great job, so I'm not too disappointed. And at least they were just dripping along instead of spraying. Now the beds are fully soaked and the plants are very happy instead of droopy.

One consequence is the grass around the beds is also very happy since the soaking moved out into the yard in irregular blobs. Mowing in July, can't beat that for fun.

But if you want to do a good watering and get the most out of your water, I love those leaky hoses that just weep the water. But don't forget them. Maybe I need a post-it on my forehead.