How to Love Your Garden Hose

Most gardeners have a decidedly rocky relationship with one of the most important partners in their gardening efforts – their garden hose Anyone who keeps a healthy garden has nearly daily use for a garden hose watering plants and keeping the lawn looking fresh and green. For many of them, using their hose means wrestling with an intractable and unwieldy garden hose that insists on fighting them every step of the way. It kinks and twists, constricts their water, splits at inconvenient places and drips or leaks at the tap. You can avoid all of these problems and start to love your garden hose if you follow these tips to buy the right hose for your needs and care for it properly.

Pick the Right Hose for Your Needs

Do you really need a 50-foot one inch water hose for your garden? For most casual gardeners – people who have a small vegetable or herb garden in their backyard – a 25-foot ½ inch garden hose or ¾ inch garden hose are more than sufficient for their needs. If 25 feet isn’t long enough to reach most of your garden, consider a 50-foot garden hose but keep in mind that the longer your hose is, the more difficult it will be to handle. If you only need the additional length occasionally, consider buying two 25-foot garden hoses and coupling them when you need to get water beyond its reach.

Specialty Garden Hose Types

If you have a special watering need, chances are there’s a specialty garden hose to meet that need. Among the most popular specialty hoses is the drinking safe garden hose Most common hoses are lined with a plastic that may leach lead and other toxic substances into water that stands in it for any length of time. Drinking safe garden hoses are made of a non-toxic material. If your children – or you – drink from the garden hose on hot days, or if you use the garden hose to fill drinking containers, you’ll want to use a drinking safe garden hose that is safe to drink from.

A coil garden hose is designed for use in small and confined spaces like your patio. When you’re not using a coil hose, it curls into a tight spiral like a spring, making it much easier – and more attractive – to store and use.

Store Your Garden Hose Properly

A garden hose reel is one of the best ways to store your garden hose It keeps the hose off the ground where it can rot or be damaged by lawn mowers and garden tools. Rolling your hose up on a reel also drains the water from it, which helps lengthen its useful life by preventing bacteria and mold growth inside the hose.

If you’re in a rocky relationship with the wrong garden hose it’s time to go shopping and find a hose that will make your life easier.