Question
we are going crazy trying to get the water pressure of the sprinkler system to allow EVEN watering of our lawn.  new to neighborhood living, we're about to give up...so many spots drying up...
SO, we're thinking of doing it by soaker hose... zig-zagging it around an area & then moving it to the next area.
how many gallons does a 50' soaker put down per 1/2 hour (or hour)?(we pay per 1000 gallons)
any ideas how long to soak an area for?
thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Elizabeth;
I use soaker hoses.
I think sprinkler systems were the WORST invention ever!!!
Sometimes i lay my soaker hoses out in a zig zag pattern, and sometimes i lay it in a straight line, and move it over when it has spread about 4 ft. on each side of the hose.
Sprinklers waste water. too much of the water evaporates in the air, does your lawn no good, but runns up your water bill.
With soaker hoses, you get ALL the water you pay for, and you get it where you want it, even if there is a 4 mph wind.
I turn the water on, until it starts to run off the lawn, then turn it off for an hour or so and let that soak in, then turn it on again, and so on, until the soil is wetted at least 6 inces down, to encourage a deep root system.
Deep root systems give some protection from heat, cold, or drought conditions, and prevents a thatch buildup.
Until the temp gets well up into the hundred+ rnge, I water once a week.
when the heat dres out the top 4 inches of soil ( if we are away from home), the roots are still where theyr is some moisture, so I don't come back to stressed grass.
I have a timer on my faucets, and I first set the timer for 1 hour, with the hose laid out in a straight line, so I could see how far it would spread in that length of time.
It didn't go to the sidewalk, so I went another 3 minutes. I found 1 &12 hours is right for that area, with the hose laid out like that, so that is the way I do the side section, that is long andnarrow.
I have a soaker hose laid out from the south edge of the front porch, along the foundation to the edge, and up the length of that side of the house( where my climbing roses are).
That hose stays there all the time. I just pull the garden hose over there and hook it up to that soaker to do that side of the house.
I have a setup like that on the north side too. Makes it much easier.
I watched and timed, and figured out how long the hose has to stay on for those sides, and the last thing i water is one of those sides.
I set it, go to bed, and the timer shuts it off for me.
I set my timer, and go about whatever I need to do, around the house, or go shopping.
the timer will turn it off so I don't flood the gutters with water I am paying for.
I amy water half the yard one day and half the next. Depends on what else I need to get done, but using the soaker hoses, and the timers, let me waqter my lawn with hardly any effor or time on my part, and I don't have to be there to turn it off nd on.
The part of the lawn that has to be mowed is the only area I take the hoses up from. They are out of the way, and don't create an unsightly mess, right where I need them, so it takes just a few seconds to set up to water that area. Don't have to keep running back to check and see if water is running into the street, and when it has been long enough for it to shut off, the water to soak in, and be turned on again, i go out and set it for the remainder of the time needed to get the right amount of water to that area.
Couldn't be easier.
The only maintenance is replacing a soaker hose when it gets had and cracks, every few years.
We don't have extreme winters here, so they last me 4 to 6 yers before they develope cracks.
Charlotte
I have the same setup on t