If you have ever shopped around for garden hoses, you’ve probably noticed that they come in all sorts of price ranges and widths. Since I’m watering from a well, the thinner hoses work best for me ~ but in terms of quality, I buy the best garden hose money can buy. These more expensive hoses last five times as long, are less prone to kinking, and less inclined to develop a leak. More importantly, buying a quality hose means that less waste ends up in the landfill.
Since the best use for a hose is to keep using it as a hose, don’t let a little leak stop you from using it to irrigate with. Garden hoses can be usually always be mended using a simple repair kit which is available at all hardware and home improvement stores. If the leak is somewhere near one end or another, you can just chop off the broken section and put on a new nozzle or ring. There are also kits that will repair holes in the center of the hose. This is done by cutting out the damaged section of hose, and then reattaching the two pieces using connectors. Mending your existing hose in this way saves money and keeps good materials out of the landfill. If the garden hose has multiple kinks or leaks, there are all sorts of other ways that an old hose can also be put to good use.
Soaker hoses
Try using those old hoses to create soaker hoses for rose and shrub hedges, and even your vegetable garden. These hoses don’t have the flexibility to bend around like a true soaker, but work quite well for areas where there aren’t a lot of twists and turns. To a make a soaker hose, stake the hose into position, and then use an ice pick to pierce holes in areas where slow drip watering will do the most good. Close off the end of your hose with a cap, which can be purchased from an garden center for about 99�.
Siphons
Hoses of course, are wonderful to use as siphons. Short lengths can be used to empty aquarium tanks, cattle troughs, or gas tanks. A handful of 10 foot lengths can be placed in a kid’s pool to speed up the draining time.
Supporting tree branches and trunks
Shaping the branches on a fruit tree? Tying wire or cord directly to the branches can damage the bark. For a safer solution, create a padded collar out of a 2 foot section of hose. Thread the wire through the collar, adjust the collar so it wraps around the branch, and then stake the wire into the ground.
Bumper guards
Sliced open, a hose can also be used as bumper guards. They fit neatly around metal rails and braces, cattle stanchions, and metal fence posts. We even used them around the rim of our Radio Flyer wagon when the kids were small.
