Okay, I don’t do product endorsements. Really. But this time I have to.
I have been an organic gardener for close to 25 years and every year, without fail, I struggle with my soaker hoses. They are tangled. I have to pin them to the ground and wrestle the kinks out. While trying to thread them through my garden, the ends whip around and invariably smack me in the face. They are damaged but you can’t see the holes until you lay them out in the garden, pin them to the ground and turn on the water.
I have created the Fountain of Trevi in my own back yard…year after year after year. But NOT this year because I went looking and I have found the world’s best soaker hose thanks to the Internet, Amazon.com and Al Gore.
Manufactured by a company I never heard of (Bosch) in a state I used to fly into almost weekly for business, the Gilmour Flat Weeper Hose is spectacular. It is made of material, not recycled rubber that breaks down in the sun. And, believe it or not, this hose is guaranteed for life. Yep, for life. Gilmour will replace the hose, free of charge, if it does not provide, “…complete satisfaction.”
Here’ are a couple more wonderful features for this hose:
- It comes in 25 foot, 50 foot and 75 foot lengths.
- The individual hoses can be coupled together to create longer hoses. I currently have a 125 foot hose snaking around ALL of the plants in my garden and there are 65 plants spread out in my plot.
- You will NOT have to wrestle with these hoses like you do with those alligators made of recycled rubber. When they are not filled with water and soaking your plants, they flatten and can be rolled up like a piece of yarn on a skein.
- The price is definitely right. Priced by length, the 25 footer is $10.99. The 50 footer is $13.00 and the 75 foot long hose is just over $15.00.
For a one time investment of under $50, I have soaker hoses I will be able to pass on in my will. If you garden, give them a try.
Oh, and check out the Nelson Faucet Adaptor-High Flow, 4 Outlet Manifold. The cut off valves work great and are, for lack of a better word, ergonomic, They fit your hand and are BIG, you can see if they are on or off and you can actually get a grip on them and turn them on or off easily.
Side note: If you’re an organic gardener, join people across the country who belong to Grow Girls Grow Organic on Linked In. Lots of sharing and learning going on and it’s all about gardening, all the time.
Write On Target 
I hate to say so, but this product contains chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects. The label evens warns users to “wash hands after handling”. Seriously. I wish there was a non-toxic, durable soaker hose, but this one isn’t it.
Oh Kate, thank you for your post.
I had no idea! I have had my Gilmour soaker hoses for years and never knew. I just read the back of the packaging on a new, 25 foot soaker hose I bought to replace one that I damaged and you are right. There are, “…one or more chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects…” in this product.
I have contacted the manufacturer and will see what they have to say but, as of now and thanks to you, I am withdrawing my endorsement.
After doing quite a bit of research (it’s surprisingly difficult to find a healthy hose), I finally found a soaker hose that won’t add toxins to soil or plants. It’s made by a company called The Water Right Garden Hose Company. You can learn more about them here: https://www.waterrightinc.com/pages/what-sets-us-apart
Like you, I rarely do endorsements, but I think this one will be worth the extra cost, as it is FDA approved for contact with food. It certainly costs more but, heh, we’re worth it! Mine first one is on order and I’m looking forward to putting it to work in the garden!
Is the hose Bosch or Gilmore? There are two different brands on the market now. Assuming it is Bosch? The retail price is $150.00
These are the flat Gilmore soaker hoses..and last I looked, I think they were just $15 apiece for a 25 footer.
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When you link your hoses together and create one, long 125′ chain, do you still get fairly even distribution throughout the line? I have had issues in the past of some areas flooding while others get hardly any water.
The longest I have made is 100′ and it didn’t leak anywhere. It watered the entire bed.
Got a couple of Hozelock hoses with soaker extensions. Total rubbish. Just a few months and the soaker hoses quit.
I have two small garden plots, each 12′ x 15′. I would love to water my veggie rows with soaker hoses but the shortest I can find is 25′ lengths. You seem like someone that knows about stuff. Is there no one that sells shorter lengths? And yes, I have laboriously cut longer hoses into convenient lengths, but it is, well, laborious! Would love to buy a new hose and lay it into the garden – ta da! Dare I hope? Thank you for any information you can give me in this regard.
I wish I had a fast answer for you but I don’t. The only thing that I do when my bed is shorter than the soaker hose is to wrap the hose inside the bed around and/or between the rows so that the water coverage is even and gets the whole bed. I tend to plant every square inch of my raised beds and my garden beds so I want to make sure all my babies get watered. I will keep looking for short soaker hoses and let you know if I find them! Happy gardening!!
Do these hoses kink? I need 100 feet and the ones I get keep kinking
They’re flat and made of some heavy duty material. They don’t kink but turning corners in a raised bed or garden requires the use of garden staples if you want them to continue to lay flat. They still work even if they are up on their side. I’m on year 3 with mine and have only one where I think I stitch tore and I’ve got a tiny bit of spray. These are the best soaker hoses I have found, to date!
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