Pearl hose, drip hose – advantages and lay them correctly

A beaded hose pearls and a drip hose drips – yes, thank you, great. But the purely linguistic derivation is not entirely wrong. Pearls typically line up closely together, not just on a chain, and drops drip at more or less great distances. If you apply this definition pattern to an irrigation hose, a beaded hose is an irrigation hose from which water bubbles out side by side at close intervals. A drip hose would then be an irrigation hose from which drops emerge at an unspecified distance (or perhaps even one that can be determined by the user). Which could lead to the assumption that there is a difference between pearl hose and drip hose.

Some manufacturers/providers see it the same way. The bead hose emits water beads that appear almost as one, the drip hose produces drops at greater drip distances, very “Prussian”. Others don’t see it that closely, for them bead tubes and drip tubes are pretty much the same. You simply go by the amount of water applied. And this is pretty much the same for bead tubes and drip tubes or can be regulated within the same range. Which is why some suppliers use the terms synonymously, while others offer an almost identical hose as a drip hose or pearl hose. Pearl hoses/drip hoses are also called sweat hoses if the entire hose is made of a material that “sweats out” the water, so to speak.

Advantages of pearl hoses and drip hoses

In any case, the water in bead hoses/drip hoses is applied in fairly small portions, and this is the greatest advantage of these hoses. But not the only one:

This sustainable form of watering is very good for your plants:

• The drip hose waters like a gentle rain, gently and very evenly
  • is especially good for young plants that tend to break off under a hard jet of water
• Once laid, the pearl hose takes over the watering
  • this eliminates a large part of the gardening work
  • Watering times will never compete with working hours again
• watering hose saves money because water can be picked up from the ground without loss
• uniform moistening prevents dehydration, which also saves water
  • In dry soil, a lot of water flows into deeper layers until the soil above is elastic and receptive again
• With optimal laying and watering at the right times, it is possible to save up to 70% watering water
• Good quality irrigation hoses are not difficult to install
• Pearl hose Installation also possible under the ground or under a layer of mulch, then it disappears optically completely
• Evaporation is then almost completely blocked
• low line pressure benefits dripline where other irrigation systems often fail
• With sprinklers and hand watering with a garden hose, there is always a risk that some plants will not get enough.
• The drip hose can be laid individually and the route can be adjusted

Incidentally, watering with a drip hose does not contradict the frequently read recommendation to water less frequently and sufficiently than frequently and sparingly. In any case, a decisive factor is that the water can be easily absorbed by the plants. Which is exactly the case with the pearl hoses. In contrast to the normal garden hose, spray hose and the various sprinklers, the decisive advantage of the drip hoses is that they discharge the water very close to or in the ground.

Disadvantages of the irrigation hose

The disadvantages of a drip hose do not lie in its basic functionality, but have to do with the fact that these irrigation hoses sometimes do not work as intended. Because there are some requirements which, if not observed, the drip hoses will go on strike very quickly:

• Pearl hoses that are partly laid in the ground clog up very quickly in finely crumbly soil and then have to be constantly dug up and cleaned.
• If the water is hard, the drip hoses will become clogged with lime, and regular decalcification will then be necessary.
• If you don’t develop a routine of turning the hoses on at a specific time (or leave it to the watering timer), it could get expensive:
• You don’t see pearl hoses that match the color, not even when you’re watering them – turning them off is quickly forgotten…

Install bead hose, drip hose correctly

If you just want to lay a Perl hose on the ground as recommended, there is not much to say about the laying. You only have to pay attention to the right pressure when turning on the water so that the plants at the end of the hose get enough water. Do not forget that the pressure usually drops a little a few minutes after turning it on and you may then have to readjust it.

Running a drip hose above ground is probably a better idea whenever you are not running a natural garden. In a natural garden, value is placed on a natural soil structure with a loose, crumbly soil structure. A bead tube (half) laid in the ground can also do its work here. Soils in gardens with bare earth surfaces and artificially fertilized monocultures are often compacted or too fine in their microstructure. As a result, the drip hoses clog up fairly quickly.

In addition, the above-ground variant is of course much more convenient: you simply “throw” the hose into the garden, wherever water is needed, past each individual bush in a more or less creative way.

These irrigation hoses can/must be operated in a certain water pressure range, which is usually between 0.1 and 0.5 bar (as stated in the instructions). If you have not yet had reason to be interested in the operating pressure of your garden faucet, your waterworks can usually give you an approximate value over the phone. This approximate value is enough for you, because you usually have more pressure available anyway. So you connect your drip hose and only turn on the tap until droplets/beads come out of the last meter of hose. That’s the whole secret with the working pressure of the hose.

You should not exceed the maximum hose length specified in the product description. if e.g. For example, if 50 m is specified, the plant will almost certainly die of thirst at the end of the 100 m extension, because not a drop of water will reach that point. The product description also states how many liters come out at what pressure at the front of the tap, e.g. B. 5 l per min at 0.1 bar.

If you know when your tap gives out 0.1 bar, then you know that the drip hose will spread 300 l over your 80 m2 lawn if you turn it on at that particular tap position and let it run for an hour.

Then the arithmetic path to optimal watering is not far: 300 l on 80 m2 is 3.75 l of water per square meter. Depending on the temperature, the lawn should be given a good 15 liters of water per square meter once a week or almost 10 liters twice a week. So you have to crank up 4 hours once a week or a good 2.5 hours twice a week. But that only applies if you turn it on at the right times, namely in the morning and in the evening when the ground is cold.

Incidentally, it is advisable to at least roughly plan the routing of the hose before buying it. The bead tubes/drip tubes are offered in various dark tones and sometimes also in green. The first ones don’t stand out in the bed, the second ones in the lawn, if you choose the wrong color without paying attention, you would be annoyed.

The highlight of drip irrigation

When the do-it-yourselfer in the home has really blossomed installing the drip hose, they are ready for bigger tasks – installing an automatic watering controller that will give your garden a light mist in the morning, a quick, refreshing shower in the evening, and of course, too waters itself automatically when you are on vacation.

Various companies offer sprinkler systems and irrigation systems, which should also help you to plan and design your own garden, well thought out and well organized – these systems seem to have a pleasant IQ.

Conclusion