[sgreszcz]

Hi there,

Does anyone know if the rubber soaker or drip hoses are toxic for use in raised bed vegetable gardens?

I'm looking for a more efficient and less time consuming way to keep my gardens watered. I'm trying to keep things as organic and non-toxic as possible so wouldn't want to undo things with the hose leaching bad stuff into the soil.

Any suggestions about where to order in the UK would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Trillium]

I've seen some advertised as non-toxic but they look identical to the usual type of soaker hose. I believe all the hoses are made from recycled plastics but I doubt that they're actually leeching much if anything in the way of chemicals due to their open porosity. Some say that the hose should be buried a few inches within the soil but I find this a nuisance. To keep the hose from degrading in light, I always put some mulch over mine. I always use a mechanical timer at the tap end so power outages are never a problem and they're much less expensive than the fancier electrical units.

[sgreszcz]

Do you have any links to the ones advertised as non-toxic?

Most of the ones that I have found have the disclaimer: "This hose should not be used for potable water, beverages, or foodstuffs".

I agree that most of them seem to be made of recycled tires, so they probably have some sort of toxins.

[JayG]

Have toyed with (and rejected!) the idea of a watering system for my veg before, so this is just a few thoughts from someone who has done some research but not actually tried it. 

Looks as if "soaker" hoses are usually made at least in part from recycled tyres, probably because rubber lends itself better to building in the "leakiness" than plastics.

Googling "plastic irrigation tubing" brings up some suppliers; you would think that PVC or similar has got to be a safer bet than rubber (in use, if not from the sustainability angle) although whether perforated plastic hoses work as well as "leaky" hoses I have no idea!

I did notice that Hozelock's leaky hose has a 3-year guarantee whereas its plastic perforated hose has a 10-year guarantee. That may well be another consideration as I would therefore deduce that rubber breaks down much more quickly!

I found very little discussion or advice about the subject doing searches on "organic irrigation" by the way; maybe it's not considered to be that much of an issue after all.

[sgreszcz]

Thanks JayG.  I did some searching on the net for information, but could not find anything globally or UK-specific relating to use of rubber soaker or drip hoses and organic gardening.  I found some warnings about rubber mulch, but nothing else...

[Swing Swang]

Buy a really cheap hose and make holes in it with a small drill bit/hot skewer. Better than soaker hose in my opinin because it's easier to roll/unroll and store. If next year it 'leaks' where you don't want it to then just use duct tape to block the unwanted holes.

[Trillium]

Now I can't find the link for the supposed non-toxic soaker hoses, sorry. As Jay suggests, it not likely much if anything significant would leach out of the rubber or plastic. I think more harmful things come on the rain these days. Most of us would be likely to replace the hose if we see it starting to deteriorate so that solves that problem.
Major veg display gardens here tend to prefer drip irrigation over soaker hoses, to specifically target the plant needed. That said, they need to shift the lines or replace them to punch in new drip emitters so that can run into a bit of money for homeowners but not display gardens with bigger budgets.

[sgreszcz]

Thanks again Trillium. 

(Interesting to see an other person from Ontario on a UK gardening forum.  I remember many white and purple trillium growing wild behind the house where I grew up.  My dad was an avid botanist and besides having 100s of orchids in a basement grow-room had an extensive native plant and wildflower garden.  I'm only in my 30s, but seem to have got the gardening bug from him)

[spud]

Hi there,

Does anyone know if the rubber soaker or drip hoses are toxic for use in raised bed vegetable gardens?

I'm looking for a more efficient and less time consuming way to keep my gardens watered. I'm trying to keep things as organic and non-toxic as possible so wouldn't want to undo things with the hose leaching bad stuff into the soil.

Any suggestions about where to order in the UK would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I find myself considering the same options, what are folks doing in their greenhouses/ polytunnels? too much time can be lost carrying water, but the health concerns nowadays are becoming more and more a worry. tia

[Svend]

Yes, soaker hoses (aka "leaky pipe") are made from recycled car tyres: as such they can't be considered suitable for "food use".  That's not because they're necessarily going to leach toxic chemicals, but rather because you don't know the history of the rubber. 

However, while soakers are great for irrigating a newly planted garden, they do tend to clog up after a few years (and they're not really suitable for recycled water, for example). 

For a permanent raised bed I'd suggest you use a "drip line" - basically a normal plastic water pipe with pressure-compensating nozzles spaced along it's length.  Slightly more expensive than a soaker hose, because of the extra fittings (they're not usually very flexible, so ideal for straight rows in veg garden), but a much more permanent solution - and the pipe should be up to drinking water standard.

BUT..... any irrigation pipe laid on the ground (or buried) is a potential source of drinking water contamination.  For domestic gardens only (not allotments), you're allowed to connect to a tap as long as you use a suitable (type "DB") backflow prevention device.  Otherwise it's a legal requirement to have a break tank and pump   

[Kristen]

any irrigation pipe laid on the ground (or buried) is a potential source of drinking water contamination.  For domestic gardens only (not allotments), you're allowed to connect to a tap as long as you use a suitable (type "DB") backflow prevention device.  Otherwise it's a legal requirement to have a break tank and pump 

I thought that was true of any garden tap, not just drip irrigation?  e.g. you might dangle a hose into a pond and it suck the water back into the drinking water pipe, a thus outside taps have double-check valves, or whatever they are called , which prevent back flow?

I've looked at the irrigation tapes, as an alternative to leaky hose, but been put off by the fact that they have one "drip hole" per foot, or similar, and I wonder how well that water moved through the soil to the nearest plant? whereas a leaky hose drips all along its length so, seems to me, is better suited to a row of veg.

But the possible leachates in leaky hose are a worry. It would make a useful chemistry project for 6th former to see what contaminates do leach out of leaky hose

Its the irrigation tape that seems to be routinely used in commercial vegetable growing (so I suppose it must do a decent job of getting water to the plants ...)