One of the essential parts of taking care of a garden is watering.
However, when you have a huge garden, transporting water anywhere and everywhere it’s needed becomes more stressful and difficult.
You might have to drag a heavy garden hose every day just to reach different parts of the area.
One solution people seem to find effective is to leave their garden hoses underground.
So, we’re here to answer one important question, can you bury a garden hose? Allow us to explain that to you.
Can You Bury a Garden Hose?
The simple answer is yes, you can, in fact, bury a garden hose. However, a more complicated, packed, and accurate answer would be that it depends.
If you know what you’re doing, you’d get the most benefits from burying a garden hose.
Meanwhile, if you are unaware of the factors that affect the efficiency of buried garden hoses, you might frequently encounter problems with your water transport system.
This will inevitably lead you to the conclusion that buried garden hoses are a waste of time and money.
Factors to Consider Before Burying a Garden Hose
The sad truth is that not everyone has the luxury of being able to bury their garden hoses.
There are external elements that you should consider before doing so. Here are some of them:
- Ground
Alright, let’s get this out of the way first. You can almost always bury your garden hose no matter what the condition of the ground is.
That said, we still want you to consider one important thing: compacted or rocky grounds are more difficult to dig.
Sure, you can use a pickaxe or other tools to get the job done, but you need to remember that you have to dig a trench that’s several meters long.
Ergo, if you’re unsure whether you can see this project through, you may want to ask your friends for help before proceeding.
- Critters
So, if the ground is soft enough for you to handle, you should proceed with burying the garden hose, right?
Well, there’s another factor you need to consider. Soft ground is easy to dig into, not just for your spade or trowel but also for critters.
Critters, especially rodents, love water.
If your garden often attracts rodents, you may want to think about how you can get rid of them first.
Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before they dig into the ground and gnaw at your garden hose.
- Climate
While you don’t have to worry too much about sunny days, it’s the winter season that you should really be concerned about.
You probably already know that a garden hose left above ground during the winter season will most likely freeze.
Thankfully, burying it under the ground can prevent that. However, if the ground also tends to freeze for a few inches, your hose will be unsafe.
You can opt for sturdier garden hoses that can handle freezing temperatures.
Still, you must understand that no matter how tough its material is, the more frequent it freezes, the more you compromise its structural integrity.
Additionally, burying it underground is not the best idea if you intend to use your garden hose during the winter season.
You’d have to wait for the snow to thaw completely before attempting to use the hose.
How to Bury a Garden Hose
So, if none of the conditions above are present in your area, or you’ve found a way to solve them, you can proceed with burying a garden hose.
To help with that, here are some tips that you might find useful along the way:
Check the Garden Hose’s Quality
You should always check the quality of your garden hose, and if you’re burying it, this becomes extremely important.
Remember that you’ll bury this hose, which means it has to be able to withstand the weight of the soil or dirt above it.
Add the fact that soil and dirt become heavier when exposed to water or moisture.
If you bury the hose even deeper, cheap hoses will inevitably collapse under all that weight.
This could lead to a significant reduction of water pressure, loss of water, or in worst cases, a busted hose causing massive leaks.
Go for garden hoses with thicker walls as these can maintain their structural integrity despite the weight of the soil above them.
Purchase a Longer Hose Than Needed
It’s not exactly advisable to make hose connections underground because of two important things.
First, you won’t be able to monitor or observe the connections for leaks.
Secondly, if you do, in fact, encounter leaks, you’d have to dig the ground again to fix the connection; that’s assuming you know where to find it.
Ergo, it’s best to purchase a garden hose that’s longer than necessary.
For instance, if you’re planning to run it around 40 feet under the ground, look for a hose that’s 50 to 60 feet long.
This hose will guarantee that you cover the entire distance and don’t fall short.
Consider a Soaker
If you plan to water the entire area that the garden hose runs through, you need a soaker hose.
It is basically a variety of garden hoses with tiny pores throughout their length.
It allows the water to escape the hose and be transported to the different parts of your garden where your hose runs through.
You can also make a soaker hose by puncturing tiny holes in your traditional garden hose.
However, if you’re unsure of what you’re doing, it’s best just to buy one specifically for the job.
Burying Garden Hoses Effectively
So, can you bury a garden hose? We’ll say yes, as long as you have considered all the possible problems you may encounter by doing so.
Nonetheless, we’re also confident that you can find solutions to these concerns. After all, the advantages of burying a garden hose certainly outweigh these hurdles.
Just make sure that you also have a durable and long enough hose for the job, and you take time when burying the hose so you do it properly.
We wish you good luck in this endeavor!