ng, Spacing is not as important as time. You can run ay system long enough to get the proper water needs to the plant. The difficulty starts when you have different plants with different water need amounts on the same zone. You have the right idea about being able to shut off sections to cultivate the plot while growing other plots. Different vegetables have different life cycles. Soaker hoses are difficult because you can't control the amount of water coming from the hose (they also clog over time) as with drip tape or emitters. On the same zone you can have plants with larger drip rates and those with slower drip rates but it is trial and error to set up. It is better to have separate plant zones with similar watering needs together and just work out the time by trial and error method. You do have to initially check the water in the soil to see if plants are getting what they need. Your idea about getting water to the beds is a good one and the way I would do it. Make sure you pour some concrete at all the bends so they can't move (thrust blocks). JMHO Aloha

If you can come off your tee and end up with a male hose thread, then you can get an adapter that is female garden hose thread x 1/4" barb or 1/4" compression. Make you sure you have a filter, pressure regulator and backflow on your system.

Ewww, thanks for the tip, because that is exactly what I was going to try, bathroom silicone. Although I'm starting to see a workaround. The tubing kit came with connectors that attach to a hose, which I was having a hard time figuring out how to use at first. But the spout fits almost snugly into the tip that is made to attach to the tubing. Since I have a version that connects to the end of a hose and caps it, and a version that connects to both a hose and the tubing, I find that both these parts attach to each other. So I can connect the spout to the end cap version, unscrew the cap, connect that to the hose/tube connector, and attach the tube. This probably doesn't make all that much sense without pics, though, huh? I'll try and put some up once my brain is less tired. The thing that would make this perfect is if the spout could attach just a smidge more snugly without requiring silicone. This way, when it is time to refill, I can turn off the spout, detach the connector so that the whole assembly can remain in place, and just take the container down for refilling. Maybe I will take the spout and the connector to the hardware store to see if I can find a bit of tubing that can serve as an intermediary, as the connector is designed to lock over tubing to be secure. Right now the spout fits within the connector, not over the connector, and therefore cannot be locked into place. Or see if I still have a spare hose clamp around somewhere. I know I got some to repair a dishwasher leak, I just don't know if I got extras. Thanks for the ideas. One of these is bound to work!

How far apart are the hoses? Also, you have to dig your hand into the mix to see if the water is fanning out as it goes down, or if it is mostly dropping straight down. It is entirely normal for the surface to remain dry except for an inch or so on either side of the hose. What your mix is comprised of makes a difference as well. If you are using Mel's mix you may need to up the percentage of compost to get the moisture to wick into the drier areas well. The peat, once dry, won't wick the moisture to itself. It has to be at least damp before it will do any wicking. Using a light mulch also helps as the water will kind of circulate a bit from evaporation under the mulch and provide a more even moisture level. In any case I don't think you will get away with anything over 12" spacing with those soaker hoses (I have the same soakers). Anything over 6" spacing between the hoses and unless you use a moisture trapping mulch you won't get the entire surface moist, but the water should fan out enough as it drops that 3" down everything is watered. If this isn't the case either move the soakers closer together or increase the amount of compost in the mix.