I have experienced the same as snappybob and cmoser. We use well water- lots of sediment and lots of minerals. Do you have any kind of filter between the hose spigot and the beginning of the hose connection? It's a very good idea, if not a requirement, if you are using well water. I have used many soaker hoses, different diameters, from the micro soaker tubing to the largest avilable, as well as the most and the least expensive soaker hoses available. To go with them I have used all types of compression fittings (for those who don't know-the soaker hoses push into them tightly,giving you a way to join soaker hoses, connect to black poly feeder tubing, connect to a garden hose etc.). On the 1/4" micro soaker tubing I have used all forms of barbed connectors, (these go into the soaker hose instead of the hose going into the compression fitting). My first experiences with them- I unfortunately buried at least 4 different runs of 100 feet each and at least 1- 50ft run, all just a few inches deep plus mulch, throughout a number of new perennial flower beds. They worked great for about 2 years, then less well for another, then stopped working completely. I had added a fitting at the end of each hose run. It was a compression fitting on one side where the soaker hose went into. The other end of the fitting was (male) threaded to connect to a garden hose, or in my case a cap to screw onto and off. I used it so I could flush the system. The end of the line with this fitting stuck up out of the soil, at the end of each line. This allowed me to make sure the water was running through to the end. Also, I bought an inexpensive pressure gauge with a garden hose connection on it. I can put it on that end fitting and measure the pressure coming out of the end, meaning also along the whole hose- very handy. By the way, if you have a well these are a great idea to stick on your hose spigot or the end of a garden hose to test the PSI pressure coming from your well. Your well water comes through a pressure tank buried near where the well was drilled. Each pressure tank has a preset pressure, ours is (I'm drawing a blank here- maybe 22 psi.?), so the water coming out at the spigot remains a steady (for example) 22 psi. When your pressure tank starts going bad (oh yes.... we've replaced an old one), the pressure can at first become eratic- the pressure gauge check helps check your pressure tank. The end fitting is also great for flushing out loose sediment from the well water. You'd be amazed at the amount of actual crud that comes up through your well! Unfortunately, after a few short years, the hoses stopped working- just a dribble came out. I tried to pull them up to check for leaks in the hose etc., but the groundcover and perennials and tree and vine roots had completely surrounded the hoses- (I had made some really great raised beds, the plants had grown great!) I'd have killed everything if I'd started ripping/tearing the hoses out. So lesson # 1 for me -don't bury soaker hoses with your perennial veggies, flowers etc. So, I cut off all my fittings, (hard plastic so unaffected by the deposits), to disinfect and recycle onto the soakers in the newest veggie gardens- where the hoses were going just under the mulch (MULCH IS GOOD with soakers !!!!) The entangled soaker hoses still remain in the perennial beds, still snaking around just a few inches down. By the way, I attribute the hoses closing up to 2 things- the minerals and sediment in our well water and then the hose itself leaking after getting nicked or sliced with trowels etc. when replacing or adding bulbs & plants to the beds. In that old veggie garden I added an inline filter, just after the hose spigot of the well, and new (better) hoses. But the same thing happened, as far as the mineral deposits in the hoses eventually making them too ineffective to use. I did a lot of research and found there are ways to back flow/flush, or 'soak' your soakers in vinegar or hydrogen oxygen based solutions to try and remove the deposits and get those hoses soaking again, but the time and expense and just plain hassle of it all, after my first experience stopped me. Putting in a new well necessitated, 4 years ago, our moving the entire vegetable garden. It's taken all these years now to clear the trees and then the stumps (we live in the woods) and to get everything together to grow most things in many large pots. The pots sit on recycled plastic covered pallets arranged in bed lengths, on TOP of our hard/no dirt/shale surface. Currently I have (12) 'pallet beds' each 4' wide and 12' long. Each holds a variety of different size pots with different fencing, caging, trellising, insect netting or plastic covering etc, depending on the crop. I have just about finished drilling all the side/at the bottom drainage holes. In the bottom of the pots, covering the holes up the sides, I use either metal screening or landscape cloth to keep the soil in and the bugs out. The next few days after that are for filling the pots with 823 gallons worth of growing mix. Then next week, the 85 seedlings under three tiers of light in the bedroom (I have a patient husband), will find a new home for the season. The week after that (yes I know how late I am)- the veggies being direct seeded will go into their pots. At a 'bad back/knees/neck' 60 years of age - there will be no more double digging raised beds for me, nor any more soaker hoses. Tomorrow I'm ordering drip emitters for all the pots and also for the in ground beds that I have already growing. I'll continue to use an inline 'Y' filter (with even smaller filter holes) and also get the least clogging emitters I can find. Luckily I can still use most of the old fittings etc., since I still have to come from the well spigot to a garden hose, to black feeder poly pipes, to the small tubing, to the emitters. As long as I match the size of the feeder poly pipes to the size of the old soaker hose and use the same size drip emitter micro tubing as I used for the micro soaker hoses, I can use the same compression fittings and barb fittings. Then I'm only out the cost of the soaker hoses themselves. But no more long runs of soaker hoses for me- not with well water. Hope this helps. Good luck to you. Rebecca

I have emailed them 2x. I have a huge order . They answered my first email and said they ship to this part of the country beginning 9/18 . That was back a couple weeks ago. Then I e-mailed 2 days ago and asked if they would please make sure they were not in transit for so long that I had to fear for the plants. I have not heard anything back. I have my fingers crossed. I hope they don't get "mad" at me for my obsessive concern. After reading here about how tenuous some of the plants seemed I got worried. I always use root stimulator on the plants and have had great success so far. I of course only have 2 years experience with clems. I am XXX my fingers. Caroline

Russian Olive has been identified by the North American Weed Management Association as one of the most serious threats in America. They have published a position paper on the Russian Olive. If you do a google search and type in Russian Olive, you will get many websites from federal and state organizations with information on the invasiveness of this plant. It is a threat to the economy, ecology and environment anywhere it is planted. Please take steps to remove it where you have it planted on your property and take the time to ask stores or nurseries to remove it from their stock where you see it for sale. From the USDA web site: Description: Russian-olive is a small deciduous tree or large thorny shrub in the oleaster family (Elaeagnaceae) that can grow 15 to 30 feet in height. It is generally rounded in shape with loose arrangement of branches. Its stems, buds, and leaves have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales. Twigs have silvery scales and thorns on the ends. Leaves are simple, alternate, 1-3 inches long, lance-shaped and silvery on both sides. Flowers appear in June and July. They are bell-shaped, single or clustered in the leaf axils, fragrant, yellowish on the inside and silver outside. Olive like fruits are dupe-like, .5 inches long, light green to yellow with silvery scales, hard and fleshy. Plants begin to flower and fruit at three years of age. Reproduction is by seed, sprouting from buds on the root crown and suckering. Habitat: It is found along fields, open areas, grasslands, stream banks, lakeshores, roadsides, and urban areas, sandy and bare mineral soils. Seedlings are tolerant of shade and it thrives in a variety of soil and moisture conditions, including bare mineral substrates. Distribution: This species is reported from states shaded on Plants Database map. It is reported invasive in AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MD, MI, MN, MT, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, and WI . Ecological Impacts: This invasive plant can interfere with natural plant succession, nutrient cycling, and tax water reserves. Because Russian-olive is capable of fixing nitrogen in its roots, it can grow on bare, mineral substrates and dominate riparian vegetation where over-story cottonwoods have died. Although Russian-olive provides a plentiful source of edible fruits for birds, ecologists have found that bird species richness is actually higher in riparian areas dominated by native vegetation. Thank you very much Troy and Lori Zaumseil Citizens Against Noxious Weeds Invading the North

I agree that there ARE people out there who live in houses much longer than the average. In NoNJ both of my neighbors had been in their houses for 10+ years (one for 12 years, the other for 15 years). The couple who'd been there for 12 years plan on staying for at least another six and will think about moving after their son finishes college. The couple who has been there for 15 years will be there another two years and then once the husband retires they will move to Nashville to be near their son who recently got married and settled down in TN. So you are looking at 18 years for one family and 17 years for the other. I'd say that's major longevity! My parents bought their latest house in 1991 and are still there with a plan to be there at least another 3-5 years. Once my dad retires they will move south with an eye on buying acreage to build a house and business on. So that'll be another couple who stayed in a house twenty years. My grandfather stayed in his house for FORTY YEARS and only sold when my grandmother died and he couldn't keep up the house by himself. If she hadn't died I guarantee they would have stayed in that house. In my own instance, my DH and I are planning on living in this current house until our children go to college (they are 3yo and 4yo now). We're already planning some minor renovations (add a bathroom to create guest suite being the major one) knowing that we're going to be here a LONG TIME (read: at least 15 years).