Not every household has a hose reel simply because not all people need one. But for those who are maintaining a garden or an outdoor property like a back or front yard, having one is quite a convenience. A hose reel can keep your property looking clean and is an efficient gardening tool.

Improperly chosen reels can lead to several scenarios. Getting an air hose reel for example instead of one for water hoses would obviously mean that your hose may not fit. Reel fittings may also differ according to the length of the hose and its circumference. If you don't want to waste your money on a useless reel, you need to make sure it is the right match for your hose.

Aside from being an improper fit, a hose reel may also have the wrong features. Reels for water hoses used in sheds for example are different from those used in gardens. Garden reels need to have large wheels so they don't get stuck in gravel or mud tracks. Reels for garden hoses should also ideally have an automatic retracting function. You don't want to get one with a manual crank if you don't want to soil your fingers over a mud stained hose.

For those who have a vast area in mind, the cart type would be the better option. This is because the hose may not be capable of reaching across the entire property, and may have to be brought along in a rolling cart in order to do so. Even cart reels have different options within the type, all with their own special features designed to cater to your particular needs.

If you intend to get a cart type hose reel, check for the wheels. Wheels that are evenly sized are perfectly all right if the terrain you are taking it over is flat and smooth. On the other hand, if you are bringing it through uneven or irregular ground surfaces, you might prefer the kinds of carts that allow for tilting or have big back wheels.

You are more likely to find an appropriate reel if you know exactly what you need. Before you even start reading reviews, take note of your specific needs. Find out if you need a hose reel for gardening or for patio cleaning. Determine too the size of your property so you'll know whether a reel cart will be more ideal than a wall mount.

You might also want to check a reel brand for extra features. You may prefer one with padded handles, an anti tip mechanism, exterior casing, automatic reeling, tool trays and more.

Although a hose reel does not usually come up on one's list of household priorities, it is a very useful tool for those people who are maintaining yards or lawns. It keeps your outdoors organized and clean, making it an efficient tool for any serious gardener.

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Yard work and water hoses go hand-in-hand, yet for many people neatly managing their garden hose is often difficult if not impossible. Anyone who has spent any time untangling a long rubber hose to remove the kinks and keep water pressure steady knows exactly what I mean.

Fortunately, there are several practical and inexpensive solutions to hose management. Three options are a hose pot, a hose rack or a hose reel to help you maintain and manage your garden and yard watering tasks.

Rack It Up With A Hose Rack

These racks are an excellent option if you prefer to keep your hose off the ground. This could help you keep them from deteriorating over time and also keep them cleaner as less dirt and fewer bugs will crowd its coil.

Hose racks also help you save floor space, as they neatly hang on the wall and help you make the most of your garage or garden shed wall space. Hose racks are often simple devices that simply allow you to coil and store your watering devices together.

Reel It In With A Hose Reel

Like the rack, the reel isn't terribly decorative, but it is a very practical device to have around when you're watering your yard or garden. A hose reel often features a guide to help you coil your hose neatly, a large wheel with a handle to smoothly pull your watering device into it, and sometimes even small wheels attached beneath it to help you cart the reel about the yard as you need.

Sometimes reels take a fair amount more space than the coil alone, but its ease of use and practicality make it worth it.

Hide It Away With A Hose Pot

If you want to keep your hose at hand while in your garden but you don't want the cluttered appearance of it coiled on the ground, you should consider a hose pot. Hose pots are pretty much what their label implies: a pot for holding your hose. Thankfully, this simple description belies the decorative appeal and simple practicality of these multi-purpose garden pots.

They often feature a built-in reel and they almost always feature a decorative flair to turn your utilitarian storage need into an opportunity to accent your yard or garden with an aesthetically pleasing copper or painted pot.

From pure function to function paired with aesthetics, the choice is yours. With a hose rack, reel or pot solutions, I'm sure you can find a way to more neatly and effectively manage and maintain your garden hose for many years to come.

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Most gardeners know when their garden needs watering and are well aware of the effects of under watering their plants. Too few gardeners are aware of the dangers of over watering, however. Over watering is even worse and more damaging. The biggest reason for the death of a house plant is because it has been over watered.

Depending on the type of plant, the time of year, the temperature, your climate, the signs of an over watered plant are generally universal. The most common symptoms are defoliation where the lower leaves on the plant turn yellow and fall, wilting or drooping, spotted foliage, and gray fuzzy mould around the stem, leaves and flowers of the plant.

These symptoms can also be an indication of other problems rather than over watering. Sudden and fast defoliation could also be caused by rapid changes in temperature and possibly under watering. Gradual defoliation could be from insufficient light or fertilizer. Too much fertilizer or exposure to extreme cold could make the leaves fall. An easy way to determine whether you are over watering is by carefully observing how frequently you water your plants. Another way is to check the plant's roots to see if they appear rotten.

The plants in your garden should receive about one inch of water per week, as a general rule. This is only a starting platform for watering your garden; it is much more effective if you personally observe your garden in order to judge how much water it needs. Depending on the seasonal needs of your garden plants, remember that this one inch amount will have to be adjusted from time to time.

The rate of evapotranspiration is one of the most significant environmental factors affecting how much water your garden will need. Evapotranspiration refers to the two ways that plants lose water. Evaporation is when your plants naturally loose water into the air. Transpiration is when plants lose water by itself, usually through the leaves or the stem.

A most effective way of watering your garden is with a hose and making the task easy is a water hose reel. So many times it is a drudgery to unwind the kinks out which stop the flow or untangle a hose that has been put away hastily. A hose reel will solve these problems. In this way, the task will be less overlooked and ensure your garden gets the water when it needs it.

Just use some common sense when watering your garden. First, simply examine the soil to see if it is too dry and crumbly, or if it's too wet and muddy. Checking the soil often will help you avoid both over watering and under watering. Second, water slowly. Watering too quickly causes runoff and waste. Third, water deeply so that more than just the top layer of soil receives water. You want to make sure the water is getting to the root system. And last gardening tip is to water your garden in the morning when it's cool. If you water during the day the heat of the sun causes the water to evaporate too quickly. And if you water in the evening disease and fungal growth can occur in humid climates.

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You know that watering your lawn is an important part of lawn care, but your time is limited. In addition to hiring someone to do the job for you, you can also set up a portable sprinkler to do the job for you.

Portable sprinklers are particularly useful when the lawn is small, because moving it by hand on large lawns can be troublesome. If you live in an area with moderate rainfall, you can use a portable sprinkler to supplement the rainfall during the occasional drought.

You can easily purchase portable sprinklers in any well-stocked nursery or hardware store. Check the information on the sprinkler. It should indicate the size and shape of the area it can cover.

There are many designs of portable sprinklers, and you should carefully evaluate which one can meet your needs. Some models allow you to cover irregular lawns, while other models may have a tractor system that can move along the water pipe.

After purchasing a portable sprinkler, you will need to test it to see its performance. Especially if you want to know how much water the lawn covers. First, place the portable sprinkler in the center of the lawn, and then turn it on for about ten seconds. You want to know exactly how much area it can cover. After ten seconds, turn off the portable sprinkler and place about seven or eight empty cups in the area covered by the portable sprinkler. Turn on the portable sprinkler again and let it run for ten minutes.

After ten minutes, turn off the portable sprinkler and check the amount of water in each cup. The amount of water in each cup will be different because the water distribution of portable sprinklers tends to be uneven. However, the deviation should not exceed 0.25 inches. You will use the cup with the least amount of water to estimate. Assume that the amount of water in the cup is at least 0.2 inches. If you want to use 0.5 inches of water, you must let the portable sprinkler run for 25 minutes.

A good hose is also essential for the effective operation of your portable sprinkler. A good hose is easy to roll up in any weather and will not kink or break. Inexpensive hoses will bring you more trouble to repair, because the hoses will kink and break after a period of use. You will also waste precious water due to leaks of cheap hoses.

It is also recommended to connect a timer between the faucet and the hose. You only need to set the timer and it will automatically turn off the sprinkler after the set time. This prevents water wastage.

Once everything is set up correctly, you will need to monitor the response of the lawn and adjust the water consumption accordingly. Portable sprinklers may not be able to cover several spots on the lawn, so you must water these spots manually. However, with the introduction of portable sprinklers, the time to water the lawn will be greatly reduced, and you can have more time to relax and do what you want to do.

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