Garden Hose Recycle

Never let it be said I never try to make 

something out of trash before I throw it away!

I decided to pull all the bad soakers and hoses out of my gardens. When they spring a leak or get clogged from minerals in the water, I usually just buy a new one (usually after trying to patch the hole and failing), unscrew the bad one and screw in the new one.   

Hey, who out there said I was lazy? 

I resemble that remark!

Anyway, they sure don't make hoses like they used to.

It seems every year I have to buy new ones.

My backyard doesn't have sprinklers, that's why I use soakers and drippers. I have a 5 way manifold on my faucet so I can get things watered rather quickly ~ even while filling the pond. :)

It had been a few years since I had pulled all the 

bad ones out, there were quite a few.

 (hey, they get covered in the Summer

 by the plants - you CAN'T see them!)

I had seen somewhere were somebody

had made a welcome mat with one.

I didn't need a welcome mat, but did need some kind of replacement for one of my paths that had deteriorated.

Hey, why not, they were headed for the trash, 

it's not like I could hurt them any more than they were. 

You will need:

 lots of zip ties, 

something to cut with (I used my pruners),

some kind of pliers to pull the zip ties tight

(your fingers will thank you),

Oh, and did I mention LOTS of hoses - 

depending on how large and how many mats you plan to make.

Any style hose will do.

I used round soakers, flat sprinklers, regular hoses, 

even those curly hoses.

This was my first one so it was kind of experimental 

as far as what size it would turn out.

First cut off all the metal attachment ends on the hoses.

Bend a piece over about how long

you would like the mat to be when finished.

Use zip ties to secure the bend/fold together.

Now keep folding/rolling the hose tightly around 

and around it self securing with zip ties as you go.

I had no rhyme or reason with the zip ties, 

I just added one where I thought it needed to, 

to keep it secure.

If it is not as big as you want it, 

just over lap the end of another hose at the end of the hose you just finished approx. 1 inch. 

Secure tightly with zip ties and continue going around.

When your mat is the size you want and are completely done, 

secure tightly with more zip ties.

 Turn it upside down and cut off the ends of the zip ties.

Here's my experimental one. 

You can see by the different colors of the hoses -

it took 2 +. I needed to snip the 3rd off

so it would fit between the edging.

It is the perfect size for a door mat ;/

Now I would have loved for it to go down

that entire straight stretch, but oh well.

I have plenty more hoses.

So this time I started with a l o n g first fold/bend.

When I was done, it completed the rest of that 

straight stretch.

Yes, I ran out of black zip ties, 

so I used what I had - white. :p

I used a green sprinkler hose next, 

just to see if it was easier to manipulate.

Yes, it was!

My poor fingers needed a break.

I didn't quite have enough green ones to make it as wide 

as I wanted it. But wouldn't you know it, 

one of my good green ones just sprung a leak! UGGH

You can see it in the photo below - it will be finished this Spring. 

Now I needed a small one for the curve in the path.

Let me tell you right now - 

you need a lot of determination to use one of those curl up hoses. 

If I would have known how much I would have to 

had to fight with it, I would have tossed it!

Silly me thought it would be easy since it was 

already going in a circle - NOT.

It was the hardest one, but it turned out to be the 

exact size I needed for the curve in the path. 

It's on the end in the photo below.

All in all, I'm pleased with the hose mats for my path.

I think they will wear well and will provide secure 

walking when/if the path gets flooded.

Yes, I know the path is not complete - 

it is a work in progress....

After all ~

I have plenty of hoses from last year yet to use.

Other posts you may be interested in:
Feed Your Worms
Lazy Gardener Tips
Natural Pest Control in the Garden