Gardening is a wonderful pastime that has seen a huge swell in popularity over the last two years. The lockdowns that came with the pandemic in 2020 saw a boom in the home gardening world.
Indeed, millions of people took to growing their own vegetable patches to help with sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Of course, gardening is also an enjoyable hobby for many as well as being a practical way to be self-sufficient.
When learning the beginner steps to growing a vegetable garden, proper irrigation is essential. For commercial crops, this can mean purpose-made channels to supply water.
For the home though, water would normally be supplied through nature and from sprinklers, watering cans, or hoses.
A retractable garden hose could be just the answer to anyone getting their hands dirty with vegetable patches and flower beds.
Do You Really Need a Retractable Garden Hose?
There are a ton of gadgets on the market that are said to make people’s lives easier. Quite often the opposite is true, and gizmos and gadgets simply make more clutter or provide no value.
At first glance, a retractable garden hose might appear to be similarly pointless. After all, gardeners have made do with watering cans and regular hoses for decades.
However, finding the best retractable garden hose reel could provide a wealth of benefits, not least being a lot lighter than a full watering can.
Below is the case for using a retractable water hose in the garden.
10 Benefits of Using a Retractable Hose
Of course, how useful a retractable garden hose will be would depend on how much you are likely to use it.
An individual with no interest in gardening may not see the point in adding a new gadget to their backyard.
Nevertheless, here are 10 benefits you would gain from a retractable garden hose:
1. Removes Tripping Hazards
Having a way to easily rewind a hose means that it is less likely to be left out on the lawn.
Hoses are easy to trip over and can present a hazard, especially when operating other equipment such as trimmers or lawnmowers.
2. A Retractable Hose May Last Longer
Hoses that need to be wound up by hand receive a certain amount of wear and tear over time. If hoses are left out they will be exposed to UV rays.
These can cause both external, and internal, damage to the hose.
The sun’s rays can cause cracks and ruptures in the hose. The water inside the hose will be heated from direct sunlight, and this can damage the inside of the hose.
Cold weather can cause perishing in the hose material, and freezing temperatures can ruin a hose completely. Water expands as it freezes. This can lead to the hose splitting.
3. It Will Save You Time and Effort
While gardening can indeed be a physical activity, it is for many also a gentle and beneficial one. The American Association of Retired People lists the many benefits of gardening, including higher exposure to vitamin D, and less risk of dementia.
It would seem a shame then to use any equipment that makes this enjoyable pastime more arduous. A retractable reel takes away the need to manually drag out, or loop up a hose after use.
4. They Can Be Wall-Mounted
This may not seem a major benefit, but it can make for less clutter, and again fewer hazards. A coiled hose will take up space on a garage or shed floor or will need to be stored in some other way. They are easy to trip over and cumbersome to carry.
A wall-mounted garden hose reel means having a convenient storage method. They can also swivel to prevent kinking while watering those strawberries.
5. They Remove the Risk of Your Hose Being Eaten
Seriously, your hose may be at risk of being chewed upon. Some dogs love to chew on garden hoses, and although there are products such as Bitter Biter to help avoid this a retractable hose reel removes this problem.
If the garden hose isn’t laying around on the lawn then your dog won’t be able to get to it.
6. They Will Make Your Garden Tidier
Just as being wall mounted provides a neat storage solution, the retractable nature of these hoses means that you will have a tidier garden and shed.
7. They Are Automatic
Some expensive versions come with motor-driven mechanisms. There are even water-powered retractable hoses available now.
However, even standard retractable reels can automatically rewind the hose. These reels use a spring mechanism to build tension that is used to retract the hose after use.
8. They Are Easy To Use
Unlike many gadgets for the home and garden, these are simple to use. This makes them more useful as they are likely to encourage watering the garden.
If you want to know how to create a sustainable garden for your home, then you should bear in mind you need to water your plants.
Lugging a watering can around can seem a bit of a chore, and carrying out a hose and unwinding it can seem a bore. Anything that makes watering easier is a benefit.
9. They Often Come With Accessories
To make them even simpler to use, they will nearly always come with everything you might need.
This includes different tap connectors, regular hose connectors, adjustable nozzles, and everything needed to mount the reel to a wall.
10. They Aren’t Just for the Garden
A portable garden hose reel means that they can be used in the front and back yard. But, they can provide other uses too, such as cleaning the car or washing that hose-biting dog of yours.
Thing to Keep In Mind When Buying a Retractable Garden Hose Reel
You’ve seen some of the benefits of using a retractable hose reel in the garden, but what are the problems with them? What do you need to watch out for when making a purchase?
To start with, you should consider the length of the hose. How big is your garden, and will the hose reach everywhere once it has been wall-mounted?
It may be that you should consider a portable hose reel instead of a wall-mounted one. This means that you can buy a shorter and presumably cheaper model.
Durability is also an issue. In this case, though, it is not necessarily the hose that you need to be worried about. Inspect the reel and its parts.
Plastic breaks far easier than metal. That doesn’t mean that plastic should always be avoided, just consider which parts are made up from what materials.
The mechanism is also something to consider. Although motor-driven mechanisms are more costly, they might last longer. Consider how often you are likely to use your hose against the cost.
Summary
As Reuters reported, home gardening did indeed bloom during the pandemic. Perhaps you are one of those avid new gardeners, or maybe you have always had the gardening bug.
If so, then a retractable hose may be a welcome addition to your set of gardening tools.
There are plenty of benefits to gardening including improving your mental wellness and physical health. It might make sense then to make gardening even more enjoyable by using the right tools and equipment for the job.
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