I've heard of some burying a length of PVC pipe with holes drilled in it. And some will bury milk jugs with holes punched in the bottom 8-10" deep between the plants. Some places also sell long plastic things with holes in them called Aqua Cones - I think that is the name - that screw onto liter pop bottles and then stick deep into the ground.

Never tried any of them personally as I use soaker hose and drip irrigation.

Dave

On this same topic, I have a question about soaker hoses. I have one set up in my garden, however, it tends to run out of my bed. Unfortunately my garden bed is on a bit of an incline. I turn the hose on so that it is dripping slowly and leave it running for 30-45 minutes at a time. When I go out there to turn it off, the water has puddled beside my raised bed but much of the soil in my garden is still dry except immediately underneath the hose itself. I have the hose positioned nicely circling every plant in my garden, but I'm just not sure of its effectiveness. When you use your soaker hose, how long do you leave it running? Any other tips for effective use? Thanks!