Whole-zone measurement
Use a measured flow for the isolated zone. A faucet-only or open-hose result should not be silently substituted for a connected system with different restrictions.
Raised-bed watering runtime · measured flow
Calculate how long to run the installed watering zone.
Measure the whole raised-bed zone as it is actually connected, enter the geometric volume you want represented, and calculate runtime with a visible formula. The result is a measurement record—not a watering prescription.
The calculation
Runtime in minutes = entered target volume ÷ measured whole-zone flow per minute. For an entered geometric depth, target volume equals receiving area × depth. TerraEvidence applies no hidden climate, crop, soil, efficiency, or schedule multiplier.
Start with the installed setup
The flow must represent the same zone you plan to run.
Test the faucet, hose, timer, filter, regulator, injector, fittings, and watering line in the intended configuration. Record the capture point, settings, competing household water use, test time, trials, and spread so the number stays attached to what produced it.
Soaker-hose boundary
Confirm the meter difference represents only the soaker-hose setup. Keep hose length, brand or size, layout, regulator context, and beginning-middle-end observations with the record.
Measurement-first workflow
Four steps from flow to runtime
1. Measure whole-zone flow
Use the Garden Water Flow Test with a calibrated container and repeated fill times, or use an isolated flow-meter difference that represents only the tested zone.
2. Define the receiving area
Enter the raised-bed surface area or import compatible saved bed dimensions. Area supports geometric volume or equivalent-depth math; it does not prove where water will move in the soil.
3. Enter the volume or geometric depth to represent
This is a user-selected calculation input. Earlier “one inch of water” wording is handled as an entered geometric depth, not as a universal raised-bed requirement.
4. Calculate, record, and verify
Save or print the flow basis, setup, units, formula, runtime, and limitations. Compare field observations separately rather than converting the arithmetic into an automatic schedule.
Interpretation boundary
What the runtime means—and what it does not mean
It represents
- Runtime for the entered geometric volume at the measured flow
- Calculated total volume from measured flow × runtime
- Geometric equivalent depth when an area is entered
- A repeatable record tied to the tested setup
It does not prove
- Plant-water requirements or watering frequency
- Uniform distribution across the bed
- Infiltration, runoff, or root-zone delivery
- The cause of leaks, clogging, pressure loss, or crop stress
- Professional hydraulic design or equipment suitability
Verify separately
Interpret the measurement alongside recorded rainfall, runoff, infiltration, soil moisture, crop condition, distribution observations, and suitable local guidance. Optional rainfall subtraction is arithmetic only; it is not effective rainfall or a watering decision.
Free tool · metric and U.S. customary
Build a measured runtime record.
The connected calculator preserves flow evidence basis, normal-system or isolated-soaker context, target input, formulas, privacy boundaries, printable output, and private backup/export records.
Privacy
Entered measurements and setup details remain in the browser unless the user chooses a private download. They are not placed in URLs or analytics events.
Reviewed 29 August 2026
University and Extension sources
These sources support measuring actual flow, documenting the tested configuration, and checking field distribution. TerraEvidence keeps the narrower calculation boundary stated above.
New Mexico State University
Bucket-and-stopwatch flow measurement and the gallons-per-minute formula.
Read the sourceIowa State University Extension
Testing with the nozzle and pressure setting intended for use and distinguishing source flow from field distribution.
Read the sourceAlabama Cooperative Extension System
Calibrated bucket testing, stopwatch timing, outlet documentation, and hose restriction context.
Read the sourceWashington State University
Hose-flow dependence on hose size, length, and dynamic supply pressure.
Read the source