My watering nozzle of choice is the fan sprayer. Unfortunately it's hard to find a good one these days. Read more below, or watch the video.
Also, the hoses I just recommended in another video and blog post, Craftsman 50 foot, 5/8 inch rubber hose, just went down in price further for the next day. They go off sale TODAY. Someone commented that Sears is in financial crisis and may go under, so it might be a good time to buy some. They're like "WE'RE GOING DOWN, QUICK, SELL ALL THE HOSES!" They are 17.99 with free shipping on orders above 50.00, or free in store pick up even if they aren't actually on sale in the store. The 100 foot are about twice that much, so same per foot price. http://www.sears.com/lawn-garden-watering-hoses-sprinklers-garden-hoses/b-1024024
The package says the hose contains lead and chemicals known to cause cancer as everything must in California. I did a brief search and found this hose to actually score very well against most tested for toxic compounds including lead, of which none was found. http://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/samples/50-ft-craftsman-premium-heavy-duty-rubber-garden-hose
Quite a few people commented on the video with positive reviews of this hose, including people that have used them for over 10 years.
I like fan sprayer nozzles because they deliver a lot of water and deliver it gently if designed well. The other major reason I like them is that the spray pattern and water delivery can be adjusted by tilting the head side to side. I can cover a 3 to 4 foot wide swath 8 feet away by holding it horizontally, or concentrate most of that water in a one foot circle at the same distance by simply tilting the head vertically. In between those extremes, you can adjust the width by adjusting the tilt. This versatility and the wide horizontal coverage make them especially good for watering wide beds as well as for variable conditions. nothing else I know of delivers this amount of water in that sort of versatile pattern. Unfortunately good ones are hard to find and I can't recommend a new one, though I can recommend some old ones.
Hole size is a major design issue with these. If sprayers with small holes are available new at all, they will be the exception. Small holes mean finer streams of water, which equals less trauma to seedlings and seedbeds as well as the fragile soil surface. High volume and gentle delivery are hard to find in one package. The older fan sprayers seem to have small holes for the most part. THE ROSS is the brand I've used most and they are not that uncommon to run into. THE ROSS #10 shown in this video was patented in 1924. There are at least two models I can recommend, the #10 and #11. Both have similar holes, but different construction. Examine old ones for leaks at any soldered or folded seams. The cast metal body of the #11 can corrode through in some cases, so examine them closely as well.
Three good fan sprayers. THE ROSSes #'s 10 and 11 and a no name short brass one that is every bit as functional, if a little less durable.
A common design feature in new models is a valve in the handle of the sprayer. I think that is a mistake. The valve will fail eventually and can't be replaced. From my experience with hose shut off valves, it will probably fail rather sooner than later. Most people will want a hose shut off valve on the end of a hose anyway for switching appliances and such without going back to shut off the valve at the spigot. I have one on the end of every hose, which makes a valve in the sprayer body not only an unnecessary failure waiting to happen, but it's also an unneeded restriction in the line.
Most hoses should have a shut off valve already. Putting a valve on the sprayer is usually going to be a disadvantage, let a lone redundant.
The vintage ones can be found on ebay or etsy. Etsy seems to have quite a few, but I had to search "garden sprinkler" and sort through a bunch of results to find them. They are not super cheap, but given what is usually available on the market now, it might be worth spending 10.00 to 15.00 on a vintage one. I've found quite a few of them over the years at flea markets and such, but most of mine came from one single estate sale where I found a pile of them. Lucky me :) I have excellent thrift store/yardsale/flea market juju though. Just ask my mom, or my pile of all clad cookware.
My second hand juju is strong. Pray to the flea market gods all you want, some of us are just born with it.
