Use The Rain
It’s a challenge for most gardeners to make sure their prized plants thrive in the heat and dryness of summer sometimes. You can keep your water costs down and conserve water by making the most out of what nature provides in the form of rain. A rain barrel is the tried-and-true way of collecting rainfall for your garden. You can purchase them at home and garden centers, or make one yourself out of an old oil drum, food service barrel or industrial sized trashcan, and a filtering system. Just be sure any reused barrel is well washed so no chemicals end up in your garden. You may also have to add a gutter extension or downspout to be sure your rain is collected effectively. But once you put in the effort of setting up the rain barrel, it will repay you many times in saved water and money.
Time It Right
Take advantage of nature again when you do water, and do so in the early morning. This is when plants best absorb water, and it is cool enough for the heat of the sun not to evaporate water quickly. Keep a rain gauge outside near your garden, and check it before watering. You may find out that there has already been enough natural rainfall that you don’t need to water that day. Not only will this conserve water, but it also will keep you from falling into the common gardening pitfall of overwatering.
Help The Soil
Applying mulch is the most basic thing you can do to help your plants conserve water well. Spread a light layer of mulch around the base of your plantings and trees. This helps keep moisture in the soil where the plants’ roots can reach it, and prevents water loss through evaporation. In a garden, you can instead add moisture-retaining organic soil amendments like well-mixed compost or humus.
Choose Dry Plants
If you are adding plants to your garden or landscaping, think about how much water they will need first. To truly conserve yard and garden water, choose xeriphytic plants that do well with little watering. This doesn’t have to mean desert plants like cacti or other succulents; depending on your area, you might choose evergreens, live oaks, coneflowers or asters, or tough shrubs like beach plum or serviceberry.
A time-tested method of water conservation in the garden is to water your plants using drip or soaker hoses. These porous rubber or plastic hoses don’t require high water pressure or gallons of water, but simply drip out water throughout the day right at the base of the plants where it’s needed. This way, you don’t waste water by spraying onto plant surfaces, and you don’t lose as much water to evaporation.
Want to learn more about water conservation?
Check out these Web sites chosen by us for more information on the subject.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service has a tip sheet on backyard water conservation.
The horticulture extension at the University of Georgia has a useful guide to conserving water in vegetable gardens.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has everything you could want to know about water conservation at home.
Kim Slotterback-Hoyum is a Michigan-based freelance writer. She has been a proofreader, writer, reporter and editor at monthly, weekly and daily publications for five years. She has a Bachelor of Science in writing and minor in journalism from Northern Michigan University. Besides writing, her interests include gardening, traveling and reading.