Water Conservation Tips in the Garden

Water Conservation Tips in the Garden

Of course, it depends on the time of year, but very often people use even more water outside in the garden than they do in their houses. We all like our lawns to look green and springy and our flowers to flourish, plus more and more people are growing their own veggies, but it’s important that you use water wisely and don’t use any more than you absolutely have to.

You must have heard the expression “saving for a rainy day”. Well, how about “saving for a dry spell”. Do you have a butt? If you don’t, then you really ought to you know. If you have a water butt or two filling from the rain (you can put it beneath your guttering and fall pipes) then you’ll be able to preserve all of that lovely natural water when you have too much of it, and utilize it when things dry up in the summer. It’s no use having a stream of water running down your driveway every time it rains and going straight down the drain, save the water for a dry spell.

Why not try some of these water conservation tips in your garden too:

  1. Put a pistol sprayer at the end of your hose. Not only will you be able to adjust the flow of the water, you also won’t be wasting water every time you put it down or move to another area which needs watering.
  2. Only water your lawn when it’s absolutely necessary. It really doesn’t need it for a set amount of time every single day. If it starts wilting or loses its spring then fine, but water only as and when it is necessary.
  3. Water your garden in the evening when there’s less chance of losing much of it to evaporation.
  4. If you have a sprinkler system on your lawn, make sure that it’s only watering the lawn and not spraying the side of the house or the driveway too.
  5. Water your plants and lawn slowly to avoid any of the water simply running off, especially if your garden is on a slope.
  6. If you mulch around flower beds and shrubs it reduces the amount of water which is lost through evaporation, and so you don’t have to water them quite so often.
  7. Utilize water from the house to water your plants. There’s no need to let gallons of water run down the drain while you’re waiting for the hot water to arrive, save the water in buckets and use it on the garden. You can also use “grey water” on your garden, it really won’t mind.
  8. Sweep paths and driveways with a broom, you don’t really need to use a hose for that.
  9. Don’t use a hose to wash the car, instead use a bucket and sponge or use a car wash which recycles it’s water.