01 Aug Be a Wise Waterer

Water Wise Tips

Follow these easy tips to become a eco-friendly “wise waterer”! Watering your plants is important to their health and well-being.  It’s possible to have a beautiful, productive garden and still reduce your water consumption.

Use a Hose with Care

Use a hose with an on/off nozzle. One unattended hose can pour out 600 gallons of water an hour. Furthermore, twenty unattended hoses can spew out enough water in an hour to fill a small swimming pool.

Build Healthy Soil

Add organic matter in the form of compost, composted manure or chopped leaves to your soil. Sandy soil allows water to pass through too rapidly, while clay soil holds water. Compost will improve the water holding capacity of either type of soil as well as improve the texture. Add at least an inch of compost a year.

Mulch 

Mulch that’s two-to-three inches thick greatly reduces plants’ water requirements. Equally important, mulch helps block weeds and reduces evaporation.

Plant Native Plants

After they’re established, many require no supplemental irrigation. For example, replacing one water-hogging plant with a drought-tolerant one can save 550 gallons of water a year.

Don’t Assume Wilting Plants Always Need Water

Many plants undergo natural “incipient wilting” in the middle of a hot, sunny day (much like us), but perk up in the late afternoon (also like us.) Be a “wise waterer” and give your plants a chance to recover from the heat.

Make a Clean Sweep

It takes about 80 gallons to clean a patio with a hose. Instead, use a broom and get some exercise at the same time.

Redirect Rain Water

Rain water can be redirected from gutters into a rain barrel. Typically this is  a 55 gallon plastic container which looks like a garbage can with a spigot for a hose. Even simpler, redirect gutters to spill water away from paved areas to where its needed, on flower beds, trees and shrubs.

Dig a Rain Sink or Swale area

Use earth berms to redirect rainwater runoff from driveways and patios to this low area where it can collect and seep into the ground instead of being sent to storm water drains in the street.

Use Soaker Hoses and Drip Irrigation

Soaker hoses and drip irrigation are efficient. They ensure that up to 90% of the water is actually available to plants.  This is a very effective way to be a “wise waterer”.

Encourage Soaking

The rain that falls onto your yard should soak into your yard, not run off into the street. For that reason, use bricks, pavers, gravel or grass for patios and driveways, which allow rainwater to seep into the ground.

Use Free Water

Are you using a dehumidifier to keep the basement dry? Instead of dumping the collected water down the drain, use it to water plants.

Plan, Plan, Plan

Take advantages of site characteristics such as shade, sun, wind and soil type. Group plants with similar needs in the same areas. Likewise, choose native plants that are adapted to your soil and climate.

Take Care of Your Plants

Healthy plants require less water. Once a plant becomes stressed it requires more fertilizer, pest controls and ultimately more water.