Watering Wisely: How to Garden During Water Scarcity
In a world where water scarcity is becoming more of a concern, eco-gardeners face the unique challenge of caring for their plants while conserving water. The good news is you don’t have to sacrifice your lush garden. Instead, you can employ wise watering practices, from planting native varieties to setting up the right watering schedule.
In this post, we’ll be covering 4 ways you can conserve water and make use of every last drop!
Choose Native Plants
By selecting native plants, your garden will require less water. This is because plants native to the area are acclimated to the weather and rain patterns, and can often thrive with rainwater alone.
Some plants may be native to a specific state, while others are known to be native within a region or geographical range and may have even naturalized to farther geographical areas. Find plants native to your area with the National Wildlife Foundation’s Native Plants Database.
New England Aster, native to New York
Black-Eyed Susans, native to eastern and central North America; some varieties have naturalized to western and southern states
California Poppies, native to...California!
Eastern Red Columbine, native to the North East & South Eastern Canada
Utilize a Watering Schedule
Lawns and gardens are usually watered too often, and sometimes sprinklers end up watering driveways and walkways instead of lawns and gardens.
According to Clean North, it’s estimated that running a garden hose for just 1 minute uses 9-17 gallons of water!
So you’ll want to make the best use of that water. In order to do so, water your gardens and lawns slowly and deeply, early in the morning when it’s a cooler time for the plants to soak up the water. This allows the water to sink deep into the roots, reducing the days you need to water.
In terms of how often to water, you’ll want to give your plants about 1 inch per week, either by watering or through rainfall. For every 10 degrees that the average temperature is above 60 degrees, add an extra 1/2 inch of water each week. If using an irrigation system, we recommend watering flower beds three times per week for 20 - 25 minutes, or every other day for 10 - 15 minutes.
Additionally, using drip irrigation (versus overhead sprinklers) is an excellent way to not lose water to evaporation. The hoses are placed down by the roots of the plants, so the water can go directly into the soil. The water is also dripped out slowly, allowing the soil to soak it up.
Don’t Waste Any Water
You can harvest rainwater and even reuse lightly used water from your house in your garden. Rainwater harvesting and catchment systems, as well as high-efficiency sprinkler nozzles and rain sensors for irrigation systems can also be used to water wisely.
For more information on rainwater harvesting, visit EPA Green Infrastructure.
Check Your Gear
Take a look at your garden hoses to ensure there are no holes. You’ll also want to check where your hose is connected to a spigot or connector, to make sure there’s no leaking water.
If you are using a sprinkler system, make sure the sprinkler heads are pointed in the right direction and that there are no leaks.
Do you want to learn more about actionable steps you can take to have an eco-friendly garden? Take our $7 challenge!