5 Tips On Conserving Water When Gardening

With the changing climatic conditions, the summers are getting hotter as the years progress and this makes water very precious because rain becomes scarce.

Gardening requires water as a major component and without proper use, one can end up using more water than they should and running up huge water bills.

There are ways to ensure that your precious plants get enough water and grow healthy as they should without having to waste a lot of water.

Outlined below are some useful ways of conserving water while gardening.

1. Watering In The Morning

Always use the same rules as when watering your garden seeds if you are growing them. Watering your garden in the morning before the sun gets too hot is advisable in order to allow the plants to absorb the water fully. When the sun is too hot, the water tends to evaporate quickly before the plants have their fill, forcing you to water them again and using up more water. The air is still cool in the morning; the perfect condition for watering plants.

2. Plant Drought Resistant Plants

If you are living in areas with dry stony soils and scarce rain and water, consider planting drought resistant plants because they can cope best with little water. Planting plants requiring a lot of water to survive will force you to use up a lot of water when watering them and any water conservation efforts will be thwarted.

3. Do Mulching

Mulching will retain a lot of water in the soil by reducing evaporation. Cover the surface of your soil with mulch which can be rotted compost, bark chips and so on. Your plants will get enough water even when there is sweltering heat since the soil is not exposed to direct sun.

4. Get Rid Of The Weeds

Weeds are unwanted plants that tend to crop up between your precious crops. They compete with your plants for water in order to survive. Getting rid of them will allow your plants to get enough water without competition and you won’t have to use a lot of it. Mulching is one way to keep the weeds from growing after getting rid of them or before they grow. Besides, a garden full of weeds is never attractive.

5. Add More Organic Matter

Improving your soil by adding well-rotted manure will help your soil retain moisture. You could either dig in the manure or simply spread a thick layer of it across the top surface of your garden when the ground is still moist. The worms and other living micro-organisms will help pull it in the soil for you. Your soil will retain more moisture if it has more organic matter and you will use less water when watering.

Remember To Collect Rain Water

When it rains, you don’t have to water your plants because they are getting free water. Take advantage of this free water and stock large amounts for the dry days. Use this to water on your plants during the dry days and follow the above guidelines so that you can still conserve this rain water and it can be beneficial to your plants for a long time. With these guidelines you will have a stress free gardening experience especially when it comes to the use of water.