When hot days meet drought conditions, staying on top of watering can mean the difference between a thriving garden and one that’s crispy and struggling to survive. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that we waste as much as 50% of the water we use outdoors. Yikes!
Creating a lush, thriving garden is highly rewarding, but sustaining it takes a lot of water. During the rainy season, it’s easy to forget just how parched your plants can become after spring showers slow to a trickle. As the summer heat kicks in, your garden’s water needs become a top priority.
Luckily, there are many smart, simple ways to reduce water usage without giving up your lovely blooms, bountiful harvests, and healthy green grass.
Why Should You Conserve Water?
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Watering everything in your yard is expensive! According to the EPA, 30% to 60% of a household’s daily water usage is outdoors. Using that much fresh water isn’t great for the environment either, because it’s a limited resource, essential for human life and global biodiversity. Some areas even limit how much you can use during droughts.
On the bright side, if thoughts of saving money and helping the planet push this issue to the top of your to-do list, we can help! We have gathered advice from environmental protection agencies and university agricultural and extension departments spanning the country, from Virginia to Massachusetts to Oregon, for the best ways to tackle water efficiency this growing season.
1. Amend the Soil if it’s Sandy
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
What type of soil do you have? When it comes to water conservation, you are in luck if your soil is mostly clay. UNL Extension Educator Elizabeth Exstrom writes that clay soils retain water quite well. Having sandy soil means you will have to water more often because it doesn’t hold moisture for long. Improving your soil is a smart way to combat this problem.
Mixing organic matter into your soil is not only excellent for nourishing your plants, but it also helps retain water, especially in sandy soils. UMass CAFE (The Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment) recommends maintaining 4% – 5% organic matter in your soil, particularly for your vegetable garden. Some organic materials you can incorporate into your garden are compost, untreated grass clippings, leaf mold, and aged animal manure.
2. Use Organic Mulch
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Organic mulch helps the soil retain moisture, reduce runoff, and stop weed growth that steals precious water from your plants. UMass CAFE suggests surrounding plants with 2” – 3” of mulch once the soil has warmed up. Assistant Professor of the SDSU extension Kristine Lang points out one exception: perennials accustomed to drier conditions. These particular plants should not have a thick layer of organic mulch around them because it produces an environment that is too moist.
Lang suggests straw or hay for vegetable gardens and wood chips for perennial flower landscapes. Pine needles are a good choice for annuals, perennials, and vegetable plants. Leaves are great too, but they must be shredded or partially decomposed before using them in your garden. Grass clippings are often an easy and available option, but they should be dried out first. You can also apply them thinly and allow them to dry out before adding another layer. This will prevent them from matting down, which resists water absorption.
3. Choose Drought-Resistant Vegetables and Fruits
Image credit: YAY Images
Since fruits and vegetables are composed mainly of water, 75% to 90% according to UMass CAFE, you may be surprised to know that there are drought-resistant varieties! Exstrom also recommends checking out bush-type varieties of vegetables because they often don’t require as much water as the vining types.
Exstrom lists some water-efficient or drought-resistant vegetables: Swiss Chard, asparagus, peppers, mustard greens, eggplant, and Roma tomatoes. Warm-weather vegetables have a tendency to do better with less water than cool-weather plants. And those fruits and veggies with deeper roots – like melons, tomatoes, and squash – have an easier time in drier conditions because they can pull moisture from further down in the soil.
4. Consider How Your Plants Are Arranged
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
UMass CAFE suggests placing the same plant variety in blocks or wide rows, rather than in single rows. Instead of a single row with one strawberry plant after another, try planting two or three across before moving down the row.
Square foot gardening is another option, similar to block planting. You can still use companion planting with the block and square foot methods. Just arrange blocks of companion plants near each other. For instance, plant a block of potatoes next to a block of beans, with no walking space in between.
Planting in one of these arrangements creates a garden bed where plants shade one another, slowing evaporation and reducing weed growth. When watering, all the plants are close together, and little, if any, water is wasted. If you plant in single rows and water from above, you often lose water onto walkways between the rows.
Exstrom offers another idea using companion planting. “The Three Sisters” method works with corn, squash, and beans. Planting these three together takes the space of one plant. The beans grow up the corn stalk, and both the beans and squash shade the soil, ultimately conserving moisture in the soil and preventing weeds.
5. Timing is Everything
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Regional Water Providers Consortium recommends all watering take place before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. when temperatures are lower and evaporation is slower. Virginia Cooperative Extension prefers the morning, a few hours before sunrise or just after the sun comes up, because wind impact is also at its lowest.
If you have above-ground sprinkler systems attached to programmable timers, this is easy and convenient to set up. Nighttime watering is not recommended unless necessary because grass that is wet for several hours encourages fungal diseases.
6. Check the Efficiency of your Equipment
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Consider adding a shut-off nozzle to your hose. Regional Water Providers Consortium says this simple hack will save you loads of water – 5 to 7 gallons per minute – while your hose is on.
Additionally, you could lose water at the spigot or where hoses are connected if they do not have a water-tight seal. Do you notice water leaking at a connection? The rubber washer may be missing or need to be replaced. Have a leaky spigot? Plumber’s tape (Teflon tape) is a clever trick to seal out water. Simply wrap the tape around the threads a few times, and then attach your hose. Also, remember to regularly check for leaks and any blockages or broken lines if you have an automatic irrigation system.
7. Soaker Hoses
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Soaker hoses with a timer are a wise choice for water conservation. Exstrom says watering with soaker hoses or another drip system can reduce your water needs by half – pretty impressive!
If you use soaker hoses on mulched plants, you are saving water by only watering the roots, and the mulch works in tandem to retain that moisture. That’s a double water saver.
8. Avoid Overwatering
Image Credit: Depositphotos.com.
It’s important to water your plants enough so they can thrive, but are you overdoing it? According to UMass CAFE, new plantings should be watered if less than 1” of rain has fallen in the last 5 – 7 days. But roots need both air and water, so too much water can kill them. To avoid this, and the diseases and pests that come along with overwatering, aim for soil that is not soggy.
NYC Environmental Protection says most people water their lawns with twice as much water as is needed, so there is a lot of room for improvement. For example, the EPA states that an automatic landscape irrigation system can waste up to 25,000 gallons of water annually if it’s not properly maintained.
9. Install Rain Barrels
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
If you have never used a rain barrel, it is a low-cost option that is quite easy to set up. Simply add a spigot to the bottom of a 55-gallon barrel, and you have an inexpensive DIY rain barrel. Redirect your downspout into the barrel – and wait for rain! You will be amazed at how much water will accumulate after a heavy downpour.
Using rain barrel water comes with a few precautions. While it is perfect for your lawn and ornamental landscape, it is not recommended for edible plants. If you decide to use it on your fruit and vegetable plants, the University of Arkansas Extension suggests watering the soil only; avoid touching the plants with the water. Otherwise, you may contaminate your harvested food with pathogens in bird droppings washed off your roof and into your barrel or chemicals leached into the water from roofing materials.
10. Swap Out Your Lawn with Native Plants
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
If you aren’t mindful of how much water you are using, water conservation plans will quickly go down the drain by watering your lawn regularly. Keeping a nice-looking lawn requires a significant amount of water and more maintenance than other vegetation, so the EPA suggests reducing or even eliminating grass unless it serves some practical purpose, such as a recreational area or a kids’ play area.
You can accomplish this by replacing some grass with native perennials and drought-tolerant ground cover, shrubs, and trees. National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife staff member Kelly LaVaute writes that native plants require less watering than exotic plants because they have evolved to survive on the typical rainfall the area provides. NYC Environmental Protection agrees, stating that native plants need watering for about two years after planting, and then they do well with just rainfall. They tolerate droughts well, too.
11. Add Drought-Resistant Grass
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Consider reseeding your grass with drought-resistant seed. For example, tall fescues need half as much water per week as bluegrasses. Virginia Cooperative Extension says warm-season grasses like bermudagrass and St. Augustine grass are more water-efficient than Kentucky bluegrass and other cool-season grasses.
To make your lawn more drought-resistant, the Regional Water Providers Consortium advises changing your lawnmower to a higher setting when you mow. Maintaining your lawn at a taller height provides more shade to the roots, so the soil can retain moisture better. Virginia Cooperative Extension suggests specific minimum mowing heights for grasses to make them more drought-tolerant. For example, bermudagrass should be cut to a minimum of 1” to 1.5”. Centipedegrass is more resilient when a bit taller, at 2” to 2.5”, and tall fescue is better at 2.5” to 3”.
Where Should You Start?
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Watering without wasting can be as easy as moving your sprinkler, so it’s not watering the driveway or sidewalk, too. Choosing a broom instead of the hose to clean off the driveway makes a difference. Or make sure your automatic sprinkler system is not turning on when it’s raining. There are many ways to conserve water outside, so taking even one step is a step in the right direction!
Read more
Gardening Experts Reveal the Secret to Thriving Plants With Less Water
Watering Your Plants Right: Should You Go Top or Bottom?
