Gardening Water Wasters

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average household uses 30% of its water outdoors. Much of that water, however, gets wasted. If you want to use less water while gardening, make sure you target these water wasters.

Garden Hose and Spigot Leaks

If your area hasn’t gotten any rain in a week or so, then you probably need to water your garden. A leaky hose or sprinkler, however, will waste a lot of water. Instead of focusing the water on your garden plants, the leaky hose might spray water on your driveway, house, or lawn.

Check your hoses for leaks to prevent this problem. In some cases, you can patch small holes with tape. If you find large or multiple holes, then you may need to get a new hose.

You should also check your spigot to make sure it can attach to hoses perfectly. Any deformations in the spigot can cause leaks. If you find any leaks, then you can call a plumber to replace the spigot and prevent the faulty connection to your hose.

Weeds

Pulling weeds will help you save water while gardening. Getting rid of pesky weeds will also make it easier for you to grow healthy plants.

Weeds steal water from the plants that you want in your garden. Remove them to keep your decorative and vegetable plants hydrated.

Evaporation

Rain will soak your garden to keep plants hydrated. Unfortunately, much of that water evaporates into the air. When that happens, you may have to use get your hose out to water plants.

You can prevent evaporation by putting a thick layer of mulch in your garden. The mulch will keep water in the ground where plants can access it. The mulch will also help prevent weeds that want to steal water from your plants.

Turf Grass

Unless your area experiences a drought, you don’t need to water your lawn. You can make your turf grass even more resilient to water shortages by letting it grow. Grass that grows to 4 inches has deeper roots and better access to water than grass that grows to just 2 inches.

For even better results, replace turf grass with drought-tolerant lawn coverings like clover.

If your homeowner’s association requires short grass, make sure you follow a few rules to maximize your water use. You can get the best results by:

• Watering in the morning.
• Never watering more than twice per week.
• Using pulsating sprinklers instead of oscillating designs.

Beautiful gardens and lawns rarely require much water. When you mulch your garden well, choose plants that thrive in your area, and time your watering correctly, yon avoid gardening water suckers that waste water and increase your monthly bill.