Water is going to become the single biggest factor in determining how your garden will look in the near future. Think about this now and get a head start in surviving with less water!
There is no doubt that water is a resource which we have a careless disregard for - we take it for granted. When there have been shortages we get outraged, complaining that the water authorities are not doing their job - doesn't a large proportion of water disappear through leaky pipes before it even reaches us? Why blame us?
The truth is that we are all responsible for the water we consume in industry, agriculture, in running our towns and cities and in our homes. However, our homes are where we all have direct control. Here we can save water to good effect.
Like anything that involves personal effort, we might ask the question "Why bother to change our habits?" There is no absolute answer to this except that one day, we'll all have to, whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, the various authorities are likely to be the last to take action on this front, when they should be the first. For me, the biggest incentive is that it's fun! Playing with water systems, which combine functional needs with aesthetic appeal promises to be a fascinating pastime. Perhaps an understanding of the global water situation might help in appreciating the importance of “doing our bit” and I will post articles on global water issues and household water (grey water) reuse. This article concentrates on using less water in the first place.
A few fact and figures:
- We use 150 litres of water per person per day
- For a household of four, that's three 45 gallon drums per day
- A garden hose left on for an hour can use the same amount of water as four people use in a day
- 30% is flushed down the toilet - one of those large drums!
- Car washing with a hose is wasteful - use a bucket, and don't wash it so often. Many car wash facilities clean and reuse their water
The right planting doesn't need watering: put the right plants in, don't water (once established) ..simple!
What might make you pay attention to your water consumption? Imagine if you had to have those three 45 gallon drums delivered to you every day. You would have to manhandle them into position, connect them up to a pumping system, remove the empty drums... and pay for them! We'd soon all be paying attention to how much water we consume and the lawn wouldn't even get a look-in!
That is not likely to happen but it is perhaps inevitable that we will all have to pay for our water and it may be rationed in future dry spells.
What can we do to reduce our water-use in the garden? Quite a lot actually:
- Stop watering lawns
- Ensure ponds don't leak - top up with rainwater if possible
- Use mulches to all borders and non-lawn areas
- Use plants that don't need irrigation
- Minimise the use of pots - use drip irrigation to water
- Use water butts attached to downpipes to collect rainwater
- Don't use a hosepipe to wash the car
A dry, south-facing slope simply planted with ribbons of herbs and dry-tolerant grasses. There is no compromise here on planting style.
Let's look at these issues in more detail:
Lawns. We obsess over lawns. They must be green and verdant, weed free and cut so close you almost cannot tell that they are plants. Under these conditions lawn grass is under stress and cannot cope with dry conditions. Solution: Don't overfeed the lawn and cut to about 25 -30mm. Consider reducing the lawn area. If it goes brown, it'll soon green up again when moisture returns. Use a fine leaved ryegrass mix turf or seed for new lawns.
Plants that don't need much water are going to be the subject of a future article. They are typically Mediterranean species and thrive in hot, dry conditions. The only limitations in this country for these plants are frost and winter wet, especially both together. Also, it's no good planting them in deep shade, or an area that ought to be water-meadow! Placement must be appropriate. If the area concerned is hot and dry in the summer, it's probably a good spot. Winter wet can be alleviated by creating raised beds and adding grit, gravel and/or lime to the soil. Most, but not all, of these plants are lime-lovers, so not ideal on acidic soils. Frost does less damage if the roots are dry.
Pots are great, but take up more water than the same plants need in the ground. Choose your pots carefully and consider pre-plumbing them with a drip irrigation feed, or rainwater from the water butt. Ceramic pots can be coated on the inside with a water sealant to minimise loss - make sure it's not toxic to plants. Restrict annuals to pots to minimise work and water to established beds.
Water butts cannot hope to catch all rainwater from the roof (the average roof sheds 45000 litres per year) but can contribute a pure source of free water, without additives. Use a rainwater diverter. A single butt might save 1000 litres of water per year.
As already said, a hose can use as much water in one hour as a family of four use in one day. Minimise use (use a bucket to wash the car - and wash it less often!) and always use a trigger head with a spray nozzle to reduce waste.
Pond leakage can cause a lot of water loss. Don't confuse loss from evaporation and transpiration with leakage. A client of mine told me recently that the stream we had built a few years ago had got choked up with aquatic plants, causing the water level in the stream to rise and constantly leak water over the top of the liner. The mains water auto top-up valve in the sump tank was constantly trying to bring the sump water level back up which, since he was on a meter, meant that his water bill came in at £1100! This was caused by lack of maintenance but ultimately, I see using grey water as the solution to pond top-up, as well as garden irrigation.
Cover all borders with a 50mm thick mulch of wood-chips or gravel. This cuts down on weeding and water loss. Consider replacing unnecessary lawn areas with gravel mulch, planted through with drifts of Mediterranean plants, or for shadier areas, woodchips with shade-loving perennials and ground cover.
Hopefully , these ideas will help you on the way to reducing your garden water consumption.