WITH a dry summer ahead of us, it's important that we do our part to conserve water – so what does this mean if we love our garden and want to keep it looking good through the hot weather?
There are a number of simple yet effective things that we can do to make the most of the water we have, here are a few ideas:
Plan your garden
Consider the following aspects when choosing plants – how much sun or shade the area will get, exposure to prevailing wind, whether the garden is up or down slope and what is the soil like in that particular area?
Group plants with similar water requirements together, higher water users will be easier to maintain if they are together – fruit trees and vegetable gardens for example.
Low water users will perform best if the watering regime is suited to their requirements, rather than trying to cater for different requirements in the one garden area.
Soil – where good gardens begin
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Soils with good structure, and high levels of organic matter, will retain moisture for a longer period of time.
Good soil structure will also allow for strong root development, which results in vigorous and resilient plants which will be able to withstand dry periods more successfully. Incorporate as much compost, or cow manure as possible.
Mulching your garden
Mulching your garden is also one of the simplest and most effective ways to help your garden through the dry weather.
There are a number of various mulch options available, all with different benefits.
Pea straw is excellent for vegetable gardens and fruit trees as it breaks down into your soil (improving the structure as it does so), adds nitrogen – very important for hardworking vegie garden soils, and is easy to dig in when the time comes to plant next season's vegies.
Shredded pine bark is great for ornamental garden beds – it's long lasting, and great for retaining moisture and keeping weeds at bay.
Stone mulches are very effective for moisture retention and weed suppression as well – be aware of the radiant heat that can be generated by stone mulch in the sun though – and consider which plants will be appropriate for this situation.
Watering your garden
Lastly, the type of watering that you do will have a big impact on how well your garden copes through the summer.
Drip irrigation placed under a layer of mulch, controlled with a timer is the most water wise solution.
It allows for slow, consistent water penetration, utilising every drop of water.
The timer means that you will never wake up in the middle of the night wondering if you turned the tap off.
Longer, less frequent watering means that your plants will develop deeper roots which are more resilient to dry weather, rather than shallow rooted plants which dry out quickly once the soil begins to dry out.
A few tips to remember this summer to stay water wise:
- Water in the cool of the morning or evening;
- Water longer, but less frequently;
- Mulch, Mulch, Mulch;
- Use a tap timer;
- Keep your lawn a little bit longer – longer blades of grass will shade each other.
Happy Gardening.
