5 Ways to Conserve Water
What’s best for your gardening budget may also be what’s best for Mother Nature.
In honor of Earth Day, I’m excited to share some of my favorite little-known facts about how to ‘go green’ and get conscious in the garden -- while putting a little green back in your wallet.
If you haven’t guessed already, it comes down to a gardener’s greatest resource: water. There are shockingly easy ways for gardeners everywhere to conserve water in the garden and, per usual, the Florida Gardenista is here to give you all the dirt.
Add Organic Matter
I love the look on a seasoned gardener’s face when I ask them how much water can be soaked up, retained, and reused by repurposing grass clippings, dead palm frawns, or spent flower blooms.
Go ahead and guess...
Ah, most organic materials can hold up to 10X their weight in water. This means rather than running up the water bill (if you have city water), you can simply repurpose organic matter from the yard or garden and use it to intentionally cut back on your weekly water allowance.
An added bonus: Organic matter is great for building soil structure and helps manage water needs during drought or flood conditions. So instead of carrying your yard waste to the curb, think about reusing it.
Gardeners often think of composting when it comes to amending their soil with organic matter. There are so many benefits and ways to compost - so stay tuned for an upcoming compost post! But essentially by composting, you create a controlled environment for organic matter combined with other compost-friendly household materials (think old newspaper, kitchen scraps, Amazon prime cardboard boxes) to break down. Resulting in dark, rich gold for the garden.
Curious how to start composting, but don’t know where to start? Here’s a guide to help, published by the University of Florida and IFAS.
Plant Natives
Adding more Florida native plants into your landscape is a great way to conserve water as well as attract pollinators and other wildlife to your yard. Native plants are adapt to our dry and rainy seasons, sandy soils and unique weather. Like any plant, Florida natives do need some water but considerably less because they are use to our drought conditions.
One of my favorite things about planting Florida natives is that many attract and host pollinators - such as butterflies, dragonflies, bees and hummingbirds and other cool wildlife to the garden. Who doesn’t want more pollinators and beautiful wildlife?!
Is your mind already spinning about what Florida natives you can plant in your garden? Click here to explore a list of Florida natives or here for a list of pollinator friendly plants.
Time is Money
Watering during the wrong time of day can waste money and not be beneficial for plants. Ever wonder when is the best time to water? The answer is between 4am and 10am and the earlier the better. You could be wasting money on water and hurting your plants by continuously watering your plants at the wrong time. The period between mid-morning to early afternoon the sun’s rays are most intense and water droplets are magnified causing water to evaporate. By watering in the morning, plants are able to absorb the water into the leaves and roots. If you continue to water at the wrong time, plants aren’t able to absorb the nutrients they need and you will likely see more issues like pests and diseases.
Mulch it!
The fourth way to conserve water is to use mulch whenever possible. Keep moisture in the soil and minimize weeds by applying mulch around your flowers, veggies, shrubs and trees. Added Bonus >> as mulch breaks down it becomes another source of organic material for your plants. Just be sure to choose an organic mulch, or one without synthetic dye.
How much mulch is needed? Two to three inches of mulch is best. Be careful not to create a mound around the base of plants and trees. This can maintain too much moisture in the root area causing root rot or inviting unwanted plant issues - like disease and rodents.
Here is another helpful link from UF/IFAS with more details on mulching.
Get Techie
Busy lifestyle? Or just forgetful? I’m sure we can all fall into one of these categories.
Incorporate technology into your garden to help manage your garden’s water needs more responsibly. I’m not talking about major tech, it could be as simple as a drip irrigation system for your veggie garden with a basic irrigation timer. Or a rain gauge to help you from over watering when it just rained. It will cost a little money ($10-$100) for the helpful tools I mentioned above but technology can make your garden routine easier, prevent overwatering, and save you money.
If you’re not sure how to instal something - YouTube it! There is a How-to YouTube video for just about everything garden related. I didn’t have any experience installing irrigation or any clue where to start, but with the help of a few YouTube tutorials, I’ve been able to instal a few:)
To Sum it Up….
It is never too late to save water. You can start conserving water in your garden today or even this weekend. But hopefully these few ideas we covered will help you have a healthier garden, save you time and money, all while conserving water in the garden.
RECAP :: 5 Ways to Save Water in Your Florida Garden
Increase Organic Matter
Plant Florida Natives
Early Morning Water Schedule
Mulch
Utilize Technology
Keep in Touch
Learn something new from this post that you’re thinking of incorporating in your garden? I would love to hear all about it! Email me at floridagardenista@gmail.com or tag me on social media: Instagram or Facebook.