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Water Saving In the Garden

Simple Ways To Get Water For Your Garden

  • Keep a bucket in the shower and kitchen to catch excess water, and use this to water plants;  
  • Collect rainwater in buckets, bins, pots and tanks;
  • Many well established trees and shrubs are drought tolerant because their roots are deep enough to keep them cool - so water less; and
  • Reuse greywater from your shower, bathtub, basins and laundry tub for irrigation, and use an environmentally friendly washing powder. The use of greywater may have health implications, please contact Council before using greywater.

Water Saving Actions

Target the Root Zone

To give your plants the best benefit from watering, target the root zone around the base of the plant.

Improve Your Soil

Soil moisture is vital to plant health. Most sandy soils have low levels of organic matter, so, water and nutrients pass quickly through the soil. Improve the organic levels in your soil by adding manure, compost, peat, etc. A high level of organic matter will improve plant growth, use less water and fertilises.

Smart Care For Your Lawn

Don't mow grass shorter than 2-3cm. Longer grass grows deeper roots and needs less water - especially in the drier months.

Watering systems

The best watering system delivers water directly to the plant roots in the correct quantities. A lot of water can be saved with an efficient, well-designed watering system. Drippers, tap timers, trigger hoses and micro-watering systems should be used to deliver water efficiently. Your garden centre or watering system professional can offer valuable advice.

Don't forget to turn off your automatic watering systems when it rains or better still buy a device that automatically turns them off when it rains.

Night Watering

Water in the cool of the evening or early morning, not in the heat of the day when a great deal of the water will be wasted through evaporation.

Mulch

A good mulch of at least 75mm thickness reduces evaporation from the soil surface by as much as 70%. Mulch discourages weed growth, prevents erosion and keeps plant roots cooler and wetter. Keep mulch clear of tree trunks or plant stems to avoid fungal problems.

Trigger Nozzles Save Water

Installing a trigger nozzle on hoses stops water wastage as you move around the garden. After watering turn off at the tap, as an exploding nozzle can waste over 1000 litres of water an hour.

Keep your Pots Damp

Pot plants and hanging baskets can dry out quickly. Grouping them together in a shady spot protected from the wind is important and it also makes watering easy.

Sustainable Garden Planning

Careful garden planning is key to saving water. Group plants with similar watering needs in areas for more efficient watering and set windbreaks to protect delicate species and to reduce water needs.

Plant Drought Tolerant Native Plants

Colourful, drought tolerant natives look after themselves, and encourage native birds back into residential areas. Some natives suitable for pots and small garden beds include:

  • Common Beard-Heath (Leucopogon virgatus);
  • Common Flat Pea (Platylobium obtusangulum);
  • Common Correa (Correa re exa);
  • Small grass tree (Xanthorrhoea minor); and 
  • Blue Devil (Eryngium ovinum).

Annuals, bulbs, perennials & succulents

If you want colourful annuals in your garden plant them in containers, window boxes and pots as this will take very little water especially when water crystals are utilised. Primulas, pansies, violas, petunias, marigolds and convolvulus are just a few annuals that can be planted to brighten up your balcony or courtyard.

Permaculture

Your balcony or courtyard can easily be transformed into a colourful garden that produces edible fruit:

All herbs such as lavender, rosemary, thyme, parsley, mint, basil and coriander, grow well in pots in full sun or partial shade Vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, silverbeet and spinach do well in pots and they look and taste great