« The EPA Gets Sued for Violating the Clean Water Act | Main | Hawaii moves to ensure water service for Molokai »
July 21, 2008
Proper Watering for your Garden
Answers on how to properly water your garden, how much or how little water to use and proper care to both conserve water and maintain a healthy garden.
Soaker hoses or drip-irrigation systems are the most efficient way to water your garden, but if you must use a sprinkler, use one that delivers large drops, not a mist, to prevent rapid evaporation.
A garden should get about an inch of water per week, so a rain gauge is a good idea, or as Becky Szkotak, of Rutgers Cooperative Extension in Camden, N.J., suggests: "Get a small Tupperware container."
If you water by hand, do it deeply and less often, in the morning so as to prevent fungus which is common with night watering.
Use fertilizers sparingly. They bulk up your plants, then make them thirsty.
Look for drought-tolerant plants, such as salvias, purple coneflower and rudbeckia.
Use compost and mulch for healthy soil that retains moisture.
Keep weeding. Weeds are big drinkers.
Install a rain barrel, with dunks inside and mesh on top to discourage mosquitoes.
Choose porous materials like gravel for pathways, so water seeps into the ground instead of skimming off.
Fix hose leaks. A garden hose can put out more than six gallons of water a minute.
Experts say over-watering is a bigger problem than under-watering.
These same experts say that at this time of year, when up to 80 percent of household water consumption takes place outside, we waste as much as half of it, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and published by The Times.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at July 21, 2008 02:15 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://waterfilters-r-us.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/540
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)