Watering Your Garden Wisely - 30 Hints & Tips

Watering Your Garden Wisely

30 Handy & Helpful Hints and Tips for Watering Your Garden.

Connect as many water butts to as many drain pipes as possible. They can be connected to sheds and greenhouses too.
Water in the evening when it's cooler to prevent the water from evaporating in the high daytime temperatures.
Water only when necessary. More plants die from over-watering than under-watering.
Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered, and not the house, path and fence!
Aerate your lawn at least once a year so water can reach the roots rather than running off the lawn's surface.
Water hanging baskets with ice cubes as they penetrate the soil slowly and prevent excess water spilling out.
When watering hanging baskets with a hose, a bucket underneath will catch excess water to use on planting beds.
Top-dress planted pots with grit or stone to help prevent water evaporation and mix water retention gel into the compost.
Choose shrubs and ground-cover plants instead of turf for hard-to-water areas, such as steep slopes and isolated strips.
Plant shrubs and trees in the autumn when its cooler and wetter. They will establish quicker.

Spreading a layer of organic mulch around plants retains moisture and saves water.
Collect the water used for rinsing vegetables to use for house plants.
If water runs off your lawn or beds easily, split the watering time into shorter periods to allow for better absorption.
Don’t forget to check outdoor taps, hose pipes, water butts and sprinklers for leaks.
Adjust your lawn mower to a higher setting. A taller lawn shades roots and holds moisture better than when cut short.
When cleaning out fish tanks, give the nutrient rich water to your plants.
Use sprinklers for large areas of grass. Water small patches by hand to avoid waste.
Rather than following a set watering schedule, check for soil moisture two or three inches below the soil surface before watering.
If possible, a drip-irrigation is better for trees and shrubs, as the constant watering applies water directly to the roots.
Don’t water your lawn on windy days when most of the water blows away or evaporates.

Water your plants deeply but less frequently to encourage deep root growth and drought tolerance.
To decrease water from being wasted on sloping lawns and beds, apply water for less time and repeat two or three times.
Group plants with the same watering needs together to avoid over-watering some while under-watering others.
Use a layer of organic material on the surface of your planting beds to minimise weed growth that competes for water.
Trickling or cascading fountains lose less water to evaporation than those spraying into the air.
Set a kitchen timer when watering your garden to remind you when to stop. A running hose can discharge up to 10 gallons of water a minute.
Use a trowel to examine the soil moisture depth. If the top two to three inches of soil are dry then its time to water.
Make sure your pools, ponds and water features are equipped with recirculating pumps.
Wash bikes and pets on the lawn, and you’ll water your lawn at the same time.
Leaf mulch around trees. This keeps the soil cooler and reduces evaporation.