3 easy ways to save water around the garden

With drought a daily consideration in many people's lives and clean water a precious resource, water conservation is on many minds. There's only so much water to work with, but if we can keep it in our area, we can enjoy an abundance of water for our garden plants. To help you get started, here are three easy ways to save water around the garden.

Place a layer of leaves on top of your garden. The leaves prevent water from evaporating in the sun.

• When cold rain or hose water hits hot soil that doesn't have any fresh material to soak it up, the soil typically rejects it and the water trickles away needlessly.

Adding fresh, organic material allows the soil to replenish itself while remaining cool and hydrated.

• Organic matter also provides habitat for beneficial soil organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and insects.

Under that layer of leaves, add some pieces of wood or wood chips. These will also hold water; more so than the leaves.

• The wood chips, provided you add plenty and replace them over time, provide food for fungi.
• A strong fungal network is desirable in the soil because it invites a host of other microbes that will improve the quality of your soil, your garden's health and the abundance of your harvest.

Build a wicking bed garden, where water is stored in an underground "reservoir" instead of flowing away from the garden.

• The way it works is basically the roots wick the water up only when they need it from the reservoir. There is also a physical barrier between the soil and the reservoir so no soil falls in.

The benefits of a wicking bed?

• You'll have to water on average only once a week rather than daily, because all the water accumulates in an area not prone to

The "reservoir" simply acts as a type of holding tank that sits hidden beneath the soil surface.

• Materials suitable for use in the reservoir includes clean pebbles, tumbled glass, PVC pipe or chunks of wood.

It's simple to find free materials to repurpose and use in a wicking bed.

• Simply look online at community bulletin boards, ask your neighbours, or call landscaping, construction or other companies that are likely to have extra material on hand.

For a water-saving irrigation system, install a drip hose.

• You can make one yourself at home or purchase a drip hose fairly inexpensively at most garden centres or home improvement stores.

The advantage of a drip hose is that it waters deeply by soaking the root zone of your plants, rather than just the top as most sprinkler systems do, which is more efficient.

• This deep watering approach allows roots to better retain water and when required, pull it up to nourish the aboveground stems, leaves and flowers of plants when they need it – which means less guesswork on your part.

These methods can be combined, and observing what works will help you learn more about your soil, climate, and the needs of your family. Through trial and error, you can see for yourself what works best in your own garden.