There’s more to reducing water usage in the garden than limiting your watering. Angela Erini looks at some of the tricks you can employ
1. Monitor your water use
The Hong Kong garden, no matter how small, is a big water guzzler. In winter, lawns generally need watering every five to seven days. In summer, it’s every 10 to 14 days. But don’t overcompensate for an arid spell by wasting water to get a perfectly green look. Note too, that after a solid rainfall you won’t need to water your lawn for up to two weeks. Listen out for what Freddy has to say on the local weather forecast. If there’s rain coming up, wait for the rain to water your garden. Alternatively you can opt for the artificial grass solution, which will allow you to have environmentally friendly green landscaping year round.
2. Avoid over watering
Water needs to reach around the top 15 centimetres of soil. If you see more than 1 centimetre of water in a puddle on the surface, then you’ve added too much. It will permeate the soil beyond your plants’ roots and go to waste. To aid penetration, don’t cut your grass to within an inch of its life. Setting the blade higher – to at least 7 centimetres – will shade grass roots as they grow deeper, and help keep the soil moist. Aerating your lawn, even with a garden fork, will draw water to the root system, instead of letting the water escape as runoff.
3. Be systematic
If you’re using a sprinkler system, make sure the water is actually landing on your garden, and not the footpath, road, or paved areas. Check the positioning regularly, and note that soil takes up water best if you water in short, repeated bursts. If you invest in an automated system don’t set it up and then forget about it. Check your sprinklers and timers regularly and make sure they’re working as they should. If you’re not using an automatic timer for your sprinkler, use an alarm clock to remind yourself to shut it off.
4. Focus on the roots
Consider losing inefficient sprinkler systems in favour of drip irrigation, which sends water direct to the roots of your plants. In all cases avoid watering leaves – focus on the roots. Think carefully too about when you water. Water your garden during the cool parts of the day – early morning or late evening, when the sun’s not in the sky, so that you don’t lose water to evaporation. You should also avoid watering when it’s windy. The wind will blow the water to parts of your garden that don’t need watering.
5. Use mulch
An over-fertilised garden is a thirsty garden, so use a slow-release insoluble fertiliser sparingly. Spreading a layer of mulch – woodchips, shredded leaves, compost and even gravel – over your flowerbeds and around trees prevents over 70 percent of moisture evaporation from out of the soil. Aim for a layer 3 centimetres thick. For the busy gardener, mulch is a great time-saving device: not only does it keep the soil moist and reduce the need for constant watering, it helps to prevent weeds from sprouting in the garden.
6. Tried-and-tested LCD
When you are adding to your garden, group plants together according to how much water they will need. And prepare your garden properly. Use a good soil – with neither a high sand nor high clay content – and add water-storing granules to increase water absorption. You should also apply a soil wetter in the spring so your soil doesn’t become ‘hydrophobic’. Sandy soil, for example, is especially hydrophobic, and you can use a soil wetter to strip away the soil’s waxy coating and stop it repelling water.
7. Upgrade your hose
Buy a water-efficient nozzle for your hose, one that ranges from a high-pressure jet down to a mist spray – a trigger nozzle will actually let you shut off the water flow altogether. When you’ve finished watering turn the hose off at the tap to avoid leaks. Don’t forget, too, to check the connectors and nozzles as well as the tubing for leaks on a regular basis. And never use a hose to remove leaves from hardscaping such as footpaths and driveways. Abroom won’t waste any water.
8. Install special features
Just because water is a precious resource doesn’t mean you can’t have water features in your garden. Most water features on the market today recycle water, so there is actually very little wastage. Once the feature is filled, the water is reticulated around the system, providing a pleasant, natural sound of gurgling water. The most basic design consists of a small pond with a few goldfish, a couple of water plants and a pump to recycle the water and maximise its oxygen-holding capacity. Elaborate water gardens can even be landscaped to take advantage of natural rainwater runoff.
9. Limit your greenery
The best type of plants, trees and grasses for your garden are those native to your local climate. In Hong Kong, they’re inherently drought-resistant, and not too thirsty. For most people the joy of a garden is its foliage but you might consider reducing the amount of ‘green’ areas for the sake of the environment. Introduce some hardscaping – paving, decking, gravel and stone beds – that doesn’t need watering. If you cannot forgo the ‘all-natural’ look, consider installing water tanks. This way you will provide for the storage of rainwater to use for irrigation.
10. Wash well
If you have a swimming pool in the garden, upgrade your filter to a water-efficient model that reduces the wastage of back-flushing. Cover the pool when it’s not in use. This will keep water clean – limiting the need for filtering – and also reduce evaporation by up to 90 percent. And don’t wash your car in the driveway. Wash it on the lawn, so the grass gets a drink at the same time. The detergent will also act as a surfactant for your soil, making it more absorbent. Use a bucket, not a hose. A more water-efficient method can be found at a commercial car wash: they recycle their water.
Related Links on Squarefoot.com.hk
Home and Property Stories via our International Network
|
