If you are into water conservation in your garden, which we should all be, then one easy solution is to practice container gardening.
Even though container gardening can be very beneficial for many, especially those who do not have large gardens, and even a small container garden can feed an entire family plus, there are many methods that one can employ in order to save even more water.
More Water Saving Tips for your Container Garden
Now that you are ready to set up your container garden, it is time to employ some tricks used by those in the know to ensure that you get the best from your garden whilst saving water:
- Build Healthy Living Soil: Adding organic matter like compost, worm casting, microbes, and minerals to your soil will ensure that all the mineral needs of your plants are being met;
- Choose Low-Water Needs Edibles: Look for “drought tolerant†or “drought resistant†food crops such as chives, garlic, nasturtiums, bush beans, pineapples, chard, sage, oregano, marjoram, Italian flat leaf parsley, rosemary, garlic chives, and sprouts and microgreens. These greens are also easy to maintain.
- Double Mulch: Adding a feeding-mulch such as sugar-cane will build organic matter, provide nutrients and hold moisture – add a second layer of mulch using pale coloured pebbles or gravel, which will further improve the moisture-holding capacity and reflect heat;
- Select Short-Season Crops: short-season crops require less water and energy to grow and mature quicker – varieties include Asian greens, pea shoots, rocket/arugula, spring onions, radish, baby spinach, loose leaf lettuce varieties, and bush beans.
And finally, make sure that you harvest on time, which is when everything is when young and tender, before the vegetables and especially the fruit, are past their prime to reduce water use even more.
Water in the early morning before the sun comes up to minimise evaporation while watering and prepare the containers for the day’s heat. Vegetables tend to require more water on sunny days with low humidity.
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