If your garden needs water, here are some tips on how to use less:
* Water in the early morning or late afternoon to reduce water loss to evaporation.
* In winter, water in the morning and water less often when evaporation rates are lower. Avoid watering deciduous plants when they are dormant.
* Water less if the weather is cool and overcast or if it has just rained. Some irrigation systems have rain sensors, which turn the system off if there has been rain.
* Avoid watering your garden on windy days, when evaporation rates are higher.
* A drip irrigation system is the most water efficient technique of watering.
* Sandy soils require more frequent watering with smaller amounts of water because they don’t hold water around the plants’ roots. Clay soils absorb and retain larger amounts of water and need watering less frequently. Irrigate clay soils slowly as water infiltrates slowly. Loam soils are ideal as they have the right balance of water retention and drainage.
* Make the soil more water retentive by adding compost.
Lawns
* Water lawns only when they need it. A lawn needs water if the grass blades do not spring back two minutes after being walked on and footprints are left, or if they take on a subtle bluish tinge.
* Water lawns deeply, and less often, to encourage deep root growth, which makes the lawn more drought resistant. In sandy soils, irrigate more frequently but not so deeply, as deep watering will percolate right past the root zone and be lost to the plant.
* Aerate the lawn regularly to facilitate the penetration of water.
* Lawns in shady areas need less water than lawn areas in full sun. Reduce irrigation in shady lawn areas by monitoring the soil moisture and irrigating accordingly.
* Install a rain gauge. Check it after every rainfall and then reduce your lawn irrigation accordingly.
* Avoid having trees in the lawn area. They deprive the lawn of water, especially shallow-rooting trees.
* Water in the early morning. This allows the lawn to dry out during the day, making it less susceptible to diseases. It is also usually less windy at this time. - Daily News
See: www.lifeisagarden.co.za