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- When planting new garden beds, group plants with similar watering needs together.
- When planting, add some organic matter such as compost to improve the soil and help its water retaining abilities.
- At the same time, add some wetting agent – they help make the best use of any water available.
- For existing plants, water the base of plants, not the leaves. This ensures the maximum amount of water gets to the roots where it is most needed.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch! It doesn’t matter what it is – grass or leaves, compost, manure, lucerne hay, straw, sugar cane, newspaper, pinebark or woodchips, as long as there is a good thick layer of 50-100mm. Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil and breaks down to give the area around plants a nutrient boost.
- Before mulching, always make sure you water the soil well around all the plant.
- Water your garden in the cool of the early morning or in the evening to reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation.
- Use a watering can or water efficient trigger nozzle on your hose to direct the water where it’s needed most.
- If you need a watering system, consider installing a drip irrigation or micro-irrigation system.
- Try not to cut your lawn too short. Mow only the top third of the leaf area, leaving it three centimetres or higher. Save lawn clippings and re-use as mulch.
- Train your lawn to use less water. If you water it too often it will get lazy and its roots will be shallow.
- Cut-down on lawn area with native garden beds, that do not require watering.
DID YOU KNOW?
A forgotten sprinkler can waste up to 1000 litres an hour. A tap timer will remember to turn the water off when you don’t.
Over the course of a year, a typical household lawn could use as much as 100,000 litres – that’s enough to fill two backyard swimming pools!
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