Water Conservation is as important in Small Plot Gardens as a large garden space or Truck Farm.

Even though a smaller plot may not have the need for large water resources, it is still important to practice Water Conservation.

Small Plot Gardens have the advantage of more easily affecting water conservation with relatively inexpensive methods.

We live in Northern California and are blessed with
abundant rainfall in the Fall through Spring, but summers are easily in the 100 degree range and evapotransporation rate is HIGH, so irrigating is critical

It is important for all gardeners to keep water conservation a factor in successful gardening. There are many ways to optimize ones garden to conserve water while still keeping it lush.

Some of the ways include drip irrigation (the use of a pipe or hose with small holes to gradually seep into the roots of the plant), the placement of plants in groups of equal watering needs (to prevent wasting water on plants that don’t need it) and using compost or mulch to insulate the water and prevent drainage. Composting is an efficient and low cost method of assuring Water Conservation

Drought conditions do occur throughout the Garden World and it is not difficult to take preventative measures. Occasionally a drought will be predicted far in advanced, or those already experiencing a drought will be given a few weeks of heavy rain. When this occurs, you should take the opportunity to
set up several rain barrels. Many people think this would be a time consuming, silly thing to do. But it can save you many gallons of water towards water conservation, and hardly requires any work.

Finding the barrels will probably be the hardest part. You can use your own garbage cans, or head to your home improvement store to get a few 55 gallon plastic drums. These can be expensive and difficult to transport, so keep that in mind before you go to the store. You will probably want to cover the top of the barrel with a screen of some sort to filter out any unwanted leaves or debris that might fall off the roof of your house.

Once you have your barrels ready, you’re faced with the decision of where to place them. Usually during rainfall, there is one corner or segment of the house that rain tends to pour off of. If you are taking the simple approach to barrel placement, just place the barrel under all the places where you see large amounts of drips.

If you want to take a more complicated approach to placing the barrels,you should consider tweaking your gutter system a bit. If you remove each individual segment and place it at a very slight slant so that all the water is diverted to the nearest corner of the house, you can place a rain barrel at each corner. So essentially your entire house acts as a catcher for the rain, instead of just a few feet worth of shingles. This is how to maximize the amount of water your rain barrel will catch.

They are some of the best ways to save water. They are easy and inexpensive and you can help save the environment by using these rain barrels. When the water collects on the roof, it would flow down to be collected in these barrels. Each barrel can give you enough water to take a bath in the tub.

If you have a roof of 1,000 square feet, a downspout can collect up to 600 gallons of water. This water can also be used to water plants as it is low in sodium and chlorine. You would be leaving fewer carbon footprints and thus emerge as an environment saviour. It is always a better idea to look for cost effective but environmental friendly options.

The use of water barrels might sound like an antiquated idea. However, when you’re in the midst of a drought and you’re able to spare that extra couple of gallons for your garden in addition the city allotment, you’ll be grateful for every bit of time and money you spent on collecting all that rain. All it takes is a few trips out in the backyard every time it starts to sprinkle, and you’ll be a very happy gardener when water isn’t
so abundant.

Related articles

• Save water, collect rain (sfgate.com)