Keeping your Garden Watered

Spring is here and many people have started their seeds, and started plowing their gardens. All the fun things to do to get the garden planted so that it will be growing over the summer. Some people fret over fertilizer and weeding. But don't get sidetracked by all the other gardening concerns and forget about how to keep your garden watered this summer if there happens to be a dry spell. As not getting enough water can spell doom for most plants.

We have a few tips on how to save and conserve water for the summer months:

Save rain water. Rain barrels (purchased or created) are a great way to save rain water for the days that you need some extra water to keep your plants properly fed.

If the summer is so dry that you use all the extra water from your rain barrels, there are a few other ways to get those plants watered without drying up your well.

The following methods are only recommended if you use natural/organic cleansers and/or soaps (otherwise the chemicals from typical cleansers and soaps can damage your plants):

These methods are some that were taught to us by the older generation that lived through hard times:

• Save your bathwater, using buckets or pails, carry your used bathwater outside to water your plants with. 
• Save your dish water. This is easy if you wash your dishes by hand, just put a small tub into your sink and carry the water out to your garden after the dishes are done. 
• Laundry water, this may be difficult to do with newer machines, however, the older generation that washed laundry by hand or in a wringer washer would conserve the water that came from their washing and use it in their gardens. 

The water from the above uses is known as greywater, greywater is any household wastewater with the exception of wastewater from toilets, which is known as blackwater. Typically, 50-80% of household wastewater is greywater from kitchen sinks, dishwashers, bathroom sinks, tubs and showers. Be sure to use your greywater quickly so that it doesn't turn into blackwater. Also check to be sure that your jurisdiction doesn't have regulations about disposal of greywater.