You don’t have to use litres of water to make your garden beautiful. Here are some smart techniques for responsible water usage.
In The Hydrozone
Hydrozones are a game-changer when it comes to efficient gardening. By grouping plants based on their water requirements, we can tailor our watering practices to meet their specific needs. Whether in garden beds or containers, arranging plants with similar water needs together allows us to provide adequate hydration without wasting resources. For instance, high-water-usage plants can be placed in one hydrozone, while those with low water requirements can form another group.
This arrangement offers numerous benefits:
Optimises water usage.
Promotes healthy growth.
Minimises water stress on plants.
Improve Your Soil
Plant health starts with soil health, and good soil also helps to save water. Prep your soil well before planting by adding organic matter in the form of compost or rotted manure, as well as bone meal or superphosphate for strong roots, and a slow-release organic fertiliser. Vermiculite is also a good option if you need to increase soil’s water-holding capacity.
By doing this you will:
Create strong roots for more efficient water absorption.
Reduce water runoff.
Increase water-holding capacity.
Grow healthier plants.
Water At The Right Time
We all know that we need to water our gardens, but many of us choose to water at the wrong times. By understanding the best times to water, we can ensure our plants’ wellbeing while minimising water wastage.
It is generally recommended to water gardens in the early morning to allow plants to absorb moisture before the heat of the day sets in. However, it’s essential to monitor soil moisture regularly and adjust watering frequency based on specific plant needs. During hot summer months, additional watering in the evening might be necessary to help your plants recover overnight.
Watering at the right time offers several advantages:
Minimises water evaporation.
Helps prevent fungal diseases.
Helps plants efficiently absorb water.
Much More Mulching
Mulching is an effective technique that not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of our gardens but also plays a vital role in water conservation. By applying a layer of organic or inorganic material, such as bark chips, straw, compost, stones, gravel, nut shells or leaves, on the soil’s surface (and leaving no bare soil visible), we create a protective covering with multiple benefits:
Regulates soil temperature.
Improves soil fertility.
Suppresses weed growth.
Conserves moisture.
Reduces water runoff.
Use Polymer Crystals
Innovative polymer crystals, also known as water-absorbing crystals or hydrogels, have made it much easier to garden without wasting water. These small granules have a remarkable ability to absorb and retain large amounts of water and then release it to plants’ roots, offering several advantages:
Reduced watering frequency.
Healthier, more resilient plant growth.
Thriving plants even in challenging conditions.
More water-wise container gardens and hanging baskets.
All living things need water but some need less than others. Thank goodness for that. If you live in a low rainfall area, here is your answer to a beautiful garden. Playing with drought tolerant plants and succulents has never been more fun! The biggest part of this pot recipe is your soil preparation.
All you need is:
1 bucket of potting soil (it can be a rusty bucket or a plastic one)
Block of palm peat, reconstituted in water (that means, add a block to 5l of water in a container and watch your palm peat grow!)
2 cups vermiculite
A handful of organic pellets like Atlantic Bio Ocean
A handful of bonemeal
5g of water retaining granules, EXLGel is a good one
Gravel for drainage
A sturdy pot of your liking
A selection of plants like Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, Sedum tetractinum, Gazanias (proudly from South Africa) and Euphorbia “Diamont Frost”
Or just play with a variety of Sedums and Echeverias, their contrasting colours and foliage will be a delight to your eyes.
How to pot up:
Make a soil mix by mixing the following together: half potting soil, palm peat(only used half of the reconstituted mass, the rest you can store safely as is), vermiculite, handful of organic fertiliser, handful of bonemeal and your water retaining granules. Mix together well.
Make sure that your pot has good drainage holes, now cover these up with your gravel. This will stop your soil mix from clogging the drainage holes and retaining water in your pot. Drought hardy plants don’t like wet feet.
Fill your pot ¾ with your soil mix.
To get the best look from all angles after planting, start by placing your highest plant in the centre of the pot. Now you can play with the middle height and add some interest by placing your sedums on the edge of the pot, allowing them to trail over the side.
Press the plants down firmly as you fill your soil around them, water well.
Sit back, relax and enjoy your hard work.
Remember:Liquid fertiliseevery two weeks. Even drought tolerant plants need food.
On the Urban Rain Systems website, rainwater harvesting is defined as a process in which rainwater that falls onto a roof surface is collected and stored to be used at a later time. By harvesting and using rainwater we are not only reducing our monthly water bills, but also reducing our dependence on water treatment plants and dams. Let’s take a closer look at how rainwater is harvested, and explore some of its uses and benefits.
The basics
As you probably know, rainwater is harvested from the roof. Urban Rain Systems recommend that their clients select a large section of the roof for this purpose. The larger the surface, the more water will be harvested. When selecting your surface, try to avoid overhanging trees as far as possible – you don’t want twigs, leaves or bird poop in your harvested water! If you select a cleaner section of the roof it will also help reduce the on-going maintenance you would be required to do.
The next step to consider is how the water gets down from the roof into the Urban Rain Systems RainCell™ Tank. There is no way for the rainwater to channel down without gutters. But it’s not necessary to have gutters installed around the entire house – all that is needed is a single stretch of gutter with a downpipe that leads into the RainCell™ Tank. You will also need a firm base for the tank to stand on. You can use a smooth concrete base or place the RainCell™ Tank on level paving. The next consideration is whether you need a pump and the answer is usually yes. Although it’s possible to manage without a pump if you are using the rainwater for filling your pool by connecting a hose pipe to the tank, a pump is necessary for all other instances like irrigation systems and sprinklers. Once the space on the roof has been selected and the tank is in place on a flat surface, a downpipe is diverted into the top of the tank and the rainwater system is ready to start harvesting.
How much rainwater can be harvested?
The size of your rainwater harvest will depend on the size of your roof and how much rainfall there is. This is a basic formula for calculating your harvesting capacity:
1mm of rainfall x 1m² of roof surface = 1lt of rainwater
For example;
If you harvest from surface of 36m² with an annual rainfall of 700mm your calculation would look like this:
700mm x 36m² roof surface = 25,200lt of rainwater
How rainwater can be used
The most basic use for rainwater is in the garden. Watering the garden can be costly and using free rainwater to water flower beds and the lawn can be a massive money saver. Harvested rainwater can also be used in other ways:
Outside
Supplying water to the irrigation system
Filling up pools and ponds
Washing cars, motorcycles, boats and outdoor furniture
Inside
Should a 4-stage filtration unit be installed, harvested rainwater can be filtered, purified and plumbed into the house for use in bathrooms, toilets and the kitchen. It could even be used as drinking water.
Rainwater Harvesting – The Benefits
There are a great variety of benefits to rainwater harvesting. Although some people find certain benefits more appealing than others, we can all agree that the money saving benefit is probably at the top of the list. The more rainwater you use the less municipal water you need. You would usually pay for municipal water and sewerage fees that are determined by how much water you use, so you end up saving all of that. Some people are concerned with the potential of water cuts. Imagine what would happen if our water was cut… basic daily tasks like showering, brushing our teeth and flushing the toilet would become impossible. With harvested rainwater on the premises, this concern is alleviated. Since water shedding and planned water cuts are already taking place in South Africa, more people should consider looking at water saving strategies like rainwater harvesting.
Using EXLGel in flower beds, potted plants and hanging baskets improves plant life while saving water – a win-win situation for your plants (and for you!) It can be used in two ways; wet and dry.
Dry Application
Mix granules with potting soil or dig into existing pots and flower beds.
Water well.
The granules will absorb water and release as plant needs.
Wet Application
Mix 5g with 1L of water
Stir and wait for 10 minutes
Once gel forms, mix into your potting soil and plant.
The plants will draw from the gel as they get thirsty.
Our Team is ready to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Feel free to get in touch!
Office Hours: 8:00am – 16:00pm
If we are not available then email us and we will get back to you as soon as possible. hello@tanyavisser.com
