Get help to conserve water, grow a healthy garden – OregonLive.com

Rob Finch/The OregonianThe Regional Water Providers Consortium has tips on conserving water but still giving your garden the moisture it needs.

Home irrigation and automatic timing systems were meant to take the hassle out of watering your veggie garden or lawn.

But the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District reminds us that even a sophisticated irrigation system can be wasteful if it doesn't take into account weather conditions.

On its Web site, the district recommends signing up for the weekly watering number through the Regional Water Providers Consortium.

The consortium of 24 water providers and the Metro regional government, which work together on regional water issues, provides a mother lode of conservation tips on its Web page -- including the weekly watering number.

Weather conditions affect a plant evapotranspiration -- the water lost by evaporation through the soil and by the plant's transpiration. That's why you need to water more during the hottest, driest days of summer.

With information from a weather forecasting service, the consortium tells you how much to water based on your location and the weather. The number is sent by email every Thursday through September.

Program the number into your automated irrigation system, or adjust it for more manual watering.

The number is based on what a grass lawn needs but can be converted for other plants. Trees and shrubs need about half of the weekly watering number. A veggie garden needs 75 percent of the weekly recommendation -- more if you're watering starts.

via oregonlive.com