Tips to help us conserve water outdoors

Man, it's been hot! Those dog days of summer seem to have hit us hard already this year, and as gardeners, we all know our watering choirs just got bigger. The Environmental Protection Agency's Web site says that an average family of four can use up to 400 gallons of water a day, 30 percent of which is used outdoors watering gardens, washing down sidewalks or washing the family car.

That means we use on average 120 gallons a day outside. Just imagine what this number can be when Mother Nature doesn't bless us with rainfall. Our outdoor watering is a great opportunity to make a real difference for water conservation. Here are a few tips:

Fix those leaks: Leaky water hoses can leak up to 10 gallons a day and if you add that up over a whole garden season, you've got a big number. Don't worry though, fixing leaks in hoses can be quite easy. New connectors are available at almost every garden or hardware store and can be changed in a few minutes with just a few tools.

Pull out a broom: Spraying a sidewalk with a hose might seem to be the easy solution for cleaning, but pulling out that broom is the better water-saving choice.

Amend that soil: Amending soil with compost increases organic matter and improves soil texture, which will help your plants grow deeper roots. This lets them soak up the water you give them more efficiently.

Pick the right plants: Drought-tolerant plants can go a long way toward helping reduce watering needs in your garden. Plants native to your region are a great option in most every case because once they are established they need little irrigation or sometimes none at all.

Water the right way at the right time: Don't water in the middle of the day when it's the warmest; you lose a lot of it to evaporation. Morning and evening are your best options. Sprinklers with fine mist promote evaporation, so opt for coarser droplets that are more effective at getting water to its intended target-your plants' roots.

Use mulch whenever possible: Mulch will greatly increase moisture retention in garden beds and will also help keep weeds down that rob the water from the plants you want.

Collect rain water: Rain barrels are readily available on the Internet and are great because they collect water from your gutters that would have just run down into the storm drain. You'll want to empty them frequently though, because you don't want mosquitoes using them to breed.

This short list of ways you can conserve water outdoors is just a start. Think on it a little, and I'll bet you come up with a dozen more ways to conserve water outdoors. Remember to drink plenty of water yourself while you are out in the summer heat.

via thestarpress.com