How to water your garden without wasting water

The timing of watering the plants, the system chosen for most efficient watering, and the use of rainwater, which can be recovered and reused. Watering the garden requires a method: this procedure, in fact, is one of the major sources of water waste. Various variables come into play, ranging from drought to the plants' exposure. But they also involve the type of vegetables being watered: zucchini, for example, always need a lot of water; tomatoes, on the other hand, consume little water, so there's no point in constantly watering. We only risk rotting them. In the garden, wherever we can do so, such as in a patio or on a terrace, it's essential to keep the soil constantly moist. But how do you water plants properly? How can you avoid wasting water and use it efficiently? Properly caring for your garden, whether it's in a large open space or on a balcony, isn't difficult. You just need to adopt a few tricks that help plants grow well and, above all, receive the necessary and sufficient water without unnecessary waste.

Vegetable garden irrigation systems

Sprinkler irrigation

This is what we traditionally do with a hose and a rain shower, which allows us to water plants and leaves equally. However, this runs the risk of damaging the flowers or encouraging fruit rot. In reality, rain irrigation is only recommended in two cases: before tilling the soil, to soften it, and after planting.

Flow irrigation

With this type of irrigation for the vegetable garden, you place the hose on the ground, between one plant and another, and let the water fill the walkways. It is a method preferable to sprinkler irrigation because it safeguards flowers, leaves, and fruits. In surface irrigation, the system is effective if one important requirement is met: the edges, or strips of soil to the sides of the plants, must be fairly narrow and not too far apart to avoid water loss. On the other hand, this technique consumes quite a lot of water, as we water not only the plants but also the soil, and much of it is lost through evaporation.

Water with drip line

A good system for watering the soil and plants in the garden, even when we are away from home during the summer, is to use the dripping wing, or the tube with small holes spaced at regular intervals (usually 30 centimeters) from which water comes out. Each hole releases two liters of water per hour, wetting the surrounding soil: keep this in mind if you plan this type of watering. limits of the dripline system There are two. The first is that each hole provides a fixed amount of water: if one plant needs more water than another (for example, lettuce versus garlic), we can simply roll up the hose so that more holes are placed near the plant. The second limitation is that, especially in areas where tap water is high in calcium, the holes can easily become clogged by limescale. Therefore, it's important to monitor them carefully and not assume they're always clear.

I gocciolatori

The dripper has this advantage: it provides each plant with the water it actually needs. Drippers come in various sizes, from zero to 5 liters per hour, and they're all adjustable. With drippers, the system is customized, and there's never any water waste. They consume less than a fifth of what a sliding system does.

The porous tube

È a tube, usually micro-perforated, of standard size, which allows the water to exude evenlyIt is ideal for constantly moistening the soil, it is easy to install, it can be buried, and it works equally well on flat or sloping terrain.

How to water the vegetable garden

• Rainwater It's a valuable and free resource. Therefore, you can use various systems to collect it, perhaps making the most of the gutter or even the tool shed itself. Not only is it a useful water reserve, which saves on garden management costs, but we can also enrich it with chicken manure, an organic fertilizer, to obtain a powerful and natural fertilizer. There are various types of kits on the market that facilitate the collection of rain water and its use.
• The perfect time to water plants The best time to water a vegetable garden or garden is in the evening, when the soil begins to cool. Plants then have all night to soak up the soil's moisture, and evaporation is minimal. An alternative time for watering is early morning, when the soil is cool and there are several hours before evaporation becomes significant.
• Watering must always take place according to the climate temperature and progressive development of the seedlingsIn the hot months, for example, you should water in the evening, at sunset, or in the early hours of the morning, so that the water doesn't evaporate due to excessive heat. An excellent system that allows you to retain water, especially in summer and when the climate is dry, is the mulch, that is, covering the soil where we sow with an inert material, such as gravel, pine needles, sawdust, or bark, to retain moisture and prevent it from dispersing into the environment. In winter, during frosts, it's a good idea to cover the seedlings with insulating sheets.
• The method that involves the creation of is excellent clearly visible furrows wherever the vegetable or fruit is sown, so that every time you water it, the water remains in the furrow itself and is slowly absorbed by the soil, without being dispersed and therefore wasted.
• Who owns a vegetable garden on a balconyYou can water it using the water you used to boil vegetables or cook pasta, a habit that promises huge savings. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar per liter of water will also help, as this makes the water's pH more acidic.
• He weeds They have invaded the garden and it is best to get rid of them immediately, because they steal light, nutrients and water.
• If we want to save water it is It's better to grow plants that don't need to be watered often.; therefore, for example, where it is very hot, it is good to grow all those vegetables or fruits that do not require a lot of water, such as peas, some varieties of tomatoes, rosemary, sage.
• A strong jet of water against the plants can certainly to hunt or limit certain pestsTo "clean" plants, it's best to do it in the evening, using the sprinkler method and insisting on spraying from bottom to top. Avoid this procedure if there are flowers, which could be damaged.

How to water potted plants

How to water plants when you're on vacation

Read also:

• How to grow onions, even in pots
• Vegetable Gardening in October: What to Sow and What to Harvest
• How to grow melon in your garden or vegetable patch

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