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Baytree Garden Centre’s tips on saving water when caring for your garden




This week’s Out in the Garden column from Baytree Garden Centre looks at ways to save water while caring for your garden...

We’ve all experienced warm weather and, at times, withered in the heat - but the temperatures we have all experienced this week so early in June are just another sign of our climate changing.

We are all grown-ups, we all know the issues and we all understand that we all have to play an important part in reducing the speed of change. That said we don’t all have to go out and purchase the latest and greatest eco saving devices. No, we just need to be more mindful of the resources we are using.

Some tips for saving water in your garden
Some tips for saving water in your garden

It’s only a small thing but I believe I could easily cycle to work at least three times a week rather than drive my car. It’s not the greatest sacrifice in the world but if everyone just made one change I’m sure we could collectively make a difference.

Very warm heatwaves during the summer are going to become more the norm so keeping our gardens in good condition whilst also saving water is going to be a real battle. But it’s a battle we can win if we are just sensible.

Move your container plants to a cool shady spot in the garden. Special wheels that can be placed underneath your containers are fairly inexpensive and will pay dividends when moving your pots around the patio.

Place deep saucers underneath your containers and fill the saucer with water. For containers that are just too big to move you’ll need to use irrigation spikes. Irrigation spikes are a brilliantly simple invention, you screw a normal plastic bottle filled with water into one end which you then upturn and then you drive the spike end into the soil of your pot. The water in the bottle then slowly ebbs away into the soil thus watering the plant over a long period of time.

In the evenings, when the temperature has dropped, water your plants with a watering can. You will use far less water by using a watering can. Essentially by watering in the evening less moisture will be lost via evaporation. Add a good layer of mulch around the bases of your plants as this will then help to lock in as much moisture as possible into the soil. Bare soil will evaporate its moisture levels far quicker than soil which is insulated from the heat of the sun.

If you can try to use grey water instead of tap water as at this time of the year water consumption increases and so does the risk of a hosepipe ban so wherever possible try to use water that you have captured yourself. Getting a water butt is a great way to collect and store free rainwater for use in the garden. They are fairly inexpensive and not difficult to install yourself.

Please check your unglazed terracotta pots if you have any. If you do and they are planted up then some work to keep the inhabitants happy will be required. Un-glazed terracotta pots, whilst beautiful to look at, have a habit of wicking moisture away from the soil. If you place a hand against one of these pots on a warm summer’s day, you’ll feel that the pot is very warm and - because terracotta pots are usually quite large – this means that they have a sizable surface area in which to evaporate the water from. To reduce the evaporation loss, dampen down the outside of the pot. The sun will have to warm this cold water up first before it can get to the pot’s contents. This all buys vital time.



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