Waterwise gardening

Water only when your garden needs it

The greatest waste of water comes from applying too much, too often—much of it runs off and never soaks in.

Instead of watering the entire garden, just water the plants that need it. Many plants are much tougher than you think and will go for quite long periods without additional watering. This also has the effect of training your plants to be more resilient. Less-frequent watering forces roots down to find water, making the plants less reliant on surface water and better able to cope with hot, dry days.

The best way to tell if your garden needs watering is to check the soil moisture. You can do this using a soil moisture meter, by digging a hole to the root zone, or using a screwdriver to make sure it can easily go to about 10cm (100mm) depth.

Grass may benefit from more infrequent but thorough soakings to encourage deep roots. Trees and shrubs have much deeper and more extensive root systems, so they should be watered less frequently but for longer periods of time.

It is likely your plants need water if the leaves or stems of your plants are droopy, or the edges of the leaves are turning brown, and the soil is dry.

To find out more about watering grass, see lawn care.

Avoid watering in the middle of the day

Try to water between 5am and 10am—when the sun is low, winds are calm, and temperatures are cool. Midday irrigation tends to be less efficient because of water loss due to evaporation and windier conditions during the day. Irrigation in the evening, while there is low evaporation, can lead to fungus growth as leaves can remain wet overnight. By irrigating in the morning, you give the leaves a chance to dry out during the day.

Watch the weather

Before irrigating, check the weather forecast and soil moisture levels. If it is about to rain, don’t water.

Be aware of your local water restrictions and only water your garden when permitted.