Keeping Plants Hydrated in the Midst of Watering Restrictions

In the words of Blues musician W. C. Handy, "You'll never miss the water 'til the well runs dry." Just like the air we breathe, how easy it is to take water for granted. (Those in areas affected by summer wildfires know what it is to live without clean air).

 The last number of summers in and around Vancouver have been dryer than usual.  This year's drought has prompted severe watering restrictions. I have a large garden of trees, shrubs, perennials, a few annuals and a vegetable/berry patch. I am responsible for this little part of creation, and it's my job to keep these plants from wilting, browning up and losing their leaves and flowers prematurely. And what a shame it would be to lose the vegetables that are now just coming into their own - beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil and lettuce, not to mention my very first crop of kiwis! While I can still use a spring-loaded hand sprayer to water my plants, I'm anticipating the next stage, and getting ready.

But I'm not usually one to panic. In an effort to comply with these very necessary restrictions, I have begun catching and using what water I can to help my garden out. Should you decide to use some of my methods, please keep in mind that when re-using water, you must be careful about any soaps or chemicals you've used, being sure they're biodegradable, and won't harm your vegetation. As it turns out, soapy water is often used to deter garden diseases and pests.

So here are a few changes I'm making while the restrictions last (and maybe I'll even keep a few forever after):

Hand washing: It takes about 1/2 gallon of water to wash my hands properly. I'm leaving a bit of soapy water in a small container in the sink. I wash my hands, then rinse from the tap. When the container's full, I empty it into a larger pail for watering plants.

Dishes: I'm washing dishes by hand (just like in the 'old days') in a plastic tub. I rinse off the worst food particles and grease before washing them. Besides conserving water, I can use the dishwater for garden plants/trees.

Shower: For some time now, I've been showering every second day.  I've not admitted this in public, because people will probably draw some incorrect assumptions about me. However, I happen to have sensitive skin that dries easily. (When I was a kid, most people bathed once a week, on Saturday night. Just ask Grandma. So glad we're past that!) But back to my point. Showering every 2nd day instead of daily, conserves water and is less drying to the skin. Turning off the water while shampooing and soaping down conserves the water by more than half.  If you have enough room in your shower and you're really diligent, place a bucket in the shower with you. See how much water you catch. Use it in the garden. Bathing uses a great deal more water than showering, but the small kids need their bath, so try bailing out as much of the bathwater as you can for garden use.

Laundry: I've pulled my top load washer away from the wall for access to the outflow hose. By timing the washing cycle and being there when the tub empties, I'm able to catch almost 40 gallons for each of the wash and rinse cycles (on a medium load). My shrubs are thankful! I line up 4 or 5 10 - gallon pails. When one is almost full, I push in the cycle button to stop the water flowing so I can move the hose to the next pail, and so forth. I'm also trying to time laundry for effective watering, rather than doing all loads in one day.

Short of going out and buying a front loading washer, a low-flush toilet or water-conserving shower head, there are a few other methods of saving water.

Sensible water use:

•  Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, scrubbing your hands, etc.
• Catch the running water while you're waiting for it to come to temperature.
• Any water you use (washing your floor, etc) can be used to water your (or your neighbor's) garden. 
• Flush less (I know, but little kids and avid water drinkers can often use the toilet a few times between flushes). 

Whether or not you find these ideas helpful may depend on whether you grew up in a resourceful household during leaner years. There was a time when we looked carefully at our consumption of all things. Maybe this is the upside of water restrictions. And maybe we'll develop some good habits for the future. After all, not only would we miss the water should the well run dry, we couldn't survive without it!

Please share any other practical ideas you have for water conservation.