Water Wise Gardening
by Marin County Master Gardener Lindsay Laven
The basic tenets are water wise gardening are:
Design can contribute to water efficiency. Follow these guidelines:
And consider these tips...
Plant a spring garden with edibles that use residual water in the soil:
Plant edibles that mature quickly (50-60 days) needing fewer days of irrigation:
Grow high producers. Get more bang for your buck-et.
And, remember, the average plant requires about 1 gallon of water/week. Look for easy ways to save a gallon. Minor changes in your habits can ensure water for your garden.
Conserving is easy. Let’s all do our part.
The basic tenets are water wise gardening are:
- Grow a smaller garden
- Grow edibles that drink less
- Compost & mulch
- Irrigate more efficiently
Design can contribute to water efficiency. Follow these guidelines:
- Grow only what you need
- Locate garden away from winds; winds accelerate evaporation
- Group crops into “hydrozones,” grouping crops with the same water requirements
- Group crops with similar root depth, enabling you to water only to that depth
And consider these tips...
Plant a spring garden with edibles that use residual water in the soil:
- Asparagus; Artichoke, Broccoli: Blue Wind, Arcadia, Marathon, Di Ciccio, & Romanesco; Red Express Cabbage; Carrots; Chard; Cilantro; Collards; French Sorrel; Garlic; Salad Greens; Toscano Kale; Onions; Sugar Peas; Fingerling Potatoes; Radishes; Turnip
Plant edibles that mature quickly (50-60 days) needing fewer days of irrigation:
- Maximel Bush Beans; Emerite Runner Beans; Cylindra & Golden Beets; Broccoli; Red Express Cabbage; Carrots; Collards; Chard; Burpless Lemon & Persian Cucumber; Salad Greens: Millionaire Eggplant, Garlic; Yates Blue Curled Kale; Okra; Onions; Radishes; Early Girl, Sungold, & Stupice Tomatoes; Turnips; Zehpyr Summer Squash
Grow high producers. Get more bang for your buck-et.
- Chard, Kale, Greens, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Zucchini
And, remember, the average plant requires about 1 gallon of water/week. Look for easy ways to save a gallon. Minor changes in your habits can ensure water for your garden.
- A low flow showerhead uses half the water of a regular showerhead, saving 15 gallons on a 5 minute shower.
- An ultra low flow toilet uses half the water of a conventional toilet, saving 2 gallons per flush.
- Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth can save almost 10 gallons of water; turning off the tap while shaving can save 20.
Conserving is easy. Let’s all do our part.
