Save some water, already

Look, I know there's rain in the forecast for the week and that we got a day or two of rain this month, but that doesn't mean we can run around spraying it everywhere because WOO THE DROUGHT IS OVER!

It's not. Not by a long shot. 

But we still want to get those warm weather seedlings started and that takes water, so here's how we save water AND start our vegetable, herb and flower seedlings.

Keep in mind though, if I see you wasting water, I will spank your buns. Just fair warning is all.

Meanwhile, here are 10 ways to save water while growing those badass vegetable gardens this year...


*Excerpt from our coaching update*

Pre-planting 

1. Install drip irrigation
This is one of the most effective ways to conserve water AND the best way to water your vegetable plants. Here's an all-in-one kit that will drip irrigate a 75 square foot garden area. Get nuts.

2. Check all of your irrigation/fix  
Already have drip irrigation? You're awesome. Before you plant a thing, go out there and test your system (aka - turn that muther on) for leaks, clogged drip emitters, calcium encrusted manifolds (the big main head that all of your drip lines connect to) and missing bits and pieces that the naughty squirrels made off with during the winter. Then fix it and get to growing, already.

3. Build beds
Whether you construct raised garden beds from boards (just not treated railroad ties, please), concrete blocks, scrap metal or hay bales or just mound up soil a foot or two deep, raised beds help promote drainage, avoid compaction (you won't be as likely to walk on the raised part of the bed) and focus water at your plants' roots rather than indiscriminately *around* the plants.

4. Rain barrels

Have you done this? It's pretty simple to set up and can give you a reserve of water to use for hand watering during dry periods. Like, you know, now. Rain barrels come in a number of sizes, can be set up to catch water from downspouts or just as it falls from the sky. The beauty is that it doesn't *have* to fully rain for moisture to accumulate since dew and moisture accumulate on roofs overnight and will drain right into your barrels, too. 

Planting time 

5. Plant densely 
Sure, there are spacing requirements listed on your seed packets and seedling starts and such, and these are good guidelines for most situations, but when we're in a bind for water, resources and space, these requirements can be overly conservative. Instead, look for the "spread" or "width" size for the plants you're growing and plant to the edges of that area rather than including extra space. 

So, for example, tomato spacing is usually recommended at 30 inches (2 1/2 feet) between plants, but if your tomato plant's spread is 3 1/2 feet (or 1 3/4 feet on center), you can plant your tomato plants at 1 3/4' apart so that when the plants reach maturity, their leaves and branches will touch/overlap a bit and there'll hardly be a flicker of sunshine that hits that soil to dry up any moisture that exists while still allowing for enough air circulation to keep the plants happy.

  

Also, planting in squares rather than rows is a good, dense, way to get more from your space without using more water. 

6. MULCH  

I know I've gone on about mulch before, but let me reiterate for those who were checking their phones at the time (I see you out there) - Mulch. OH MULCH. 

Whether you use straw, plastic, bark, cardboard, straw, newspaper, shade at the soil level (shade is mulch!) - cover the soil around your plants to keep the moisture IN and the water-stealing weeds OUT. 

7. Cover germinating seed beds

Loosely cover germinating seeds with a floating row cover to keep the soil mo-ist enough for the seeds to germinate without risking them drying out. 

8. Start plants indoors

Some plants need a head start so that they'll be ready to take off when our weather agrees with their ideal growing conditions and, by starting these plants indoors you'll conserve water by growing them in small containers that can be watered super efficiently via capillary mats or just hyper focused hand watering. Plants to start indoors include long season vegetables like eggplant, peppers and tomatoes.

Post-planting

9. Water like a pro

Firstly - know what kind of watering condition your different vegetables like and go with that instead of blanket watering everything. Seriously. For instance, tomatoes like infrequent deep watering (think 3 days a week for 10-15 minutes) and lettuce likes consistent shallow watering (think daily or every other day for 5-10 minutes). 

If you can't provide specific watering conditions for each type of vegetable (I get it - we have automatic drip irrigation, too, and lots of different stuff planted together in the Test Garden), follow these four rules that will, generally, appeal to most of your warm weather crops:

1. Water deeply - This encourages deep root development.

2. Water infrequently -This keeps the soil from leaching nutrients below the plants' roots.

3. Water in the morning - This gives the plants a fighting chance of being able to take up the water before it evaporates in the hot sun and gives them the turgidity (upright strength) to power through the hottest parts of the day without flagging (falling the hell over).

4. Water at the roots and not on the leaves -This discourages disease and gets water to where the plant can use it.

10. Water only when the plants need it
Yes, we love our drip irrigation and automatic watering, but when it gets hot and the plants need more water, we don't want to rely on the timer to know when the plants need a drink.

Secret: Timers don't know when the soil's drying up. They only know that IT'S 5:30AM! TURN ON THE WATER!

So, yeah. Before you get all "Oh the timer's got this one." and your plants shrivel up from lack of water, do a quick check to see if they even *need* water at all. And if so, give it to them GOOD.