Gardening is a powerful and healing thing to do, both for yourself and the planet. All life on this planet is dependent on the presence of water, yet 2.7 billion suffer water shortages for at least one month of the year. Growing a garden requires a certain amount of water, and your success in the garden depends a lot on how you are able to manage this vital resource.
With this valuable and essential resource becoming more and more scarce globally, figuring out ways to incorporate water-saving techniques into your garden practices can be a valuable way to create a more biodiverse atmosphere for you to enjoy. Harvesting and recycling water will not only make your garden more ecologically friendly but can also reduce the amount of work you have to do.
Let’s look at some of the ways you can save, harvest and recycle water in your garden!
Key Takeaways
Harvest Water
Water is a vital resource and is free! You can collect rainwater from your roofs or any other surfaces you may have, including the ground, patios, walkways, and solar panels, or you can even create surfaces specifically for the purpose!
Collecting and saving rainwater is especially important in areas prone to drought and water restrictions in the hot dry months. It can also reduce your water bill and can help in times of emergency.
Collecting rainwater can be as simple as installing a few rain barrels along with some guttering should you need it. You’ll want to add a mesh layer to the rain barrel if it’s open-topped to stop debris and insects. Consider adding a spigot for easy access to your water.
"If you only do one thing, collect rainwater."
— Bill Mollinson, Founder of Permaculture.
Swales
If you have some land and want to regenerate it, building swales is a great way to help water infiltrate into the land. This can help replenish the groundwater where you live, boosting biodiversity and resilience for future generations.
So what are swales? Swales are channels dug on the contour of the land. This allows rainwater to move slowly through the land and be absorbed. It can also help reduce the damage done by erosion, where nutrient-rich topsoil is taken away which reduces fertility.
Mulching
Mulching involves covering the exposed topsoil. This helps the soil retain moisture thus increasing microbial activity and ultimately fertility. The soil is alive, and exposure to the sun’s rays reduces the amount of life in the soil. It is said that one handful of healthy soil can contain more microorganisms than there are people on this planet!
Mulching can be done in any number of ways, depending on what you have access to. Wood chips are a good option if you can source them; being high in carbon, when they break down they feed the mycelium in the soil, giving you rich fertile soil.
Wood chips aren’t the only option, and mulching is best done with whatever organic material you have access to. Here you can see I’ve mulched this avocado tree with trimmings from the passion vine that was growing up and around it, as well as the jasmine, creeping fig and many other species growing close by.
As I don’t want the passion vine to take over my avocado tree, I regularly prune it and feed it to the soil around my avocado tree (which is both very hungry and thirsty) By mulching with what’s at hand, I keep my work levels down, helping retain moisture whilst simultaneously adding nutrients to the soil.
You can also mulch with stray, for example, as well as compost. Compost will also help improve the soil's water-retaining capacity. Just be sure to cover the compost with an extra layer of mulch to keep the microorganisms in it alive so it can do its job for you.
The passion vine recently reached the end of its 6-year life cycle, so I’ve pruned it and used it as a mulch elsewhere in the garden too!
Grey Water Recycling
Grey water refers to the water from showers, sinks and other semi-clean household water. With some organic treatment, this water can be used again to feed your garden. After the initial set-up, you can even arrange it so that certain areas of your garden are self-watering. This is especially useful if you have thirsty plants and live in a dry climate.
Greywater systems can be set up in several ways, but common methods include using different-sized rocks and gravel to filter the water and aquatic plants such as reeds amongst others. The plants feed on the microbes in the water, leaving it clean and ready for another use!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Water is a vital resource that needs to be properly managed to make sure your garden is as ecologically sound and biodiverse as possible. Managing water resources is especially important in hot and dry climates prone to droughts. By collecting rainwater, you can lessen your reliance on city water, adding resilience in the case of summertime water cuts or droughts.
Mulching helps plants retain water, thus lessening your irrigation needs, bills and workload. Grey water can be recycled and reused. If you have land you can consider digging swales to maximise the absorption of rain, whilst reducing erosion and building biodiversity.
These are only the tip of the iceberg!
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