
Written and updated by Tammy 15th December 2024
Now more than ever with the costs of living making things a struggle for families, we're all looking for ways to consciously save money any way we can in and around our homes.
Our gardens aren't the exception.
There are lots of simple measures we can take to save water in our gardens potentially saving us hundreds of dollars a year.
Tap timers. Replace the batteries in your tap timers at the beginning of each season and run them to ensure they're functioning correctly.
Check for leaking taps and if need be, replace the washers and seals.
Run a diagnostics check of your irrigation system strategically section by section assessing for leaks and blockages.
Repair any leaking sections and plug any holes.
Replace blocked drippers or jets.
Make sure you're using the most efficient and appropriate jets or drippers for each section of the garden. Some parts may need 4 litre/hr drippers where other sections might be fine with 2 litre/hr ones.
Mulch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, not only does mulching your gardens insulate plants from the radiant heat, but it aids water retention and prevents dehydration. Mulch also serves to nourish and feed your soil as it breaks down. Make adding a generous layer of quality mulch part of your regular seasonal garden maintenance and you'll potentially cut your watering expenses in half.
Avoid watering in the hottest part of the day. You're far better off to water early in the morning, giving water the opportunity to soak in and avoid evaporating too quickly. Watering earlier also eliminates the opportunity for fungal issues and disease to arise as a result of excessive moisture overnight.
When big rain is forecast, particularly summer storms, set out as many large catchment containers as you have, you’ll be amazed how much extra rainwater you can harvest from a single good downpour. It might just be enough to water all your potted plants for a week. Every drop counts. I have an old bathtub in my yard originally used as a raised garden bed that's no longer used and in need of recycling. In the meantime, every time there's a storm and heavy rains it completely fills giving m enough water to water all my potted plants. I feel like the cat that's got the cream!! 😁
Purchasing and setting up extra rainwater tanks isn’t cheap and isn’t always an option for all so be opportunistic. If you see secondhand shuttles/IBCs for sale and you have a spair bit of space at the back of the garden grab one and set it up.
Create a catchment means on top to funnel the rain into it and a tap and the base and straight away, there’s an extra 1,000L of rainwater.
Set up wicking beds for your edibles and veggie gardens where possible. They’re a far more efficient, and less wasteful means of hydrating your plants.
Check out this link below to a short video where Sophie Thompson of the ABCs Gardening Australia demonstrates setting a wicking bed up using an IBC. It’s very clever!

Implementing as many of these measures as possible should see you saving a lot of money over time. Monitor your quarterly water bills too for exceptionally large spikes in usage and cost. An excessive bill in itself might be enough of a warning that there's a leak or an issue somewhere that needs to be addressed.
Keep cool this summer and keep yourself hydrated too.
Happy gardening😘🌸🌼💦
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