With droughts hitting more parts of the world, water shortages and restrictions are becoming more commonplace, especially in warmer climates. And water prices are soaring, costing you even more money to water your garden. Here are some tips for conserving water when you are planting vegetables or other plants in containers.
Use non-porous pots
While everyone loves clay pots, they absorb a lot of water, and you lose that to evaporation – it doesn’t get reabsorbed by the soil as some people believe.
Group containers
When you group containers, any water that would end up outside the container will end up in a neighboring container instead. If they are in your backyard, you can keep them grouped together most of the time, but move them to more aesthetically pleasing spots when you have company over.
Shelter from the wind
Keep your containers out of the wind, so your plants lose less water to the wind – and it will protect them as well. Or you can just move them for windy days.
Don’t place containers against walls
Most people don’t realize that heat reflects off the walls, which gets your plants even more heat, evaporating water even more quickly. Unless the plant specifically requires excess heat and sun, move your containers away from walls.
Avoid the sun
Many plants only require 4-6 hours of sun per day, but you might have them sitting with 12+ hours of sun per day, leading to more water evaporation. One day, take notes of the sunny and shaded parts of your garden every hour, and you can move your containers accordingly.
Leave a Reply