Watering tips

My hubby calls it "irrigation", but I just call it watering!

Here's a few quick tips for the summer:

- Soaker hoses can be cheaply bought, and you can nail them into place on fencing or the top of vege garden raised bed edges, then all you have to do is connect the hose and turn it all on.  We had these very successfully nailed to our fencing when we lived in Cromwell, and it worked well for several years.  The hoses to eventually deteriorate, but you can get a good couple of years use out of them.  Just nail though the edge of the hose, the flat bit.

- If you are short of water, plants dont mind soap.  They can't utilise the stuff in soapy water, so you can collect the water from your washing machine quite happily and use it in your garden.  Just put the washing machine hose out the window and let it empty into a big black rubbish bin.  You might be surprised how much water a washing machine uses, one spin/rinse will fill a bin.  If you pay for your water usage, this is a great option.

- Bury bottles of water at the base of plants at risk....see elsewhere on the net if you are not sure how to do this.  Pop some holes in the top of a fizzy bottle, Cut the bottom off.  Tip upside down and bury lid down at the base of your plant.  fill with water!

- Water late in the evening or early morning in order for plants to get the most out of it.  Tempting tho it might be to water when it is very hot, a lot of the water is lost in evaporation.