WATERING THE GARDEN

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A Few Water-Saving Tricks

There are plenty of small-scale steps you can take to make efficient use of garden water. Here are four no-cost tricks you might try:

[1] Don't stake plants. Let your tomatoes, beans, and other climbers sprawl (on clean, dry mulch), or else grow bush varie ties. By doing so, you'll expose less leaf area to the drying effects of sun and wind.

[2] Grow some vegetables in partly shaded areas. Lettuce, parsley, peas, cabbages, and broccoli—among others—can do quite well on just five hours of direct summer sunlight a day.

[3] Punch small holes in the bottoms of large cans or plastic milk jugs, set the containers next to thirsty plants, and then fill them with water.

And [4], hill up the sides of raised beds to create basins that will trap and hold as much rainwater as possible.

Long Live the Rain Barrel!

C.H. Breedlove

Last summer, my wife and I faced the frus trating problem of how to water our shrubs, trees, and 1,000-square-foot vegetable garden without draining our budget dry. At the time, we were paying the local water com pany 98¢ for every 1,000 gallons of water we used . . . and dishing out $1.59 for the same 1,000 gallons to the municipal sewage system! Irked by paying a sewage-disposal charge for even our garden water, we decid ed to gather our own by using an age-old water-conserving tool the humble rain barrel.

Knowing that there are 231 cubic inches to the gallon, I calculated that every inch of rain that fell on our 1,600-square foot roof would, if captured, yield nearly 1,000 gallons of water. So, inspired by the promise of abundant, free irrigation, I connected each of our home's four downspouts to 'several joined ten foot lengths of four-inch flexible plastic pipe. I then ran two of the long down spout extensions straight into my garden . . . directed the third pipe to the azaleas in my backyard . . . and used the fourth pipe to channel water into a heavy-duty 45 gallon plastic trash can.

To expand this modern rain barrel's capacity, I made an additional reservoir by lining the interior of an old 2' X 4' X 6' cold frame with a double layer of four-mil polyethylene plastic sheeting. (1 secured the liner to the top of the box with thin strips of wood nailed around the frame's perimeter.) Then I simply positioned the rain barrel/ trash can inside the box, so the larger reservoir would catch any spillover. The total capacity of my two-in-one container exceeded 325 gallons!

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