— By Nan Sterman
Having a waterwise garden means much more than simply planting
This waterwise garden was designed by Nan Sterman and Amelia Lima
unthirsty plants…
To create a waterwise garden you have to look at the garden as a system in which every component contributes to water conservation.
Start with soil. Whether your garden has heavy soil or sandy soil, add compost to improve the soil’s structure and encourage beneficial microbes. Beneficial microbes help keep roots healthy and plants thriving. Cool fact: soil fungi actually transport water and nutrients through soil, to plant roots.
Easy Care. Low water plants require no fertilizer and only a bit of clean up or deadheading from time to time.
In-line drip irrigation features flexible poly tubing with emitters embedded safely inside the tubes.
Drop by drop. Use drip irrigation to water plants at their roots, not their leaves. Overhead sprays waste half the water they spray; super-efficient drip puts water right onto the soil that surrounds roots. The best kind of drip irrigation is in-line drip.
Establish plants first. No plants are waterwise the moment they are planted. All plants need deep, regular irrigation for a period of time – a few months for perennials, a year or two in the dry months for shrubs and trees.
In-line drip irrigation laid out in a newly planted bed, awaiting mulch.
Water for waterwise. Once plants are established, let the soil dry between waterings. Encourage deep, drought resistant roots by irrigating deeply but infrequently. Use a smart irrigation controller to manage when and how long irrigation runs. Be sure to program it correctly so the controller knows where your garden is, the kind of plants being irrigated, the type of irrigation (drip), soil type (sand, clay, etc.), and more. If that seems too challenging, hire an irrigation professional to set your clock up. Whatever you do, don’t leave it on the factory settings, which can be set to run every zone for 10 minutes every day!
Mulch insulates water in the soil to keep beds moistminutes every day!
Mulch. A three–inch thick layer of mulch forms an insulating blanket that keeps moisture in the soil around plant roots. Make sure to keep mulch a few inches back from plant stems and trunks. Renew mulch at least yearly.
People often aske me where they can find the best quality irrigation and irrigation controllers, and where to get good advice. I often send them to Hydro-scape which has 18 stores throughout Southern California and in Hawaii. These folks know about water – that’s why their name is Hydro – and they are happy to share.
