Are you water wise?
Now’s the time to act to ensure your garden thrives next summer, whatever the weather throws at it. Alan Titchmarsh shares essential steps you should take
Every time we get to the end of the summer I find myself heaving a sigh of relief that my garden came through it all – the wind, the rain, the sun and whatever else the weather threw at it. But the thing that concerns me most in summer is the availability of water for those plants that need it most – those newly planted, plants in pots, and the fruit and vegetables that run to seed or shrivel up without an adequate supply of moisture. Providing them with what they need can be a challenge, but by acting now you can make sure that next year will be less of a worry.
It stands to reason that we should all use water wisely – not wasting water on plants that do not need it, such as well-established trees and shrubs, and making sure those in containers, along with vegetables, have a good supply. Even plants described as being ‘drought tolerant’ will need to be watered during their first season to allow them to establish their roots.
And lawns? Newly laid turf will need to be watered regularly until the roots have penetrated deeper into the earth below – often even a month or more after laying. Leave it to fend for itself from the off and it will look like brown carpet tiles within a fortnight. That said, don’t waste water on established lawns, which will recover after the first decent shower. Yes, a good lawn shows off the rest of the garden, but it is far more public-spirited to let it go brown than to squander water that could be better used. Should you do without a lawn altogether? Only when it is so small that mowing proves too difficult. An area of grass is far more environmentally friendly than gravel, decking or – the last resort – plastic grass.
Fit more water butts
Collect as much rainwater as you can. Rainwater seems to suit plants so much better than the stuff from a tap, so fit water butts to as many downpipes as possible. Organise this now, so that by the time next spring and summer come around your water butts will be full and ready to use.
Even so, when your water butts are empty, you will need to resort to the mains, and with many homes metered it makes economic as well as environmental sense to use water wisely. Do your watering in the early morning or early evening when there is less evaporation. That way more of the water will get to where it is needed. And where is it needed? At the roots – not sprayed over the foliage, which will only get weighed down while the water evaporates.
If you invest in a garden irrigation system (which will save you hours of lugging hosepipes and cans) make it the sort that delivers water onto the soil, not the leaves. Perforated pipes pinned to the ground and covered with bark mulch will ensure that
every drop of water counts, and the mulch will help to conserve that moisture as well as hide the pipes from foxes, which seem to think that anything black and sinuous is a snake that needs to be chewed! Connect your pipes to a tap fitted with a small computerised timer and your garden can be watered while you sleep, add sensors and it won’t water if the soil is already damp.
There are elaborate sprinkler systems that deliver great arcs of water across the garden. Your plants will be well supplied, but significant amounts of water will be wasted and you may have to do more staking of border perennials when water is applied in this way. A hose and sprinkler can use up to 1,000 litres of water per hour. Swap to a drip irrigation system and the drippers deliver far less (as little as two litres per hour per dripper, depending on the system).
RHS Water Management Specialist Janet Manning explains that the aim when using an irrigation system, or watering by hand, is to deliver enough water so that it drains down to where the roots are growing and just beyond. Then you can allow the surface to dry out, which will help stop more water evaporating. “Plants are less happy if soil moisture is constantly swinging between capacity and almost at wilting point,” she says. “You’re aiming to maintain a more even soil moisture.” Do this and you will be astonished at the growth rate of your plants, compared with when they were allowed to dry out between waterings. But remember food may be leached from the soil more rapidly, so applying a good organic feed in early summer is wise.
Plan your planting
If your soil is on the light side, try to establish new plants in the garden in early autumn, so they have time to sink their roots into the earth before prolonged dry spells are likely. Should you ever water plants in the heat of the day? If they are wilting and stressed, yes, of course. Otherwise they will shrivel up and die. But, ideally, make sure they have moisture at the roots to see them through the midday sun and they will happily wait until suppertime before needing a restorative nightcap.
There is no great mystery about watering. It really is a matter of observation and common sense.