Hello ECHO Community,
I’m Juli, the current Urban Garden intern at ECHO North America. This year, I have enjoyed learning about how to garden with limited space and resources, but I have been struggling to find methods to conserve water. My internship began during the rainy season in Florida so I barely touched my hose, but now that we are in the dry season I have found hand-watering to be very time-consuming. I’m looking for advice on how to get all my plants watered efficiently, saving time and conserving water.
Here are several methods of watering I’ve been using in the Urban Garden:
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Hose- I use this the most. It’s easy, very mobile, and gives you a lot of control in how much you’re watering, but it can take a lot of time.
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Rain Barrel- It catches runoff from the rooftop and connects to drip tape. I fill it with water from the hose in the dry season.
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Wicking Bed- It consists of a layer of towels, a few inches of soil on top, and a bucket with a hole in the lid. When the bucket is filled with water and set on top of the towels it slowly leaches out and is wicked up into the soil.
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Hundred-Fold Bed- A layer of rubber holds a reservoir of water at the bottom, and a layer of fabric holds soil on top. There’s a PVC pipe that I can stick the hose in, and I only water it about once a week or less.
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Reservoir Bucket- Similar to the Hundred-Fold Bed but a much smaller version. Rocks, coconuts, or bottles can be put at the bottom to form the reservoir and holes drilled into the side where the reservoir ends to drain excess water.
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Microjet Irrigation- They’re connected to a pump and shoot out water in a circle of a few feet. These work really well to water perennials.
- What are labor-saving and water-saving methods you have tried?
- What are methods you can use without access to well water?