While we all know very well that water is our most valuable resource, we still don’t always take the necessary steps to reduce how much we waste it. At present, the average family in the USA uses as much as 320 gallons of water in a single day. Of this, nearly 30% is devoted purely to outdoor use. Of that, more than half is used for watering lawns and gardens, equating to nearly 9 billion gallons of water a day being used in residential landscape irrigation. Our water supply is not infinite and it is for that reason that it is of vital importance to make use of water-saving techniques, such as the following, to reduce residential water consumption as much as possible.
Plant water-wise plants
Indigenous plants are more drought-resistant than alien plants and present you with one of the easiest ways to save water around the house as they are generally conditioned to thrive with the amount of water they will receive naturally. By planting native trees, shrubs, and flowers you will also attract a host of birds, insects, and wildlife to your garden, benefiting the environment even more. There are a number of gorgeous plants native to West Virginia such as the Swamp Azalea, Black Cohosh, Virginia Blue Flag, Arrow Alum, and Virginia Wildrye that will all be welcome additions to your indigenous garden.
Practice hydrozoning
If you want to reduce your water consumption at home you need to irrigate your garden responsibly. You can save a lot of water by arranging your plants in zones according to their watering requirements. This practice, also known as hydrozoning makes watering your gardening significantly easier. Try to group your thirsty plants, including your lawn, in one zone while grouping your drought-resistant shrubs and perennials together in another zone. Hydrozoning can work well regardless of whether you water the garden manually or make use of an irrigation system that supports zone watering.
Make use of effective mulching
Mulching your garden can be of great benefit, not only promoting the slow release of valuable nutrients into the soil and reducing soil erosion but also preventing the soil from drying out fast. Mulch can also aid in suppressing thirsty weeds from using up all the water in the soil that is meant for the trees and plants in your garden. A coarse mulch layer consisting of bark, leaves or compost will allow rain- and irrigation water to seep through to the soil, keeping it moist for longer by significantly decreasing the rate at which the water evaporates.
What may seem like an insignificant amount of water saved through any or all of the above methods, could, in fact, end up not only reducing the water wastage on your property but saving you money as well. It is, after all, often the smallest efforts that add up to make the most significant differences.