Water

[apothecary]

Just looking out the window, I can see how hot this summer is gonna be.

I will be on uni hols soon, so most probably have the ability to keep my plants from dying this summer by contant nurturing.

Realistically though, I know this will require more water than I want to be draining from the public supply, even if I have a couple of big tubs set up to catch rainwater and stuff.

I'm sure the cacti will be fine, so not too worried in that regard.

But what about the other plants? These days even my Daturas will show wilt in the sun after a few days with no water. Even my Heimia won't last more than a week anymore without water!

I have been considering of late passing on the majority of my plant collection (the stuff that wouldn't survive a few days of neglect) on to someone who can put them all in the ground and keep them alive.

What you guys reckon?

[Benzito]

Recycle your washing machine water, or your bath water if you can get at that plumbing easily!

Don't give up on any of it. Think about how much you will miss it all!

[apothecary]

Grey water sounds like a great idea but is a lot of things to do that don't fit in well with my circumstances...

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/GreyWater/

# Only use grey water with watering systems that are under the soil surface.

# Make sure you get a licensed plumber to install your grey water system.

# Avoid using grey water on vegetable gardens if you're going to eat the vegetables raw or lightly cooked.

Don't mind forking out a bit of cash to pay for the plumber, but that last one fits as badly with a vegetable garden as an ethnobotany one

And I don't know what the first one means, but if it means I have to install an irrigation system then (even if I could afford it) will I be able to use it for all my potted plants (the majority of my plants are potted).

[BlackDragon]

Heya,

maybe you could try putting the majority of your pots in groups(similar watering needs) and heavily mulch (straws or whatever is easy for you to obtain, but pea straws or similar have great breathability too) under the pots and pile that mulch up and around the pots, forming huge piles of straw and just your plants poking out the top, water well initally then even cover with cardboard to prevent more loss through transpiration if needed. Add dripper for more sensitive stuff. At the end of summer youll be left with a pile of decomposed straw mulch and hopefully helthy plants! I know its not ideal but if rot or moulds arnt too much of a worry it should be ok.... Just an idea....

[Bongchitis]

Apoth,

Grey water comes from several streams in the home (as i'm sure you are already aware):

Kitchen: Washing up water sucks cause it has food particles, fats and oils (that clog the soil) etc but if you divert washing up water to sewer and reclaim the water used otherwise (waiting for the water to go hot) you can make some gains....get into the habit of having a bowl under the spout to catch water even when you wash hands or rinse vegies.

Bathroom: Sort of same as above, if you can divert the cold water before you get in or keep a bucket in the shower then you can gain a bit there. 1 shower a day, 30 seconds warm up time, average flow of 15 L/min (Australian University figures) yields 7 L of water a day...and my shower takes ages to warm up so I get more. 7 L would be a good watering for a thirsty plant in a pot.

Laundry: Look at your detergent and make sure there is nothing nasty wrt what you are growing then simply put your washing machine outlet into a drumafter filtering through a stocking, instead of down the drain, to get rid of lint (if you want, I do as I have drip irrigation). Each washer cycle is at least 20L of water as that is how much my front loader uses........top loaders use much more.

You seem like a cluey bloke so none of this would require a plumber and you are assured of 25L of water a day for nicks....which would/should be plenty!

Also, grey water, the selected and relatively clean as above, would be fine for all fruit and vegetable requirements where there is no direct contact with the produce ie. root vegetables........but even then I am sceptical, esspecially if you control the quality of the water you save.

Good luck mate, & some good ideas by the other guys.

[foolsbreath]

yeah, Bongchitis is on the right track there.

I've found a litre per pot, probably every second day to be a good watering cycle.

Use shade cloth or set up a pergola, Plants still get plenty of growin with 70% shade cloth! and heaps less evaporation and evapo-transpiration for soil and plants

I get through my plants (shaded) in about 20-40 litres every 2nd day, my vegey garden (unshaded) that again. To help cover my water use, I only shower every 2nd to 3rd day (my mrs hates it!) but I really am not trying to impress anyone and I have met people who go for much longer in the name of conservation! An average shower of about 10 min uses about 200litres, so even if you half that time, or quarter it, your saving 100-150 litres per day, more than enough to save your plants. Save your washing till it really needs doing (don't wash 10 garments etc). Put water in the sink to rinse your dishes, then fill to wash instead of rinsing under running water = 15-20 litres/minute etc etc

Honestly, water is not priced at its true value. I see the lady across the street watering her lawn and garden twice a day, she must use thousands of litres a week on her garden! If water was priced at its true worth and not taken as a right and expected for free I think everone would be following all these little tips.

Edited November 2, 2006 by foolsbreath

[nothinghead]

Retaining water (as well as saving it) is worthy of consideration, so I'm with foolsbreath on the shadecloth idea. The potted plants I have under a dodgy (read: low effort) shadcloth area I set up stay moist for many days longer than the pots in sun/part shade. They grow only slighty slower and the shadecloth seems to retain some humidity, which I'm sure will be enjoyed by many of the plants you grow.

Also putting an easily lifted "mulch" around the plant stem, such as coconut fibre, is a good idea and will retain a lot of the soils' moisture. It allows you to lift it off to water under it so that it doesn't absorb all the water itself (like a lot of other mulches do). An easily removed mulch like coconut fibre (as opposed to lucerne or whatever) also means you can take it off at night, when evaporation rates are reduced, to allow the soil to breathe. Also, drip trays under all your pots mean you can soak them and the excess water can be sucked up overnight if you water in the evening.

Bonchitis' advice is great for saving water without having to install anything extra. The washing machine is a jackpot, these things use SO much water for each cycle.

[apothecary]

Awesome advice there guys. As a matter of fact a portion of my backyard would be perfect as a shadecloth enclosed area.

I will almost definitely implement this idea as it is cheap and perfect for my garden situation.

Ours is a front loader and we probably do 2 loads of washing a week to cover everyones clothes (yes those are full loads). I will make an attempt in this regard also.

There was a good thread by IndigoSunrise about buckets in the shower, I will have to think about this one, it is a good idea but I think because of the nature of mine, I would have to be standing in the bucket for it to catch anything

Thanks again

[Siggor]

stuff

Edited December 11, 2009 by spudamore

[foolsbreath]

detergent actually works as a softener, or soil conditioner, allowing the soil to absorb more water, but you dont want too much obviously. Im sure you could adjust the pH and get a chelating agent to remove (precipitate out) unwanted salts, don't know about the cost. The real key here is putting grey water onto a small artificial wetland conatining hardy grasses, preferably native and a few hardy trees. The wetland acts like a filter to the grey water, you collect this at a lower point, and it should be good for use on plants etc. This would take a bit more effort than one would go to in a rental property, really need a goodsized back yard and a few dollars to get it set up

Edited November 2, 2006 by foolsbreath

[sobriquet]

In terms of grey water from the washing machine, I've been using the second rinse to use on the garden. I never use the first lot which drains the dirtiest water out.

The warnings against using on vegetables is purely from bacterial and chemical point of view. Contaminants can accumulate on leaves which is the reason its not a good idea on edibles.

As far as detergents in the rinse, the most important thing is to check your washing up powder for any environmental labels. Some have a decal that says whether they are OK for the environment.

Otherwise the only caution is that detergents contain phosphates, which is great for most plants and they thrive on it; but watch out with certain natives - grevilleas and banksias. Most other natives don't mind phosphates at all. I learnt this from Gardening Australia......

Now there is a misconception about fertilizing Australian natives because a lot of people think you don't fertilise them. That's not true. The members of the Proteaceae family, grevilleas and banksias and things like that, are intolerant of phosphorus, so they need a low phosphorus fertiliser. All the other natives will take whatever you give them.

So you can give all your plants the grey water without any problems at all.

[occidentalis]

All the other natives will take whatever you give them.

Just to qualify this - most Australian soils are highly nutrient depleted, so many native plants are sensitive to high levels of fertiliser. While you're right about P sensitivity and the proteaceae being the biggest problem, saying others will take whatever you give them is not exactly true.

[sobriquet]

Just to qualify this - most Australian soils are highly nutrient depleted, so many native plants are sensitive to high levels of fertiliser. While you're right about P sensitivity and the proteaceae being the biggest problem, saying others will take whatever you give them is not exactly true.

Hi creach,

The part in bold was from what I learned off the Gardening Australia program on ABC. It was Colin Campbell (Queensland reporter) who stated those things and not me. So I'm truly sorry about that, I tried to point out that it was from Gardening Australia

Here is the full transcript:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1775054.htm

where you'll find that part in bold.

And yes I agree with your sentiments on Aus. soil and I wouldn't risk my Wollemi pine to a dose of superphosphate at this stage ;) But I mean I'm going to be alot more risque with my Acacias, Podocarpus and Agathis trees now that I know this, and I won't bother with "native soil" for them anymore.

Campell's experience outweighs my own, but experience is a great teacher and I guess I'll find out for myself one day.

Edited November 2, 2006 by sobriquet

[occidentalis]

The part in bold was from what I learned off the Gardening Australia program on ABC. It was Colin Campbell (Queensland reporter) who stated those things and not me. So I'm truly sorry about that, I tried to point out that it was from Gardening Australia

Yeah, I did catch that, and I'm sure he speaks from great experience. I just wanted to ensure that no one reading that decided it would be safe to pour hundreds of grams of synthetic fertiliser on their poor natives.

[Siggor]

stuff

Edited December 11, 2009 by spudamore

[Bongchitis]

Sugar cane mulch is only $14/bail...which goes a long way and works a treat for me at a thickness of 10cm+ on the vege garden.....a little thinner in the pots.

...and with respect to laundry grey water and chemical loading, just how dirty do your clothes get? It is quite adequate to use 1/2 to 1/3 of the reccomended dosage rates for soaps etc for standard loads. Dosage rates are designed more about resale frequency than wash requirements I would say. I have had no problems doing this. For heavy soiled loads, use more soap, don't save the water if it urks you....and again as long as there is no product contact and you drip/ground water there are no real issues. I reckon there is that much bacterial action happening in a healthy garden anyway......The neighbours cats simply will not shit anywhere else so hello Mr Toxoplasmosis....this is no different to any market garden worldwide except that I am in control and are aware!.

and apoth, hold the bucket under the rose before you get in while the water is heating up, perfect water, no bacteria issues and you don't have to stand in a bucket. But it is amazing how much water is caught in an empty bucket in the corner of the cubicle!