Water saving ways to garden

• Don’t water in the full Sun, or if the temp is above 32 °C. A lot of your water will just evaporate.
• Don’t water when it’s windy. You’ll lose a lot of your precious water to evaporation.
• Water in the morning before 10 am. Too much water in the evenings can lead to mold on some plants.
• If you must water in the daytime, don’t overhead water your plants. The water can focus the sunlight and make little magnifying glasses to burn your leaves.
• Deeply water perennials two or three times a week.
• Pot plants will need daily watering.
• Put a saucer under pots and mulch on top.
• Black pots can really cook and dry out the potting mix in them. Paint them white or have some kind of barrier between the pot and the Sun.
• Check the temp of water coming out of your hose. It can get really hot in Summer.
• Water with the rain. It can help water get to the root zone.
• Water around the drip-line of the plant, This is where the roots are most active.
• Give your plants a little overhead spray from time to time (out of direct Sun, of course). This helps keep humidity up and deters Spider Mites who thrive in dry conditions.

I like to water an area lightly once, then go back over it. That gives water time to soak in and helps subsequent passes with the hose soak in better…