Retaining Moisture in Your Garden

The weather is so unpredictable it is easy to be caught out during a heat wave and lose the plants you love so much. However, there are some things you can do in advance to prepare your garden for the unexpected and avoid wasting our most valuable resource - water. Below are some tips to help you retain moisture in your garden:

Top tips:

- Install a water butt – you can now buy electric pumps to spray this water on your garden.

- Check for leaks on your hose pipe and replace any faulty parts.

- Water in the morning or evening so that less water is lost through evaporation.

- Don’t water your lawn. Grass doesn’t die – it just goes dormant during dry weather.

- Set your mower higher – this will give the soil more shade and reduce evaporation from the soil – even half an inch will make a big difference.

- Mulch borders and flower beds with a decorative bark to a depth of at least 5cm over the surface of the soil. This will keep moisture in the soil and keep weeds down - it also looks good!

- Use large pots that can hold more compost.

- Use a quality loam based compost that will retain moisture more efficiently.

- A decorative layer of small stones on the surface of your pots as a top dressing will insulate them from the heat of the day helping to retain moisture and suppress weeds. 

- Plants need space to grow but they also provide shade for each other and the soil they share. Placing pots in groups will have a similar effect.

More articles...