8 tips for saving water in your productive garden | Becoming self-sufficient | Gardening Australia скачать в хорошем качестве

8 tips for saving water in your productive garden | Becoming self-sufficient | Gardening Australia

Jerry takes us through the water management methods he employs in his productive garden, a practice that becomes increasingly important as we experience climatic chaos. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe He has a mix of infrastructural, such as a water recycling system, and habitual techniques for conserving water on his property. Today he is sharing simple ways to use water effectively to keep the garden productive. 1. Plant selection: plant areas with hardy plantings that can survive while being entirely dependent on rainfall. You can do some edibles, such as sweet potatoes, as well as natives. 2. Toughen up each plant you bring in: plants purchased from garden centres need to be conditioned to adapt to water-saving regimes in your garden. Jerry waters them six times after bringing them home; twice in first week, once a week for next two weeks, and once a fortnight for the following month. That steps down the amount of water they are used to and toughens them up so you can leave them on their own. 3. Watering the vegie patch: use your finger to assess the soil, if it feels cool and wet, you don’t need to water. Overwatering the vegie patch is not only wasteful, but can encourage pests like root knot nematodes which thrive in these conditions 4. Only water in the cool of the morning: this minimises water loss to evaporation and ensures plants can make the most of the water throughout the day. It also gives leaves time to dry out and prevent fungal issues. 5. Use wicking beds: a great way to keep watering up in an efficient way, wicking beds store a reserve of water that is fed directly to the roots of plants as needed. 6. Use mulch! Mulch is a gardener’s best friend. It keeps soil cool and conserves moisture. Don’t use too much though, if you have too thick of a layer of mulch and only light rain, the mulch may prevent the rainwater getting into the soil. 7. Water plants on alternate days: this puts them through small periods of water stress, encouraging adaptations to toughness such as thicker cell walls. 8. Protect water-sensitive plants: as much as you try, some plants can’t be coaxed into toughness, such as those that grow naturally in rainforest conditions. Jerry shows how to pot and place these plants to minimise water loss. Jerry says, “you can’t do much in life without water, especially grow plants. What we can do is be more effective with the water we do have, and hopefully, in the process grow more resilient gardens.” Featured Plants: SWEET POTATO - Ipomoea batatas cv. ALOE VERA - Aloe vera WALLUM BANKSIA - Banksia aemula MEXICAN PEPPERLEAF - Piper auritum ___________________________________________ Gardening Australia is an ABC TV program providing gardening know-how and inspiration. Presented by Australia's leading horticultural experts, Gardening Australia is a valuable resource to all gardeners through the television program, the magazine, books, DVDs and extensive online content. Watch more: http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/gard... Facebook:   / gardeningaustralia   Instagram:   / gardeningaustralia   Web: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening ___________________________________________ This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel. Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC's Online Conditions of Use http://www.abc.net.au/conditions.htm (Section 3).