How do you conserve water?

[Serenity]

I'm always wanting to find ways to converse water but not at the expense of my plants dying! Does anyone use any methods to keep water usage from the faucet at a minimum? Our water bills are just one more headache I'd like to cut down a bit if possible.

[SageMother]

I think drip systems or soaker hoses are the best way to water plants. I see no reason to have water shooting up in the air the way it does when using a sprinkler.

[Chris]

A rain barrel will let you store rainfall for use in the garden. A brief rain can fill it up.

Water absorbing crystals you scatter in your garden, put in pots, or otherwise place where more water is needed and after rains (or waterings) they puff up crazy huge (from a grain of sand to a mini marshmallow or bigger) and slowly release that added water over the course of hours to a day or more.

[gardening-and-plants]

A rain barrel is a good idea. You could even have a spigot attached to it with drip hoses for when the dry weather returns. And also, mulching heavily around your plants will help conserve moisture.

[riskey58]

We have a barrel under one if the rain spouts on the garage. We use this water to water all of flowers and plants.

[greenthumbosaurus]

Having rain barrels with covers to keep out the mosquitoes and a tap at the bottom to connect your hose are ideal. The rain water is much better than tap water if you are in an area where your water is chlorinated. The more barrels you have, the less you must rely on tap water.

A second idea is to mulch your plants. A 2 to 4 inch mulch is great to keep the soil moist even in the hottest weather. An added advantage is that you'll have a lot less weeding to do.

A third option is to follow what is called the deep watering method which can save you time, water, and money. The idea is to water less often but more deeply.
Hope this will help.

[Chris]

one tip for rain barrels is to raise them up high on a platform or cinderblocks or something, to help gravity give you a better water flow out the bottom hose.

[Goldbug]

I just dont bathe. haha, just kidding. I just try and be concious about how much water im using.