Just like all living things, your fruits and vegetables need water to survive and thrive. Garden water use offers the perfect opportunity to conserve water – reusing household water and storm water will help your garden flourish without consuming unnecessary water from your household spigots and sprinklers.
Reusing Household Water
A few common household activities generate large amounts of water waste: washing produce and boiling pasta, vegetables, and other foods. Most people simply pour this water down the drain when finished with the task, but it can actually be reused to benefit your garden.
- Wash produce in a bucket of water, rather than under a running tap or in the sink. Once finished, utilize this water in the garden rather than wasting it.
- After boiling, don’t drain the used water. Save it in a pot or other vessel and allow it to cool. Once it has reached room temperature, this water can be reused for your daily garden watering.
Saving Rain Water
At most homes, rain water simply flows down gutter systems and into the yard. Installing a rain barrel or other storm water collection system will allow you to save precipitation for reuse.
- Purchase a prefabricated rain barrel, or make one yourself. Choose a rain barrel with a spigot so you can attach your garden hose.
- Most homeowners can install a rain barrel easily. Choose the downspout on your home closest to your garden. Cut the downspout to a length appropriate to fit within your rain barrel. Water will collect in the barrel, providing you a great amount of free, reusable water that is perfect for watering your garden.
In all the ways you consume water, conservation should always be a factor. Indiana American Water is committed to investing in our water and wastewater infrastructure while being as efficient as possible in everything we do. Want to learn more about how you can save money and help ensure water is available for future generations? Visit us online at https://amwater.com/inaw/water-information/wise-water-use.