Most states of Australia have very strict rules on when a household is allowed to water the garden. These are called ‘water restrictions’. To find out what the water restrictions are in your state, visit the website of your local water authority.
Fortunately, most plants in the garden don’t need as much water as we think they do and those plants that do need more, such as vegetables and flowering annuals, can easily be watered with a hose.
WATERING WITH A HOSE
Watering with a hose is a great idea because it makes sure that the water goes to exactly where it is supposed to so that not very much is wasted. But, there are two tricks when watering with a hose to make sure that all the plants get the amount of water they need to thrive.
The first trick is to always water the plants twice. That is, start watering from one end and when you get to the other end, go back and do it all over again. This makes sure that they get enough water.
The second is to use an attachment on the hose that softens the spray so that the more delicate plants are not squashed when they are being watered.
WATERING WITH A SPRINKLER
Some people use a sprinkler that attaches to the hose which is a good way of watering just one section of the garden and the lawn but it takes ages if you have to keep moving it to a different spot. Check to make sure that you are allowed to use sprinklers in your state before using one and don’t use a sprinkler that sprays a fine mist straight up into the air as the water will evaporate or blow away and not actually get onto the garden.
Also, don’t use sprinklers in the middle of the day when it’s hot or when it is windy as the water will blow away and remember to put a kitchen timer on for 10 minutes so that you don’t forget to turn the sprinkler off again.
AUTOMATIC RETICULATION
Many houses have reticulation or sprinklers that come on automatically at the same time every week. These are fantastic as no one has to remember to water the garden and different garden beds can be watered for different lengths of time, depending on what the plants need. Ask mum or dad to turn the reticulation off if it rains so that water isn’t wasted.
Every 6 months, put your bathers on and run under the sprinklers while mum and dad turn each section on so that you can check that all of the nozzles are working properly. Make sure you check if your state has certain laws as to when you can run your reticulation.