The newest sign in our Garden Sign collection is designed by National Geographic Scientific Illustrator Jose Miguel Mayo and demonstrates tips and tools for saving water.

View all our Garden Sign Designs.

Tips for Saving Water in the Garden

Plant native and drought-tolerant plants. Learn more at native plant organizations like California Native Plant Society.

For newly planted seeds and seedlings, waterless deep and more frequently to keep the soil surface constantly moist. For more established plants, water less frequently, but deeper to encourage deep roots.

Water during the morning or late afternoon hours. You could contact a Plumbing service in your area to install a sprinkler or a drip irrigation system that could help reduce loss of water due to evaporation.

Apply 3 or more inches of mulch (like straw) to hold moisture in the soil. Mulch also helps control weeds that compete with plants for water. Add compost to help soil retain water longer.

Learn to assess soil moisture with the squeeze test: Dig down a few inches and grab a handful of soil. If the soil easily sticks together in a ball your moisture level is probably fine. If the soil can't form a ball it is most likely time to water.

Tools for Saving Water in the Garden

Use a hose faucet timer. Install water-efficient irrigation devices.

We love Dripworks for all your drip irrigation needs. They offer a discount to school gardens and loads of advice. If you're looking to treat water for industrial purposes, perhaps for irrigation but also in factories, cooling towers, hotels, and more, you may want to install industrial water softeners to remove certain ions from hard water.

Use a shut-off nozzle on your hose.

Install a Flow Meters water meter, or a similar product, so that you can keep a direct eye on how much water you are using in the garden and therefore prevent wasting it.

Use a rain gauge to measure how much rainwater your garden has received. Waterless after a rain.

Install a rain barrel or rainwater catchment system. See GrowNYC and HarvestingRainWater.com for great resources on rainwater harvesting. If you are installing a rain barrel or rainwater catchment system then ensure your gutters are all in good working condition. It might also be sensible to contact Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning Bergen County or somewhere similar to clean your gutters so that the rainwater catchment system can work to the best of its capabilities.

Use a dipping bucket for kids to easily fill their watering cans. Collect bottles to make watering cans.

More water conservation tips from the UCSC Farm & Garden For the Gardener Publications.

And even more tips from Oprah!