Life is a Garden | South Africa |

Mulch is any substance that can be placed on the surface of the soil around plants in order to keep moisture in the soil. There are three sorts of mulch:

• Organic mulches. These come from plant and animal sources and are the best sort of mulch. Examples are compost, grass cuttings, pine needles, chopped bark, straw, nut shells, peach pips, strawy manure, crushed mealie cobs, and autumn leaves. As they break down, they enrich the soil. Earthworms help organic mulches to break down and enrich the soil.
• Inorganic mulches. These are substances or materials that do not break down and enrich the soil, but help keep moisture in the soil. Examples are plastic sheeting, gravel, pebbles and stones.
• Living mulches. A layer of evergreen and water wise, low growing shrubs, perennials or ground covers can also serve as a mulch.
  - In sun plant agapanthus, aptenia, bulbinella, sour fig, vygies, dymondia, echeveria, erigeron, gazania, osteospermum, othonna, wild garlic, thyme.
  - In shade plant agapanthus, fairy crassula, hen-and-chickens, variegated plectranthus.

Containers are water wise

Gardening in containers is highly water efficient. Here are some tips for success:

• Choose the right pots. Avoid containers that are porous and lose water through evaporation. If you already have porous pots, such as terracotta, apply a sealant or line them with polythene and make sure to leave a hole for drainage.
• Use the correct potting mix. Healthy container-grown plants begin with the right potting mix. Choose one high in organic matter - this will ensure that it holds the water and nutrients necessary for plant growth. Add moisture retaining granules (eg. Saturaid) to the soil to help conserve water.
• Water wisely. When watering pot plants, use a hand-held hose or watering can. Put trays under the containers to collect surplus water, which the plant will draw up as the soil dries out. Place container plants away from direct draughts.
• Group plants. Group containers with sun-loving plants together and group shade-loving plants together.
• Mulch. This will reduce water loss. Keep the mulch about 3cm away from the stems of plants.

Water wisely

Whether you water by hand, have a manual irrigation system or a fully automatic one, water can be conserved by knowing when, how much and how often to water plants.

Water at the right time

• Water at a cool time of day to reduce evaporation - evening or early morning.
• Water less often in cool weather and more frequently in hot weather.
• Avoid watering on windy days, when evaporation rates are high.
• When good rains fall, stop watering for a few days.
  
  

Water deeply but infrequently
Deep soakings encourage roots to utilise moisture deep in the ground and enable plants to grow better and survive longer periods between waterings. Before watering again, let the top few centimetres of soil dry out.

Manage your irrigation system correctly
Drip irrigation at a plant's roots is the most water efficient method of irrigation. The next most efficient is sprayers with heavy droplets rather than those with a fine spray. Correctly used, an automatically controlled irrigation system will result in the greatest conservation of water. To have one installed contact the Landscape Irrigation Association of South Africa, tel: 011 606 3855, website: www.liasa.co.za to obtain a list of professional registered irrigation contractors.

• Have different drip or spray lines for the different water usage zones in the garden so that they can be irrigated with different watering programmes - high water usage zones need more frequent watering.
• If you have not yet zoned your garden you can nevertheless conserve water by using different spray lines. Plants in shade generally need less water than those in full sun, so have separate spray lines for shady and sunny borders.
• Change the amount of time each spray line supplies water according to whether it is the dry or rainy season in your region.
• If heavy rains have occurred, turn the irrigation off for a couple of days. Modern irrigation controllers have a rain switch, which will automatically deactivate a cycle until watering is required.