Saving A Little Water Without Sacrificing Your Garden

Being a Plant Mama is challenging and fun, but it can also be expensive. Especially now as the world deals with this pandemic, many of us need all the financial help we can get. So how can we continue doing something that brings us joy without adding on more stress? I’ve been putting a few ideas into practice.

Next to soil and sun, water is the most important resource for our children, I mean plants. Unlike the soil and sun, however, water is a constant expense because it’s needed every day, depending on what you’re growing and where, of course. One way I help save a little change and be more eco-friendly is by collecting the water from my shower while waiting for it to heat up. 

Especially if you live in an older house like me, water can take a minute or so to heat up, but in the meantime, all the potable water coming out of the shower is being wasted. Collecting it before you hop means you can use it for something else, like your plant babies! All you need to do after you collect it is lug it to the garden (think of it is an extra workout for your biceps)! You can also just fill a smaller container until the bucket is empty.

Showers are typically the third largest water expense after toilets and washing machines. On average, they release 2 gallons/minute. My watering can is 2 gallons and I fill it up 10 or 11 times to water my entire container garden. During hotter months, one tomato plant needs about 2 gallons of water, get my drift? While this doesn’t save me loads of cash living by myself, the savings go up the more people live in one home and even more if people are showering multiple times a day. For me, I save around 60 gallons of water a month using this method, and could save even more if I used a bigger bucket. Collecting rainwater is even easier than this of course but only works if it rains enough. Since we shower daily more or less, this is much more consistent.

All of this to say that my gardening habit is going very well! Getting a quick workout, saving a couple dollars, and helping the environment all on top of keeping my plant children healthy and happy? I see no L here. But what do you think?