What to sacfrice & what do you water ! I am concentrating on the veggie garden.
kateley,
Mar 1, 8:05am
something I always do, not just with water restrictions, is I keep a large plastic bowl in the kitchen sink - everytime I run the tap (to wash hands or rinse something or wait for the hot water to come thru) I collect it in the bowl and use it to water my veges.This adds up to maybe 100 litres a day that would otherwise just go down the drain. I even wash small amounts of dishes in the same bowl and use the soapy water (after it has cooled) to wash off aphids.
wcg30,
Mar 1, 8:28am
me too kateley. It s amazng how much water is wasted waiting for the hot to come thru.
anne1955,
Mar 1, 8:37am
I don't do my dishes :) rather have my vegies growing and eat.
kaddiew,
Mar 1, 8:58am
Why have I never thought of this! Duh. My hot water takes forever to come through. Off to find a large bowl!
horse88,
Mar 1, 9:46am
I used the water from the washing machine this morning.
lythande1,
Mar 1, 12:14pm
I sacrifice nothing in my vege/fruit garden, I just pay the bill. Have used the washing machine also, but it's nowhere near enough.
wcg30,
Mar 1, 1:04pm
Our water shortage has nothng to do wth payng a bill & everything to do with no rain. Those that rely on tank water have to be careful. Our town supply, community of 320people,has been running low for ages & we are being asked to only do 2 loads of washng a week, water nothng in the garden that isn't essential etc. So we are pretty much in drought & have been for a couple of weeks. All the long ago rain water that i had in my tanks around the garden are now empty so it's fast approaching the stage where i am having to let plants go. It is heartbreakng watching the trees struggle & this on the west coast of the south sland. We've had less than a 1/3 of our usual rainfall & still looking at a long dry spell next week.
whitehead.,
Mar 1, 2:09pm
if you put a bucket in your shower when your using it you will catch water for your plants as well . central hawkes bay is getting very short of water with pumps not pulling as well as they should . ive also found when on tank water if you bath you can bucket that water for your loo
stevee6,
Mar 1, 2:15pm
Everything I want to protect is mulched, and when I water, the mulch is pulled back and a few holes poked in around the roots to let the water get where it ought to, then recovered.
davea74,
Mar 1, 2:38pm
Water the garden at night - then no-one will know.
kateley,
Mar 1, 2:42pm
my shower is so tiny there's not room for me and a bucket in there!But, once you start thinking about all the water that goes down the drain there are all sorts of ways of gathering it up to use in the garden (or loo, if things get really bad)
kateley,
Mar 1, 2:42pm
excellent use of the ninja smiley!
davea74,
Mar 1, 5:45pm
I laughed when I posted that one!Did have a neighbour years ago that did exactly that though - I used to see him after dark watering the garden (and the sprinkler on the lawn) when we had restrictions!
imagine4,
Mar 1, 6:06pm
use your washing machine water.
monsieurl,
Mar 1, 6:33pm
I'm selfish, so i just use the water for what ever. I'm paying for it right!!
wendalls,
Mar 1, 7:41pm
yep. WE have had 2 refills and the water tankers virtually live n our street. I am very careful and do all those suggestions as above except I havent figured how to save our washing machine water yet -or remember to stop it. We have a pool which has to be topped up every week. On our 2nd refill we learned the hard way not to drain the tank as it cost $250 for a plumber to re prime the pipes and he changed the filters. But something also wrecked the UV steriliser which is essential as our tank is below ground level and near our septic runoff. that will be approx $350 too. Water a mere $150. but I guess where OP lives it may cost way more to get trucked in! Yes we have 2 dead trees and I also clear the mulch around smaller fruit trees b4 watering from recycled dish or shower water.
davea74,
Mar 1, 7:46pm
Why not stop topping up the pool!Surely that's a bit of a luxury.
edenrose,
Mar 1, 10:19pm
We run the water until hot into a bucket, then actually shower with the bucket in there to catch the run off, usually 1 to 2 bucketfuls per shower. Put a bucket in the laundry tub and wash hands there, catching all the water.Started to even have bowl in the sink to catch water from washing fruit/vegetables, everything helps. Flush toilet after every 2nd or 3rd wee.Husband is keeping the citrus trees wet too! Can't save washing machine water runs into supertub, so not accessible!
gabbysnana,
Mar 2, 6:02am
at my prop in queensland it is standard to have grey water plumbed to underground holding tank and then pumped to gardens and lawns.maybe they need to do it here
bloss1,
Mar 2, 10:43am
paying for it or not, when its run out, its run out.think about it.
lythande1,
Mar 2, 11:49am
Your washing machine empties from a hose at back of it, regardless of where that hose is plumbed to - you can unhook it and connect it up to something else.
lythande1,
Mar 2, 11:51am
You know, since I have put the washing machine into the tank I have noticed what utter liars washing machine manufacturers are. I always have mine turned to 1/2 full, not low or high water fill. It uses 100litres per wash! I looked it up and it says 40-50 for an average load.bollocks. Once the drought goes away I'm doing it the other way round, plumb the tank into the washing machine!
annmary79,
Mar 2, 12:39pm
We are putting the plug in the bath when we shower,then putting that water on the garden.
imagine4,
Mar 2, 2:44pm
your joking right.when the water supply runs out it runs out so dont matter who is paying for it.if people like you dont save waterwe will all suffer
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